Incarceration Of Offenders Essay

The purpose of Incarceration of offenders and the criminal justice processes in general is to ensure that criminals are punished for their crimes however more recently research has found that this follows with some collateral consequences. The states punishment is projected further than just the offender, social networks associated with the offender become affected. and become secondary victims to the crime, however they are not given as much support as victims are and subsequently Collateral consequences occur. These include the effect of social stigma attached to being a relation of an offender, the psychological and physical changes when being separated from a family member, and the emotional impact of having direct contact with the criminal …show more content…
It was found that roughly 1.1 million inmates in the U.S are parents with 90% of them being fathers (Park,Clarke-stewart, 2003) therefore the collateral consequences of imprisonment suggest a dramatic impact psychologically as well as physically on families especially children. According to the JOURNAL OF CRIME AND DELIQUENCY REPORTS fatherless children especially young boys are a reliable indicator of violent crime and Typically, Fathers ensure economic stability, security and are a role model for young boys (Maginnis 1997). Therefore, without a father figure due to incarceration not only could it produce a negative role model which positively reinforces crime for children, but also it financially and physically children dramatically suffer. Alternatively, for some offences such as murder or rape contact with a father figure could reinforce negative emotional states as such crimes have links with mental illness and therefore their influence could be negative. Therefore, the collateral consequence of incarcerating a father figure in this case would seem unjustified for most crimes excluding harsher crimes such as murder or rape. However, Gallie, 2002 argues that although the collateral consequences of incarceration are soul-destroying and unfair on families, ultimately the responsibilities lie with the offender, therefore whether the offender is a mother father or child, the collateral consequences of their imprisonment including the economic impact and psychological impact is entirely their responsibility (Codd 2008). With this in mind collateral consequences are justified, as due to social morals and norms in society the offender would have some knowledge of the possible effects on the families if they were to commit a