Offender College Essays Samples For Students

Introduction

The type and theory of punishment a convicted criminal receives different in different parts of the world. The rehabilitative theory of punishment had been used predominately in early America but had the system has transformed into a retributive model. Many Western Countries adhere to the theory of rehabilitation as a theory of punishment. On the other hand, there are many countries to favor the retributive model of punishment. Middle Eastern, African and Asian countries adhere to the idea that the offender must pay for the crime. Both the rehabilitative and retribution theory of punishment have social and philosophical implications. ...

Introduction

One of the most common strategies of criminal defense attorneys when representing a defendant who has an unusual condition such as a mental abnormality, is to argue either that regardless of their actions, they are nevertheless not responsible for the crime or that they never had the capacity to commit a crime. The reason that criminal defense attorneys can make these arguments is that criminal law recognizes a number of unique situations where otherwise criminal conduct should not be subjected to a determination of guilt and the offender should be exempted from the crime (LaFave, 2000). These arguments, which ...

According to Mackenzie (2002) about five million or more individuals are under criminal justice system supervision and authority in the United States of America. Close to 1.6 million are housed in local, state or federal correctional facilities. An estimated 70% of these individuals are supervised in either probation or parole, which are forms of community corrections. The suggestion here is that a large part of the correctional population at any one point is under the supervision of corrections in the United States (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1997). About 3.8 individuals both men and women are in community parole and ...

Reduction of crime is the dream of any criminal justice system. In the era where the rate of crime has significantly increased due to the use of sophisticated weapons and technology, there is an increasing necessity for the government and other stakeholders to ensure that such crimes are minimized. Having strict punishment mechanisms is one of the strategies geared towards the reduction of crimes. In Canada, this approach is the most common. Its proponents give a two-fold argument about its role in reducing crime. First, they argue that the offender is ‘locked behind bars’, hence temporarily separated from the ...

What are 5 variables evaluated by judicial authorities to sentence offenders?

Judicial authorities must consider each individual criminal case based on the facts of the crime when determining the type and length of punishment. Included in the facts are variety of variables that must be evaluated. The judge will consider whether the defendant is a first time criminal offender or a repeat offender. The judge will also consider the role the defendant played in the crime. The motives behind the offense may also be considered, as well as the extent of injuries suffered by the victim. Additionally, the judge will consider whether the defendant is remorseful about the crime committed. ...

Introduction

Punishment is the system used by society to enforce the desired standards of conduct, and to deal with the offender after a crime has been committed . Two common theories of punishment include the retribution theory and the incapacitation theory. The retribution theory seeks to punish an offender who has committed a criminal act. The incapacitation theory seeks to deter or prevent future crime. Both theories seek to convey justice.

Retribution theory

The retribution theory of punishment is the oldest theory of punishment. The retribution theory of punishment rests on the idea that those who violate the law should be punished for ...

Introduction

Correctional program is a planned undertaking which addresses factors connected/related to offender’s criminal behavior. It helps in assisting in the rehabilitation of offenders and their reintegration into the community as responsible citizens who are law are abiding. This can be achieved by making them provide programs in the prison and in the community. (Bonta 2007)
Some of the correctional programs are community based. They are supervised to deal with convicted people and does not base its operation in cases of confinement of the prisoners. Some of the commonly used methods of community correction include Parole and probation. There ...

A sexual offender is a person who has committed a sex crime, which is punishable by law. Sex crimes, on the other hand, are determined by a particular area’s laws and jurisdiction and they determine whether a person’s actions fall under sexual offense or otherwise. In many countries, sex crimes are in fact major crimes which are kept side by side with other crimes like physical assault or breaking traffic rules. While some crimes committed by sex offenders are strictly sexual in nature, others might be those that are a violation of those who are chosen by ...

If I were a correctional administrator at the boot camp, I would subscribe to the psychological, sociological and behavioral model of treatment for these offenders. I would prefer the use of this model rather than the medical model even though the medical model is more commonly used. This model is preferable because it will account for all aspects of the life of the offender rather than just the offender’s psychological status. Conducting a risk assessment of the offender and evaluating these factors can allow for a better understanding of the offender which would allow for treatment more specifically ...

Alternatives to incarceration refer to any punishment for crime, which does not involve sending an offender to prison for a jail term (Joseph and Wesley 15). Such alternatives to incarceration include parole, probation, fines or community service. Having such alternatives to incarceration gives judges a wide range of sentencing options to judges. They also help to reduce congestion in state correctional facilities. Mostly these options are awarded to the less violent offenders, especially those that have been accused of dealing with petty crime or selling less harmful drugs and on a small scale. This paper will look into how ...

Mental illnesses are the mental disorders that cause changes in a person’s thinking, emotion, and behaviour. The illnesses are likely to cause problems to a person’s social and work functioning (Parekh, 2015). There is inadequate knowledge and skills on how to deal with people with these disorders. The involvement of mentally ill people in the criminal justice system continues to increase, which raises concern for administrators, policy makers, and treatment providers in the justice system. This is one area that requires change and people to be more educated on the subject. I had a chance to work ...

(Institute/College)

Domestic disputes

Domestic violence is a gender related crime that has been occurring for a significant period of time, but is one that has a short record. Much of the criminal jurisprudence in the United States defines this behavior as abuse against the wives or against intimate partners. American criminal codices that list down the action as a specific crime rather than lump it together within the general crime of assault define it as “family” or “domestic” violence (Erez, 2002). Texas law has identified three distinct acts of domestic violence: “domestic assault,” “aggravated domestic assault,” and “continuous violence against the ...

Mission

The mission of the program is to rehabilitate former personnel of an armed forces division. The program requires the perpetrator to undergo a lengthy process between six to twenty-four months. During this time, the perpetrator will pay for lab services and any other additional clinical testing. The goal is to provide effective assistance and enabling offenders to rejoin society successfully. This is one way to arrest recidivism among repeat offenders who might yield to disciplinary conditions and reform (Tarrant County, 2016).

Type of offender

The type of offender for the program is either a first time offender, repeat offender of a specific ...

Historical Origins of Correctional Enterprise

Correctional systems are institutions for rehabilitating criminals. They include prisons and community- based systems. After being convicted in court, criminals may spend time in correctional systems away from friends and family. There are different types of correctional systems classified according to the government level in which they function: private, local, state or federal. They can also be classified according to the level of security, age, and gender (Waldron, et al. 2009). Most correctional systems run Correctional Enterprise programs that provide opportunities for prisoners to learn new skills, be productive, and responsible. This initiative’s objective is to instill values ...

The meaning of sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment - sexual acts expressed verbally (threats, intimidation, indecent remarks) or physically (touches, feeling etc.) character. Sexual harassment that is unwelcome sexual behavior to another person - including touching or explicit sexual content. However, sometimes it is difficult to define whether someone just teases or flirts, or there is sexual harassment. What is elaborate sexual harassment in cultural countries? It is not only the offender desiring to have sex. And, not only a danger, in which a prey is invited to either transfer to sexual demands or be in pain with the actions of rapist. The basic characteristic ...

Over the years, several problems have emerged in relations to parole management. At some point in time, parole management posed several challenges that people began to think that perhaps it’s something that is relatively impractical; however, intense pressure was laid to law enforcement agencies to come up with programs that could effectively work. Parole is just but a status of a convicted offender being released conditionally from prison before the actual expiry of the incarceration period by a paroling authority (Donald, 2011). Due to this reason, the inmates are thoroughly supervised by the relevant authority; moreover, they are ...

According to Turvey (2000), precautionary acts refer to a criminal offender’s behaviors committed before, during or after the commission of an offense and which are consciously and intentionally intended to defeat, hamper or confuse investigation of the crime. They are acts of staged crime scenes and events that are meant to mislead the authorities and redirect the investigation of the crime and circumstances surrounding the commission of the crime in question. They are simulated acts meant to conceal a crime by interfering with evidence at the crime scene. This makes it difficult for the investigating authorities to come ...

Community based correctional programs are a commonly used alternative to prison. They are an effective option especially when it comes to reducing recidivism, are cheaper, and also prevents overcrowding in prison. In this case, the community based program will feature several aspects.
First, it will feature a functional family therapy. Every individual needs the input of family members to change. Unfortunately for offenders, it becomes difficult to relate positively with family members. This aspect will ensure that the offender not only avoids risky behavior, but also experiences improved functioning across key life domains (Klingele, 2015). Family members will be ...

Introduction

Psychological evaluation of juvenile offenders is an important part of the juvenile court system. This is because the main purpose of the juvenile justice system is the rehabilitation of the juvenile offenders who exhibit different psychological problems and others are raised by dysfunctional families. This means that a juvenile offender may require psychological treatment, assistance with their education, or treatment for a substance abuse problem. Provision of the right rehabilitation service will help in reducing the chances of recidivism. The psychological evaluation of the juvenile offenders may reveal some valuable information to the juvenile court that might assist in ...

Contrary to doubts of some, crime victim compensation programs are a necessary element of the criminal justice system. Victim compensation programs are not only essential to a fair society but also express what it means to live in a civilized society. In addition, they have become so common as to become a custom that must be followed.
It is a natural fact of modern life that for most crimes, the victim is the weakest party. The victim’s weakness remains throughout the criminal justice process. Indeed, a victim must rely on: the police to find and arrest the perpetrator ...

With the issue of crime, the levels of criminal recidivism and high rates of incarceration becoming more and a more serious, there has been a need to find ways of reducing the emphasis on punishment within the US criminal justice system. One of the ways through which this objective can be achieved has been found after years of studies and research to lie in rehabilitation as an alternative mechanism for dealing with criminal offenders within the justice system. Thus, there have been calls to integrate rehabilitation and punishment as a parallel strategy of controlling crime and recidivism.

The Theoretical Perspectives of Rehabilitation Strategies

The main ...

Justice is the principle and the process of being fair, righteous and equitable (Tonry, M. H., 2011). It is concerned with the result of using the law somewhat so as to punish and judge criminals and their crimes. Justice comes in different types. These are customary adversarial, retributive justice, and restorative justice. Retributive justice emphasizes on finding a wrongdoing and punishing it. It stresses that a crime deserves a penalty as long as it is an equal reaction to the offense committed (Van, Strong, 2013). Conversely, restorative justice aims at rehabilitating the victim, the offenders and the community that ...

Retributive rationale and Utilitarian Rationale

In retributive rationale, the idea of retribution is to ensure that an act of wrong is balanced in the form of punishment inflicted on the offender (Blackburn, Fowler and Pollock, 2012). It is important to note that retribution does not involve a revenge mission as the people giving the punishment have been given the authority to do so by law. The process of deciding the punishment to be done on the offender requires a certain specific procedure to be followed (Blackburn, Fowler and Pollock, 2012). The victim cannot be granted the power to provide punishment for the offender as ...

Introduction

Located in the Eastern part of Haiti, Jamaica is a country that is well known for its popularity in reggae music. Beings an island in the Caribbean, Jamaica is a small country with a population of nearly three million people. Nearly a third of the population resides in the capital city of Jamaica which is referred to as Kingston. Despite having the rate of crime high as a result of drug abuse by most of the young population, the country has been politically stable for a long time. However, drug abuse has been a major problem affecting the majority of the population. This is proved by ...

I believe that it is possible for an offender to reform him or herself and reenter into the society as a responsible citizen. However, this depends on the rehabilitation programs and process that he or she passes through. Giligan (2012) reveals that rehabilitation process gives an offender an opportunity to understand his or her offense thus assisting him or her to rectify such an offense and seize from doing it completely instead of punishment. Besides, it encourages the offender to take advantage of various constructive patterns that allow him or her to act according to the will of the ...

Criminal background checks in society are very important, and they can determine the behavioral of an individual. For example; if someone has a habit of drinking or driving, and they do not learn from their ways, it may be necessary to do a criminal background check, in order to see previous activities that the individual may have been involved in. More importantly though, when it comes to criminal background checks, there are times where it may be essential to demonstrate a scenario, as this may help determine how the individuals, or various individuals, would handle a criminal background situation ...

Parole officers work in either a correctional facility or serve the community. This discussion focuses on the roles of a parole officer attached to a correctional facility, and the importance he or she helps towards steering the convicts in the right step of life. Principally, a parole officer manages and supervises multiple offenders, and ensures their behavior soundness (Gaines, & Miller, 2009). Besides, these officers work within the stipulated policy framework to provide judgments and follow-ups on the behavioral trends of the convicts. Also, the officer ensures closer contact with the offender while maintaining high level of management and supervision.
...

According to Barnet (2002), white-collar crime is defined as the crime committed by people that have respectable and high social status in different occupations and societies. However, the definition does not delineate the scope under which the criminal behaviors fall in white-collar criminality. The rise of white-collar criminality resulted from the difference in inattention given to it compared to the street level crimes where offenders were of low status. The definition of white-collar criminality varies depending on the type of offender, type of offense, and the type of organizational culture in which the crime is committed. For instance, the ...

Incarceration is used to deter juveniles from committing crimes, making the juvenile system more punitive. Serious juvenile crimes are those of a violent in nature, as reported in the FBI Uniform Crime Report. Juvenile arrests for robbery were alarming as this increased more than 30% since 2004 (Roberts 3). Female offenders for robbery have also increased, as reported in 1985 to 2002. Drug abuse violations rank next, but could also be the reason for committing robbery and violent crimes. This kind of juvenile offenses can be considered serious and needs more severe punishment. However, the question here is the ...

French criminalist Edmond Locard is credited with establishing the “Exchange Principle”, which states in relevant part that a criminal offender necessarily leaves something at the crime scene, that if discovered will or can be used to identify him (Forensics). Nowhere is this both truer and less accurate than in the perpetration of crimes in a digital era. The increasing integration of technology into every facet of life and they myriad ways that people, both law abiding and criminally deviant, make use of technology has provided law enforcement authorities with a number of advantages, as well as more than a ...

Reasons for Using Diversion in the Criminal Justice System

Diversion is an attempt by the criminal justice system to divert or channel out offenders from the justice system. The program is normally executed by the police departments, the court systems, and the attorneys who want to have the offenders evade the charges in which they are responsible for. Some of the problem solving courts usually uses the diversion technique to try and have the criminals solve the case out of the court (Quay, 1977). The Diversion program is usually used for a number of reasons. In most cases, there are two types of diversions: the formal and the ...

The U.S criminal justice system faces a myriad of challenges, particularly within the last two decades. The prison and penitentiary population reached its optimal level and parole and probation numbers over-doubled. For instance, in 2009 seven million Americans were put under supervision either by federal or state criminal justice systems. These high numbers of offenders under supervision are an indication of the systemic failures in the criminal justice system (Robinson 31). There are two main classifications of criminal justice systems in America, the state and federal criminal justice system. These two systems play a role in identification and prosecution ...

The community has been struggling with the efforts to have a proper justice system for youth offenders. It is inevitable that there are a lot of crimes that are perpetuated by youths. Juvenile justice system has been designed to cater their needs. This would include the immediate family of the offender. What is really the essence of juvenile justice system?
The treatment for youth offenders over the years has been changing. In the ancient times, the crimes made by youth are still punishable on the same level with adult’s punishment. This has been contested through civilizations. In the ...

In what ways do the five sentencing philosophies provide difference answers to this question?

In what ways do the five sentencing philosophies provide different answers to this question?
Classical theories provide that punishment should fit the crime. In order for punishment to fit the crime, criminal law should provide reasonable penalties for crimes and the criminal justice system should apply these penalties in a reasonable manner (Akers, 1999). Scientific alternative interventions for criminal behavior point to pathways for fitting punishment to the criminal. Whether the punishment fits the crime or the punishment fits the criminal depends on which of the five sentencing philosophies govern the punishment of a crime.
Deterrence is one sentencing ...

Guilty or Not Guilty

Criminal behavior and cognitive impairment have a thin line of division as to how the criminal in question ought to get punished or if they need punishing at all. The term ‘mentally disordered offender’ is always used, referring to the individual who suffers from a disability or mind disorder and who is suspect to having committed a crime. Even though the question of having this condition is complex where crime is committed, the public needs protection from such an unstable person to prevent cases of crime. The following essay seeks to establish the extent that the system of criminal ...

The death penalty is defined by Alesina & La Ferrara, (2014) as the kind of punishment given to individuals who have committed capital crimes. When trying to justify punishment, one can adopt either a consequentialist or retributive justification. Pojman arguments in favor of the court’s decision is a combination of consequentialist and retributive reasons. Consequentialist justification views that harming those who have committed wrongdoing serves as an example to those who may want to do the same in future.
Retributivists on the other hand claim that physically harming those who have committed criminal offenses is an intrinsic good. According ...

Inductive and Deductive Profiling

Inductive profiling goes by the assumption that known and unknown criminals of a categorical offending host certain similar features in spite of different crime scenes. As such, the law enforcement agencies apply the traits of known offenders and past crimes to the identify suspects, who are the unknown subjects. Although this form of profiling is ideal for rapid generation of leads to potential culprits, it may be challenging given that different individuals may engage in similar behavior for different reasons (Yonge, & Jacquin, 2013). Hence, inductive profiling relies on group data in the identification of suspects.
The classification systems of ...

Abstract

The application of the rule of law as well as driving the use of the law towards the creation of a law abiding society is the limelight towards the creation of a society which does not condone crime and its sycophants. Enforcing law is one of the most effective mechanisms of controlling crime in any area. The use of the police as a law enforcement mechanism encourages peaceful coexistence within the society. The control of crime is usually a major step in discouraging crimes in communities. In the places where there are high cases of criminal cases reported, the ...

The man cannot be separated from many things. He cannot live without food, air and water. However, it’s not the complete list of items that are necessary for human existence. Humanity is also obsessed with the violence. Throughout the whole history, people invented a lot of different methods of punishment, murder and torture.
So, the human history is full of cruelty and violence. Consequently, it’s possible to talk an infinitely long time about how some representatives of humanity have punished, tortured, and killed others more unfortunate representatives of mankind. However, we’d remember only the most noteworthy ...

Child Abuse

Abstract
This paper addresses child sexual abuse as a crime that impacts the victim psychologically, leading to long-term devastating consequences. Over the last three centuries, the number of children who have experienced sexual abuse is staggering. Also, there are many unreported cases mainly incest. Importantly, child sexual assault in the U.S. emerged as a social problem due to the high number of assault reports and lack of policies to curb the vice (Goodyear-Brown, 2011). Traditional laws were only protective as opposed to contemporary legislation that punishes the offenders. Also, children protective agencies didn’t address the issue of incest ...

A chronic juvenile offender is a young person having multiple criminal convictions that are spread over multiple criminal events (Baglivio, et al., 2014). The young offenders are either 11 years and younger having committed ten offences and have been arrested within twelve months or between 12 and 15 years with 15 offences and have been arrested over a duration of eighteen months. These offenders are also responsible for majority of the violent crimes (Fox, et al., 2015).
Thomas Jones cannot be classified as a chronic young offender since this is his first time to commit the offence. Henry Thompson ...

(College/Institute)
Crime scenes are studied and analyzed as if it were telling a story. In order to be able to ensure a “good ending,” that is the arrest, prosecution, and if warranted, conviction and imprisonment of the perpetrator, certain factors must be analyzed to help in the identification of the suspect. Behavioral patterns such as writing patterns, verbal and non-verbal movements, and speech instances all predict the ways that a person will act in certain situations. This distinct behavioral pattern must be consistent and is independent of the variable of the impact of the activity being done (Douglas, Munn, ...

Introduction

People commit a variety of crimes on a daily basis. Some crimes are minor incidents that do not have an extensive consequence or sentence to uphold by the offender. There are crimes that are committed that are in a higher bracket and these crimes have a more serious sentence. People often commit a crime for a number of reasons. Some crimes committed were not even done by the person who was charged in the incident. There needs to be proof or evidence that can place the alleged criminal at the crime scene when it accrued. It is important that ...

There are several differences between probation and parole and this paper goes into detail to discuss the differences between these two and to give examples of each.
According to Latessa and Smith (2015, p. 42), “probation represents one of the unique developments within the criminal justice system” and goes on to define probation as “a conditional sentence that avoids an offender being incarcerated; in other words, it is an alternative disposition available to the court.” Similarly, Petersilia (1997, p. 149) notes that The American Correctional Association defines parole as “a court-ordered dispositional alternative through which an adjudicated offender is ...

Nomothetic profiles are used to develop the features of an offender by examining a group of offenders, and even though they do not give an actual feature, they give a possibility of offenders. This study focuses on examining the characteristic of a distinguished group and come up with theories about specific cases. They are also hypothetical in that, they are not far from the actual truth about a group because they use extensive measures to get knowledge about criminal and their distinguished groups (Petherick & Turvey, 2008).
The principle objective of nomothetic profiles is to collect as much information as ...

Theoretical Essay

In the world of law punishment (alternative name – penalty) is considered as an “infliction of some kind of pain or loss upon a person for misdeed (i.e., the transgression of a law or command).”1
Penalty may take different forms and vary from forced labor, flogging, body mutilation, fines and imprisonment to the capital punishment. The punishment has been very retributive, mostly in the form of revenge, during the pre-modern ages and usually the prosecution was executed by the victims or their families. There was not any proportion between the quantity and quality of wrongdoing and the punishment. The ...

Question 1

According to Tregeagle and Orr (2003), they argued that there are many Australian children that at one point or another, during their influential years, are not be cared for adequately. For many, this is a brief period that passes however for some; this maltreatment lasts beyond theirtender years and impacts their life. The abuse of children can be defined as any non-accidental behaviour by any adult in the child’s life that causes physical or psychological harm. The behaviour can be intentional, such as abuse, or unintentional, such as neglect (Bromfield, 2005; (Christoffel et al., 1992).
It was meant ...

A growing number of the Uber drivers and the consequences of cheaper and faster transport could be reached in expense of greater risks and lack of safety. All should know the safety stakes of getting into the Uber car. The real question is does the new online transportation or rideshare network as one of the fastest growing industries in the world with the provision of a more convenient and substantial service than traditional taxi cap represents greatest safety risks for the customers.
Uber Technologies Inc. (Uber) is the largest online transportation network company and one of the most popular ...

The United States is a very large and complex entity filled with diverse races, cultures, ideologies, philosophies, belief systems and perspectives. That said establishing a societal structure that encourages diversity and autonomy, but also establishes standards, rules and laws that outline the nation, is no easy feat. The American criminal justice system has been praised as one of the most ethical and just in comparison with other such systems across the globe. While that may have been true many years ago, many modern thinkers and American citizens, today feel that the criminal justice system is highly flawed and is ...

The rebuttal of the presumption of innocence amongst under-aged children is done in cases when a child commits a serious crime. Thus, when a child between ages 13 and 16 commits a serious crime like murder or aggravated sexual assault, such a child is charged like an adult. In spite of this, such a process leads to serious consequences for these underage offenders who are often below their formative years. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impacts of charging minors who commit serious crimes like adults. This will include the review of the implications and possibility ...

Introduction

In the modern world, criminal cases are on the rise and the government is not taking any chance for the victims to go unpunished. It is due to this emergence that a Criminal Justice System was formed by lawyers for the lawyers themselves, and the resultant solution was that victims and offenders for their first-time trial should deny the guilt charges against them even when the guilt of the offense. Through research, it was evident that most of the crimes committed were due to poverty, low education, severe murder and unemployment (Canadian Resource Centre for Victims, 2011).

Considering the rights of Victims in Restorative Justice.

Proper restorative ...

COR160

Assignment 02
SIM University
The case for Reformative Training in Singapore is complex. As Reformative Training is applied to younger offenders, scale and gravity of charges vary considerably for each case as to render enforcement of Reformative Training questionable. For opponents, Reformative Training is not enough and more harsh sentences should be applied to younger offenders since, to opponents, younger offenders are not rehabitable. For proponents, Reformative Training is an effective rehabilitation method for younger offenders since younger offenders are different from older offenders. There are, indeed, numerous aspects to Reformative Training. For current purposes, Reformative Training is defended ...

This paper will deal with two general issues. The first is that of whether restitution should be paid by an offender to his or her victim of the crime committed. The second issue will address types of restitution obligations that have been imposed upon offenders upon conviction.
Going forward, it is important to understand that there is a difference between compensation and restitution. Restitution is generally court-ordered, and must be paid by the offender to the victim following determination of guilt. Compensation is usually a state program that assists victims of crime whether or not there may be a ...

In the history of American law and justice, the first juvenile court was established in1899. The Juvenile Justice and Correctional Process is made up of a few phases that are utilized to help the child whose age ranges between 7 to 18 years for the interest of the both the society and the youths. In addition, there are guidelines on judgment techniques, circumstances, and contribution that contrast inside states. Thus, the objective of this essay is to investigate the juvenile procedure and correction in California while considering the case study of Colleen a 15 year old who was arrested ...

Psychological testing was developed to examine the cognitive and behavioral aspects of a patient. A variety of tests have been created to evaluate the individual to determine either the diagnosis of the individual or simply to attain an assessment or evaluation of the individual. Each test discussed below can provide advantages to the forensic setting. The validity and reliability of these tests have been extensively evaluated and are discussed.
1. Mental Status Exam
The Mental Status Exam (“MSE”) is used to evaluate a patient’s mental functions and behaviors. The MSE was created as a tool for clinical psychologists ...

The debate on whether minors should be held in the same stature as adults for equal crimes is one that has been raging on for a long period. The debate is occasioned by the enticing argument that any form of societal and criminal misconduct should always be tackled by undertaking tougher punishments on offenders regardless of age. However, applying the same metric of punishment to juveniles as adults is not the solution. It is especially the case considering that research indicates that minors that receive adult sentences become more likely repeat offenders as opposed to those that go through ...

The objective of prisons is mainly to ensure the public’s safety, reform an offender and upon the completion of their sentence, reintegrate them back in the society. According to Cole, Smith, and DeJong (2015), the duration of one’s sentence varies depending on the type of offense, an individual’s record, as well as other considerations. In order to achieve the underlying aim of the prison structure, it is imperative for offenders to serve their sentences in appropriate prisons to facilitate behavior change. In this regard, as per the case study presented, Austin is best suited for minimum, ...

Since punishment is one of the basic elements of the criminal justice system, all criminal justice actors including probation officers are deeply influenced by theories that justify criminal punishment. To be sure, for probation officers, two of the more common considered theories of punishment are incapacitation and rehabilitation. Incapacitation refers to the idea that an offender should be imprisoned or otherwise restrained in order to limit their opportunities to commit a crime (LaFave, 2000). Rehabilitation, on the other hand, refer to the theory that offenders should be provided the opportunity to reform and change themselves into a law-abiding system ( ...

Crimes against Persons

Crimes against persons are those criminal conducts punishable under penal law and which are mainly committed against individuals as the victims (Gardner & Anderson, 2014, p.25). In such categories of crimes, the perpetrator or offender normally has the intention to cause the victim actual grievous bodily injury and harm. Examples of crimes under this category include rape, assault and murder.

Crimes against Property

These are a category of crimes in which the offender intends to take another person’s property with the intention of permanently depriving the owner of the property without necessarily intending to use force against them. Examples of these crimes ...

Federal Sentencing Guidelines

First, the court determines the guideline applicable to the offense committed by convicted defendant. In cases where the defendant offers a plea that establishes the commission of a more serious offense, the defendant is deemed to have committed extra offenses. However, the guidelines are not applied to misdemeanors and infractions. The base offense level is then determined according to the characteristics of the committed offense and any special instruction in the specific guideline applied. Adjustments are then made according to the harm done to the victim, the role played by the defendant in the offense, and any obstruction of ...