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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 7 page research paper that concerns a proposed bill for doubling the maximum prison term for armed robbery, which is due to come up for a vote soon. While this bill is very popular, there are aspects of public policy that must be considered in order to make a reasoned, logical decision on this piece of legislation that is in the best interest of the overall public welfare. This necessitates careful examination of the assumptions behind the proposed legislation and whether these assumptions are correct. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
Page Count:
7 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khsenarm.rtf
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of public policy that must be considered in order to make a reasoned, logical decision on this piece of legislation that is in the best interest of the overall public
welfare. This necessitates careful examination of the assumptions behind the proposed legislation and whether these assumptions are correct. Due to such policy mandates as the "three strikes and youre
out," which were enacted in a plethora of states in the late 1990s, the majority of American prisons are grossly overcrowded. California, for example, has 8,000 people serving 25 years
to life (Mauer, 2007). The justification for the incredibly huge number of people who are incarcerated in the U.S., which is more than any other industrialized nation, is the assumption
that the time served has a direct correlation with recidivism. The assumption is that "increasing time served in prison" will have the effect of "reducing recidivism, either through individual deterrence
or rehabilitation" (Mauer, 2007, p. 702). This is a vital assumption to consider in determining how to vote on the proposed sentencing bill, as a young offender, even if the
sentence is 25 years, will eventually be released and reenter society. Research studies show that the time served "does not influence recidivism" (Mauer, 2007, p. 702). Despite the longer
sentences imposed throughout the U.S., data from the Department of Justice indicates that recidivism rates are extremely high, as two-third of all released prisoners commit new crimes and return to
prison within three years (Mauer, 2007). There is no appreciable difference between people who spend one to five years in prison concerning recidivism; however, the recidivism rate does decline after
the five year mark (Mauer, 2007). At first glance, this statistic seems to substantiate the effectiveness of longer sentencing, but it is also true that the rate at which people
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