Introduction
The contemporary world is in a huge crisis brought about by floods, famine, and epidemics such as the current coronavirus. More money is needed to cater for the major sectors of nations to avoid the extinction of the human race. This calls for absolute consideration in the budgeting of the national sectors. Among the national sectors is the criminal l justice system, which has also required allocation of funds to run correctional centers and facilitate prison day to day activities. However, the criminal justice system has overtime faced budgeting issues.
The issue of budgeting in the criminal justice system has been highlighted in one of the articles of the news organization. This article examines the encounters the administration of the criminal justice system faces in the State of Hawaii. The author has presented readers with the idea of criminal justice administration regarding how funds are managed and distributed in this system. Furthermore, there are recommendations on what can be adopted to lessen the challenges administrators of the criminal justice system face in their line of work.
The Article
Following the rough childhood encounters the author had to endure through seeing some friends go prison, this article is appropriate as it has a direct link to beloved ones. In the state of Hawaii, there was a bid presented by the Senator to push the improvement of the criminal justice system. The U.S Senate passed legislation act, which was aimed at improving the justice system by reducing the costs as well as expressing acts of compassion. The Senate proposed the “Granting Release and Compassion Effectively (GRACE) Act” aimed at improving the prison bureau.
Administrators in the criminal sector are constantly I need of funds for litigation, law enforcement, detention, technology, and daily basic needs, especially in prisons. Therefore, budgeting has to be price, including allowances for emerges, especially in this contemporary dynamic world. However, the funds to sponsor all those sections of the criminal justice system have to come from the taxpayers. In this regard, the Senate proposal was based on releasing the elderly and ill inmates who take up much of resources even though they are less of a threat to the society once pardoned. On average, this group of inmates costs prisons $25,000, which is more than what the average inmates cost (Rudolf,2012). According to Senator Schatz, there are deaths reported in jails that do not really have to be. He reported that the decision making process becomes too long, and so compassion is needed to be exercised. Schatz quotes the prison system is broken, and once the law is fully passed, then there will be more accountability, and the sick and elderly inmates will be pardoned (BigIslandNow.Com, 2018). This is a step towards managing funds in the criminal justice system.
Articles Conclusion and Recommendation
Even though compassion is a gesture of good faith, some would differ, saying that there is no concrete basis to release inmates who have not served their term. A review of the compassion proposal by the Inspector General in the department of justice highlights that there are unclear standards in making compassionate decisions. Senator Schatz led a team of senators in directing the bureau to investigate and highlighting the plans and recommendations regarding the compassion issue. Based on past reviews, it takes four months on average to approve applications on compassionate release and almost six months for a denial of the application to be passed. During this time, the inmates are still using the medical facilities and special care for the elderly, which require funding. Therefore, the bureau inspector was yet to release a statement on their stand in regard to the budgetary issue facing the criminal justice system.
Elderly in prison
For the past three decades, there has been a rise in the number of older people in prions. Among the reason for such a rise is the delayed decision making by the court systems as well as harsh n long sentences to lawbreakers. Since the 1980s, elderly inmates have been reported to increase up to 1,300 percent (Rudolf, 2012). The American Civil Liberties Union issued a statement that’s there are over 125,000 inmates who are above 55 years sourcing a prison sentence across the nation. Everyone knows that the elderly requires extra care, and they are susceptible to diseases. Therefore, this is an issue many would agree to have to be analyses and decisions made to avoid more crises in the global economy. On approximation, $16 billion every year is spent by the federal government and states in handling the elderly prisoners even though they are more likely to have zero threats to the society once pardoned. The continued push to amend this law is based on the fact that the economy is unstable, and administrators in criminal justice are finding it difficult to budget for every segment of the system. Doctors, medications, caregivers, wheelchairs, and wheelchair accessible strictures all require funding. If this issue is not solved, the next several years will face an economic crisis, and the criminal justice system will be among the major contributing factors to the crisis. The number of elderly inmates will continue to rise throughout the years, and more and more funding will be required. This consequently affects other crucial sectors of the nation, and taxpayers continue to suffer. The housing costs which the elderly inmates require are threatening the state and federal budgets. But the question remains to be whether it is worth spending all that money on a fading and less significant part of the human population.
Elderly Early Release Program
Studies show that the likelihood of a person committing a crime in their old age tends to zero. Therefore, there is less likely that an old age prisoner will commit a new crime once pardoned (Rudolf,2012). Such people lack the energy and mind to subject themselves to criminal acts. So, the question is, why are the elderly still in prison using resources, yet they pose no threat to society.
Based on the study carried out by Luallen & Kling (2014), highlight that the problems the elderly and ill inmates are having are straining the criminal justice budget there for making the system appear broken. They indicate that harsher sentences, slow decision making of courts, and ineffective early release will continue to haunt the state and the federal budget as they try to act tough on lawbreakers. However, some still argue that lawbreakers deserve to “rot in prison.”
Conclusion and Recommendation
Following the strain, the elderly and the sick inmates are causing on the criminal justice system budgets; it is proposed that there should be a program which advocates for parole, probation as well as pardoning such inmates. The world has more severe issues to deal with, and they require funding, which is not available. The proposed program will be called E.E.R (Elderly Early Release), and it must establish a clear mission and vision and whether people find it a genuine idea to support it. The program will constitute release advocates who can argue on behalf of the elderly inmates and give an assurance of the lesson learned by such inmates on the basis that not more crime is expected once pardoned. Furthermore, the program staff will conduct a background check on the inmates to determine the worth of release of each elderly inmate. This will involve speaking with wardens, local officers from inmate hometown as well as parole officers to reach an agreement. There will also be a program to assist such inmates once they are released or go on probation. The idea is to make them have a life; otherwise, they will be another burden in society. According to Amber Heckler (of after55.com), there will be a cost in developing facilities to help the elderly earn a livelihood, but compare to their cost in prison; it is far much better. Heckler states that an assisted facility can cost up to $45,000 per year. Once compared to $11,000 spending per elderly inmate a year, then such a program is a better option. In this regard, administrators will be able to handle budget issues better and ensure an effective criminal justice system.
