Prison abolition has become a hot topic amongst the public. One of the people who support this idea is a judicial clerk to Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Frank Easterbrook named Peter Salib. He thinks that the idea behind the criminal justice system should be to punish and deter crimes. However, prisons are believed to be an inefficient way to do that.
According to several researches, long prison sentences only have a little impact on crime. Actually, there is a high chance of those who are incarcerated to commit crime. Aside from that, prisons cost a lot. These are some reasons why many people, including Peter Salib, wish for the prisons to be abolished.
Talking about abolishing prisons, some people might be wondering what would happen if these places were abolished. For anyone who is wondering about it, keep reading the article to be enlightened about it.
Vision of Prison Abolition
Those who agree with the idea of abolishing prisons want a society where the traditional prison system is replaced with alternative approaches to justice that focus on prevention, restoration, and rehabilitation. Check out a few key aspects of their vision below:
- Community-based alternatives: Instead of forcing people to live in correctional facilities, the focus would be on creating programs that are based on community.
- Restorative justice: Restorative justice is promoted by those who think prisons should be abolished. This kind of justice focuses on fixing the harm caused by crimes through dialogue, restitution, and community involvement.
- Education and rehabilitation: Prisons would be replaced with places that focus on education, mental health services, and rehabilitation.
- Redistribution of resources: Money that is currently used for prisons would be allocated to a few things such as education, social services, mental health care, and addiction treatment.
Potential Consequences of Abolishing Prisons
- Reduced incarceration: The population in the prisons would be reduced. It means overcrowding would not be an issue anymore.
- Focus on root causes: By focusing on prevention and addressing the root causes of crime, the criminal rate might be decreased.
- Restorative justice: For the victims of the crime, they would have a chance to engage in the restorative justice process, making it possible for them to find closure and healing.
- Reintegration: Those who break the laws would have better chances to reenter the society because they would not have to go through hard conditions.
Challenges and Concerns
As stated before, the idea of abolishing the prisons could be a good thing because it has some benefits. However, it could also be challenging and concerning. The challenges and concerns of this idea include:
- Public safety: Some people think that abolishing prisons could endanger public safety. The reason is because there would be no system to incarcerate those who commit violence. On the other hand, advocates suggest that it could be handled by placing these people in an isolated place.
- Logistic challenges: Changing into something new would require planning and resources, including the development of alternative programs and services.
- Cultural shift: It would be a challenge to convince society to embrace the change as they might need time accepting new culture.
- Accountability: Those who agree with the idea of abolishing prisons should think about serious crimes. Restorative justice and programs that are based on community should ensure accountability while at the same time focusing on rehabilitation.
Bottom Line
In conclusion, there are a good amount of people who think abolishing prisons is a good idea because they believe that placing these offenders in prisons is not an effective way to make them better. In fact, there are many of them who commit more crime after getting released because they faced harsh conditions at the correctional facilities.
If prisons were abolished, there would be some possibilities. For the offenders, they might be better people because they would not face hard time at the prisons and it would be easier for them to reenter into society due to the same reason. For the government, they would save money and would be able to relocate the funds to other things such as education, rehabilitation, and so on. While abolishing prisons might seem a good idea, it is not something that can be done overnight because it also comes with challenges and concerns.
A bookworm and researcher especially related to law and citizenship education. I spend time every day in front of the internet and the campus library.
