Topic Reflection
Whilst writing these reflective journals, I noticed a number of recurring themes present in the aspects of punishment I studied. For the purposes of this essay, I will focus on the two most prominent themes I identified; first, the notion that the internal prison environment is ill-equipped to reduce crime and second, how imprisonment’s rise in recent years may be impeding the state’s ability to respond to crime.
On the Internal Prison Environment
The first reflective journal established that the internal prison environment is highly criminogenic; the fact that 34.7% of prisoners in Victoria returned to prison within two years of release (in the 2002-3 period) supports this assertion (Holland, Pointon and Ross, 2007, p.13). …show more content…
For instance, the first lecture noticed an upward trend in Australia’s imprisonment rate; by 2015, 151 out every 100,000 adults were imprisoned (Walmsley, 2015). Additionally, in my second reflective journal, I identified how the criminalisation of mental illness under transinstitutionalism has led to growth in prison populations. Ultimately, these facts suggest that imprisonment is following a trend of upward growth. Yet this growth in prison populations impedes the state’s ability to respond effectively. For example, in Winn Correctional Centre, corrections officers receive only four weeks of training, which betrays the extent of how ill-equipped prisons are (Bauer, 2016). Moreover, this growth in prison populations plants the seeds of ‘legal cynicism’ amongst over-policed vulnerable communities (Kirk and Matsuda, 2011, p.443). Kirk and Matsuda described ‘legal cynicism’ as a community’s perception that the state’s power is ‘illegitimate’ which increases resistance to the state, and by extension, impedes the state’s ability to respond to crime (Kirk and Matsuda, 2011, p.444-46). Ultimately, through my studies, it became clear to me that the state’s recent move towards imprisonment is a self-defeating
Whilst writing these reflective journals, I noticed a number of recurring themes present in the aspects of punishment I studied. For the purposes of this essay, I will focus on the two most prominent themes I identified; first, the notion that the internal prison environment is ill-equipped to reduce crime and second, how imprisonment’s rise in recent years may be impeding the state’s ability to respond to crime.
On the Internal Prison Environment
The first reflective journal established that the internal prison environment is highly criminogenic; the fact that 34.7% of prisoners in Victoria returned to prison within two years of release (in the 2002-3 period) supports this assertion (Holland, Pointon and Ross, 2007, p.13). …show more content…
For instance, the first lecture noticed an upward trend in Australia’s imprisonment rate; by 2015, 151 out every 100,000 adults were imprisoned (Walmsley, 2015). Additionally, in my second reflective journal, I identified how the criminalisation of mental illness under transinstitutionalism has led to growth in prison populations. Ultimately, these facts suggest that imprisonment is following a trend of upward growth. Yet this growth in prison populations impedes the state’s ability to respond effectively. For example, in Winn Correctional Centre, corrections officers receive only four weeks of training, which betrays the extent of how ill-equipped prisons are (Bauer, 2016). Moreover, this growth in prison populations plants the seeds of ‘legal cynicism’ amongst over-policed vulnerable communities (Kirk and Matsuda, 2011, p.443). Kirk and Matsuda described ‘legal cynicism’ as a community’s perception that the state’s power is ‘illegitimate’ which increases resistance to the state, and by extension, impedes the state’s ability to respond to crime (Kirk and Matsuda, 2011, p.444-46). Ultimately, through my studies, it became clear to me that the state’s recent move towards imprisonment is a self-defeating