Community Based Correctional Systems Criminology Essay

Community Based Correctional Systems Criminology Essay Community corrections is an umbrella phrase, which includes everything from intermediate punishments to pre-trial diversion. A community correctional system includes any non-incarcerative, but supervised way of handling offenders who have already been convicted or who are facing conviction. Parole and probation are the most renowned forms of community corrections, but the phrase also includes: electronic monitoring, home confinement, work release, day fine programs, restitution, halfway houses, check-in programs, community services, community based correctional facilities and curfews. In Ohio, community corrections refer to a system of particular facilities, which provide non-residential and residential services to a convicted offender. A good example of a community based correctional system in Ohio is the Western Ohio Regional Treatment and Rehabilitation Center (W.O.R.T.H. Center). This paper will attempt to cite the strength and weaknesses of the W.O.R.T.H. Center. I will also exp lain whether or not this system serves the community better than institutional correctional systems. Discussion The W.O.R.T.H. Center, just like other community based correctional systems in the United States, receives funds from the state, but, it is based in and operated by the local community in Ohio. In addition to this, this center is a male and female community based correctional facility, which houses criminals for a period not exceeding six months. This center provides an à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦intermediate residential sanction at the front end of the system between prison and probation, known as diversion and re-integration services at the tail end of the system between parole and prison, known as transitionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Bronstein, 2005). The W.O.R.T.H. Center has various programs that are aimed at fully rehabilitating the offenders such as: moral reconation therapy, skills class, chemical dependency, substance abuse, AA meetings, educational services, job readiness, money management, anger management, domestic violence, public service, parenting classes, Bible study, recreation, and community meetings. Each program is highly structured with evaluation, treatment, follow-up services such as transitional counseling (W.O.R.T.H Center, 2011). The offenders who effectively complete the program at this facility normally continue on non-residential probation that is supervised for a certain period of time. And those offenders who do not are sent to jail. Offenders sentenced to the W.O.R.T.H. Center are normally felony low level felony offenders or probation offenders who are otherwise headed to jail or prison. Rather than being sentenced to jail, such offenders are diverted into centers such as the W.O.R.T.H. Center where they receive severe treatment for education, chemical dependency, family relations or employment assistance. In numerous ways, the W.O.R.T.H. Center is similar to a conventional prison setting since it is a residential placement with very little freedom to actually move around. However, this facility has minimum security operations, which houses between fifty and two hundred male and female offenders, so it is somewhat smaller than most jails and offers to some extent, more freedom to the offender. Community based correctional system such as the W.O.R.T.H. Center is believed to be an evident improvement over conventional corrections programs for humanitarian reasons. The W.O.R.T.H. Center can be considered humanitarian because it provides less serious male and female offenders with choices, which allow them to continue with various elements of their lives. In addition to this, this community based correctional facility is also humanitarian because it avoids many of the negative effects of incarcerations such as stigmatization, damage to mental or physical health as well as constant exposure to criminal peers (Bronstein, 2005). Another advantage of the W.O.R.T.H. Center is that it offers opportunities to be more responsive to the needs of victims, offenders and the community at large. For instance, the restorative resolution program in the W.O.R.T.H. Center is a community alternative to imprisonment. This program targets lawbreakers who are facing a prison term of about six months or at times even nine months. Another sentencing plan is developed for lawbreakers referred to this program that aims to tackle the individual needs of the lawbreaker as well as address victim concerns. Another advantage is that the community programs at this facility are more effective than prison or incarceration. Effectiveness can be measured in terms of avoiding exposure to undesirable effects, reducing recidivism as well as promoting the successful re-integration of offenders into the community (Bloomberg, 2000). Moreover, the cost of running the W.O.R.T.H. Center is not as costly as conventional prison. However, the W.O.R.T.H. Center is not without its weaknesses. This community based correctional facility appears to have very little impact on the rates of recidivism among the ex-offenders (W.O.R.T.H Center, 2011). In addition to this, since the W.O.R.T.H. Center includes residences or halfway houses where the ex-offenders learn to make the successful transition from prison into society, the residents who live around are naturally kept on a strict curfew. In addition to this, these halfway houses are located in a neighborhood, as opposed to remote locations and this commonly disturbs the residents of that particular neighborhood, who live in fear of being victimized or even threatened by the ex-offenders residing in the halfway houses. Recidivism is the repetition of criminal behavior. Clearly, one objective of community based correctional system such as the W.O.R.T.H. Center is to prevent the offenders from repeating any kind of criminal behavior. In the past, these facilities have been commended for being more effective in reducing recidivism than conventional prison settings since they never take the offender completely out of the community and that they also provide a transition period between the community and the prison (Bronstein, 2005). Ideally, community based correctional systems teach the offender how to be productive and successful members of the community. But, regrettably, some offenders in community based correctional programs do recidivate. The re-arrest, charging and return of criminals to correctional facilities has a public safety advantage and numerous social as well as fiscal costs. Proponents of community based correctional systems argue that community programs are in reality more effective than prison. Effectiveness can be measured in terms of avoiding exposure to undesirable effects, reducing recidivism and so forth. According to Benzy (2004), incarceration is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦not more effective than community corrections in preventing re-offending and treatment programs have been shown to be more effective when delivered in a community settingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. What is more, community based correctional programs spare the offenders numerous negative effects of incarceration. I believe that community based correctional system serves the community better than institutional correctional systems. Community based correctional programs facilitate many of the factors linked with the successful re-integration of the offender into the community. For criminals being released from prison into a community based correctional facility, the benefits of community corrections are rather obvious. Not only is the criminal provided with the chance to steadily re-integrate into society, he or she is able to pursue educational and employment opportunities. Moreover, family ties are better maintained when a criminal is residing at a community based correctional facility rather than a prison. Presently, community based correctional facilities have not been widely accepted by the general public and this opposition manifests itself in numerous ways. For instance, the general public has never fully embraced community corrections programs like fines, probation, full and day parole, intermittent prison sentences and temporary absences. A majority of communities in the United States are unfriendly to the notion of having residential centers such as the does a community based correctional system serves the community better than institutional correctional systems for law offenders located in their midst for fear that adjacent property values will drop and crime will increase, a phenomenon commonly referred to as Not In My Back Yard Syndrome or NIMBY (Benzy, 2004). But, most individuals agree that the current institutional correctional system does not work and many are even willing to consider community based correction systems. Institutional correctional systems such as prisons generally make individuals worse. Presently, nothing much has changed other than that there are many more individuals in prison and our prisons are currently larger and in fact, more destructive of the human personality than before with harsher regimes and fewer programs (Bronstein, 2005). Research reveals that there are only three possible changes in the life of an offender during his or her incarceration in an institutional correctional system: availability of a reasonably supportive job, family upon release, as well as the process of aging that ultimately eradicates criminal behavior as an alternative (Bronstein, 2005). It is rather obvious that in the institutional correctional systems, offenders are incarcerated not to treat them, but for other reasons. Increasingly, such systems are places of punishment and have nothing at all to do with rehabilitation unlike the community-based correctional systems. Conclusion Community based correctional systems offers workable alternatives to incarceration for offenders at different stages of the criminal justice process. The alternatives that are available to the offenders include: alternative measures programs, bail supervision programs, fine options programs, restitution programs, probation, community service order, parole and so on. The community based correctional system serves the community better than institutional correctional systems since the offenders are given a chance to steadily re-integrate into society, pursue educational and employment opportunities and in general, be more productive in the community.

Clash of the Titans: a Movie Review

Clash of the Titans â€Å"One day, somebody's gonna have to make a stand. One day, somebody's gonna have to say enough. † Louis Leterrier made a stand in directing the 2010 action-adventure, fantasy film entitled â€Å"Clash of the Titans†, a remake of 1981’s campy classic. This is a set in Argos, a Greek city, where a war is about to explode among men and gods, starring Sam Worthington who plays the role of Perseus, a demigod and the mortal son of Zeus whose task is to defeat the Kraken.The movie started with a narration that introduces the three Olympians who battled the Titans long ago: the brothers Zeus (Liam Neeson), Poseidon (Danny Huston), and Hades (Ralph Fiennes). Hades provided the means of defeating the Titans with his creation, the Kraken. After the Titans' defeat, Zeus created humans and ruled them while Poseidon ruled the sea, but Hades, having been deceived by Zeus, was forced to rule the Underworld. The day came when a man whose born a god but rai sed as a man named Perseus witness a group of soldiers from Argos destroying a statue of Zeus as a declaration of war against the gods.His adoptive parents, Spyros (Pete Postlethwaite) and Marmara (Elizabeth McGovern), and sister, Tekla (Sinead Michael) were killed when Hades devastated their fishing boat. Perseus was not able to save his family. The surviving soldiers take Perseus to Argos. When King Kepheus (Vincent Regan) and Queen Cassiopeia (Polly Walker) of Argos, at a feast for the returning soldiers, compare themselves to the Olympian deities and compare the beauty of their daughter, Andromeda (Alexa Davalos), to that of Aphrodite, Hades appears again, killing the remaining soldiers .He kills the queen, and demands that Argos farther pay for its disrespect and pride; in ten days, the Kraken will be released, and if the princess, Andromeda, is not sacrificed, Argos will be destroyed. Hades then seeks out the gods on Mount Olympus and persuades Zeus to agree with his plan to p unish humanity for their lack of love. Knowing Perseus unaffected by his attack, Hades realized he is a demigod, and tells him of his true father, Zeus. At first, the Argives see Perseus as an agent of the gods and imprison him, but the king later seeks his help.A woman named Io (Gemma Arterton), who has been watching over Perseus his entire life, advises him that the only way to avenge the death of his family is to agree with the king's wish and attempt to defeat the Kraken. This was the beginning of Perseus’ great escapade. When Perseus and other soldiers try to kill Medusa (Natalia Vodianova), the Gordon, in the underworld, was a great and terrifying part of the film. The massive set design of this film gave a big impact to me as a viewer. It makes me feel how hard the paths and challenges Perseus overcome.It seemed so true. While watching it, I was trying to imagine myself as one soldier there and I felt so scared and said to myself that if I were there, I will give up ea sily. No wonder why â€Å"Clash of the Titans† nominated in Character Animation in a Live Action Production in Annie Award and in Best Fantasy Film in Saturn Award in 2011. Just as awesome as the set design were the actors. Sam Worthington played a very crucial role as a strong-willed Perseus. His portrayal of the demigod depends more on his courage and strength than his boyish good looks.Gemma Arterton who played as Io made her as a nominee in Choice Movie: Breakout Female in Teen Choice Award in 2010. â€Å"There’s a god in you. Be sure to bring it. † This film shows we have to accept the gifts God gave to us and use it in a good way. Specials gifts have the purpose why we possessed some of it. It also shows that life was not easy but, God is always there to guide and help us. This film is great, from the actors to designs. Everyone should watch this because it teaches bravery and strength.

Life unworthy of life: phobia and Mass murder in hitlers’ Germany

James M. Glass was known for his expertise in politics and psychology of illusion. Glass’ interests include political theory, philosophy, and political psychology. His current researches also include about the study of the psychological preconditions for engagement with civil society.This is the reason why he was able to come up with a written narrative regarding the historical background on the Nazi regime. As a result, the historical account that has been written by the particular author is a fine display of the history of the people of the time of Hitler.About the BookIn Hitler’s regime, it could be seen and imagined how hard the individual Jews struggled for their survival. If the situation would be compared to the present society today, it could be observed that the present society is already lucky it is   not experiencing what the Jews have   undergone during the those times.During the time of the German Nazi era, the rules and the code of the government were not merely implemented in good ways. The abusiveness of the power is a mere factor why so many Jewish people suffered the pains and agonies brought about by the regime.They were a part of a community that has freedom and will   to do whatever they wanted to do, but during that time racial discrimination made a big impact and easily affected the German Jews. Glass’ report on the said important account of the situation has mainly pointed out several important factors that contributed to the succession of the history towards the Nazi regime.THE ENLIGHTENMENT: ACTION AND REACTIONIn the time of Hitler’s Dynasty, some of the government officials do not know what the importance of life was. Killing for them is very easy and vigorous, and they did not consider it as a crime. However, today, the situation that happened before has mainly affected the views of the present society regarding their respect of life.This touching history enlightens the people on how they will respec t each other in different ways all over the world. It is a challenge to the people to always remember how the Jews faced the bitterness of political adversary, political error and abusiveness of power by the leader of the nation

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