In comparing Europe with the United States, there is a clear divide in how penalties for crime are handled. In Europe, where sentences are less harsh, more efforts are placed into integrating reformed criminals back into society. In the United States, where ex-convicts are incarcerated for longer periods of time, reintegration is much more difficult and they are more -likely to re-commit crimes. In addition, crime and drugs have been a long standing issue and will be further discussed. I will be looking into drug involving crimes in the United States, how prisons are managed in the US and compare it to the prison system in the Netherlands. The United States, which once stood against the hierarchal societies of Europe, namely England, has performed
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Being the superpower they are, the country has fallen behind with modern methods of penalties of crimes, and have turned to the “war on crime” and “war on drugs” approach. On the other side of the spectrum, the Netherlands is a country which focuses on implementing ex-convicts back into society. When it comes down to it, harsher punishments of crimes are not an effective method of crime prevention when it comes to prison sentencing.
In the Netherlands crime and punishment is dealt with a hands on approach, and is heavily focused on rehabilitating the convicts back into society. For example, there is a program in place called DLC being brought into prisons, which is about giving responsibilities back to the inmates, and creates an environment where inmates are held responsible for their own actions. The prison cells themselves are completely different than the prisons in the US; they are more of a joined living, with 6 cellmates sharing each cell. One cell has two toilets, a shower, a washer and dryer, a fully equipped kitchen, and …show more content…
Due to the fact that nearly half (48%) of inmates in federal prison were serving time for drug offenses in 2011 and over 1 trillion dollars have been spent on the war on drugs, drug crimes and incarcerations go hand in hand in the United States (King p.7). Regarding drugs and crime, a RAND analysis concluded that the spending of $1 million to expand mandatory minimum sentencing would result in a national decrease in drug consumption of 13 kilograms, while giving those funds to drug treatment programs would reduce consumption by 100 kilos (King p.7). In addition, every $1 invested into drug treatments returns more than $7 in savings to society, as opposed to a net loss of nearly 70 cents for enforcement methods (King p.8). Although drug traffickers are being imprisoned, crime rates are shown to remain steady because drug suppliers continue to employ replacements for the members they lose to the prison system. The allure of fast money and sense of belonging and family these gangs provide draws in many juveniles, who continue down the
Being the superpower they are, the country has fallen behind with modern methods of penalties of crimes, and have turned to the “war on crime” and “war on drugs” approach. On the other side of the spectrum, the Netherlands is a country which focuses on implementing ex-convicts back into society. When it comes down to it, harsher punishments of crimes are not an effective method of crime prevention when it comes to prison sentencing.
In the Netherlands crime and punishment is dealt with a hands on approach, and is heavily focused on rehabilitating the convicts back into society. For example, there is a program in place called DLC being brought into prisons, which is about giving responsibilities back to the inmates, and creates an environment where inmates are held responsible for their own actions. The prison cells themselves are completely different than the prisons in the US; they are more of a joined living, with 6 cellmates sharing each cell. One cell has two toilets, a shower, a washer and dryer, a fully equipped kitchen, and …show more content…
Due to the fact that nearly half (48%) of inmates in federal prison were serving time for drug offenses in 2011 and over 1 trillion dollars have been spent on the war on drugs, drug crimes and incarcerations go hand in hand in the United States (King p.7). Regarding drugs and crime, a RAND analysis concluded that the spending of $1 million to expand mandatory minimum sentencing would result in a national decrease in drug consumption of 13 kilograms, while giving those funds to drug treatment programs would reduce consumption by 100 kilos (King p.7). In addition, every $1 invested into drug treatments returns more than $7 in savings to society, as opposed to a net loss of nearly 70 cents for enforcement methods (King p.8). Although drug traffickers are being imprisoned, crime rates are shown to remain steady because drug suppliers continue to employ replacements for the members they lose to the prison system. The allure of fast money and sense of belonging and family these gangs provide draws in many juveniles, who continue down the