Budgeting issues in criminal justice systems Essay

One of the reasons why jails still exist despite overcrowding is the budget allotted for the criminal justice administration. But the sudden rise in the number of prisoners posed a problem when it comes to budgeting. The article on policies and procedures of correctional facilities operated by the Multnomah County clearly shows that it has been experiencing financial shortage due to faulty budgeting. The article shows that it is very expensive to accommodate a prisoner, which costs $157/day in Multnomah County. This is expensive compared to the rate of jail systems in other counties. This was attributed to the labor contracts which resulted to raised labor costs, extraordinarily high medical costs which led to high cost of the overall system in jail, ineffective jail staffing pattern, abuse of sick leave, overtime and compensatory time and increase in the Sheriff’s budget. Aside from all of these, the Multnomah County has a very expensive juvenile detention facility. It costs $401/day to accommodate a juvenile. The article further shows that the Sheriff’s Office has practiced budgeting techniques which hid the management practices of the organization. This resulted to difficulty of finding out the different organization functions. Even the district attorney’s office has to seek the help of a financial analyst to make sense of the financial outline of the jail system. What the county requires is a program called â€Å"priority-based budgeting. Each department of the jail system must present program offers for the county commissioners to fund. However, some of these program offers are rejected. The Sheriff’s office has a total of 66 funding program offers that the county commission has approved. The priority-based budgeting was applied so that the commissioners can make an informed decision from an accurate financial picture of the different programs. This enabled the commissioners to be knowledgeable in whether funding or rejecting a particular program. The article concluded that the outside help of a financial consultant was necessary to analyze the Sheriff’s costs and budgets. It was noted that â€Å"it is a natural and understandable inclination of a government agency† to do the budgeting practices discussed in the article. The DA’s office thought that similar practices have been done by other government agencies in the county. It was suggested that the commission should collaborate more with the Sheriff. The county commissioners should understand the operations that they fund so that the problems might not occur again. The workgroup of the jail systems should focus on the Sheriff’s cost reporting and budgeting practices so that they can partake in any decisions to make. The commission should also found a work group that will inspect the jails and report frequently to the commissioners. This work group must consist of representatives from the law enforcement agencies in the county, the County Chair, the County Commissioner, the United States Attorney, the administrator for the federal facility at Sheridan, representatives from the business community, a representative from the medical community, the Department of Corrections, an independent financial analyst and the District Attorney. The law also requires that the county should include the state Department of Corrections in every operation of the local jails. However, whatever responsibilities the Department of Corrections is assigned by the law should not be carried out by the Sheriff’s Association. The article strongly advises that a healthy relationship must be established between the county Sheriff and the Board of Commissioners. Any solution to the problems must start from this perspective since all other problems stemmed from a breakdown to that relationship. The other article addressing budgeting issue is titled â€Å"Will part-time prison cut crime or costs? † by Nick Morrison. The article says that British Home Secretary David Blunkett proposed that some inmates be given freedom on weekends to relieve the growing population of prisoners in jails. Those inmates who are dangerous could be provided with electronic tags and they could stay out of jail for a month. They could also work during the week and spend the weekend in jail. Many questioned this proposal whether it is a way to fight the crimes or to cut costs, particularly Norman Brennan, director of the Victims of Crime Trust. He sees this proposal as the government’s admission to defeat in solving crimes, even though Blunkett promised to be tough on car-jackers and phone thieves. Brennan thinks that it has to do with money problems and not reducing crime why Blunkett allowed this kind of arrangement for the prisoners. It was hard for the government to spend a lot of money in keeping prisoners. Moreover, Brennan argued that it is more important to keep the prisoners in jails and out of the streets to protect the victims of crimes and the public, even though it is expensive to do so. Apparently, Blunkett’s proposal did not make this possible. Criminals were allowed on the loose, and they could strike again since they have freedom. With the growing population of prisoners in jails, Brennan says that the criminal justice system is no longer effective. A crisis in the criminal justice system has to appear before people do something to solve it. He recognizes that the problems will be harder to solve later on. Even more, there were less police officers on the beat to prevent crimes even though these crimes have been getting worse for many years now. The government also has not done something to reduce crime. He couldn’t see how Blunkett’s proposal could solve any of the problems. Brennan mentions that the country has more people inside prisons than any countries in Europe. He says it is so because there are more crimes here than anywhere else. The government, he adds, has resorted to different measures to solve the rising number of crimes. Sadly, none of these measures worked, and this showed a â€Å"disgraceful record on crime and law and order. † On the other hand, the Howard League for Penal Reform agreed with Blunkett’s proposal. The spokeswoman says that â€Å"anything †¦to reduce the prison population is a good thing. † She added that the programs set to keep the prisoners with a two or three months term away from their criminal behavior are not often available, that’s why they offend the second time after they are released. The article recommends that a community penalty is more effective as a form of punishment for the prisoners than sending them over to prison. The article quotes Brennan recommending that the government should deal with the crimes head on rather than making lots of promises and pledges that it cannot meet. People should also be aware of these problems and how serious they are so that they can be a part in solving them. Brennan is correct in saying that criminals should be sent to prison whether it is expensive or not. The most important thing to consider here is the protection of the public from these offenders. The government should look more into these problems because this is getting worse every year and it has bad records of crime. The government should also look into the budgeting systems of the federal and local governments. It should consider that budgeting systems can be a part of the ineffective services it offers to the public. Changes in budgeting systems should be an important part in reform. REFERENCES Morrison, Nick. (2002, February 05). Will part-time prison cut crime or costs? Newsquest (North East Ltd. , p. 8. Available at: http://yukon. actx. edu:2083/libweb/curriculum/do/document? set=topic&groupid=1&requestid=conquesttopic&resultid=48&ts=57673F035D3E975120F685A75E3514BA_1187860483640&urn=urn%3Abigchalk%3AUS%3BBCLib%3Bdocument%3B76740234. The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office. (2006). Independent review of policies and procedures of correctional facilities operated by the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office. Available at: http://www. mcda. us/articles/GJ_CORRECTIONAL_FACILITIES_2006. pdf.

INDUSTRY STUDIES Essays - Educational Psychology, Pedagogy

INDUSTRY STUDIES Essays - Educational Psychology, Pedagogy INDUSTRY STUDIES QUESTION 1. (a) Student -centred learning could be described as student-independence learning. The student has to some degree the ability to choose the time and place of study, the methods and order of studies and can vary his pace of study as well as the length of his studies to suit his needs. Student-centred learning puts the students needs to a large extent first. Having a learner-centred approach gives students options in the pace of study, the method of delivery of courses (e.g satellite, mixed mode, tutorial support classes), order of study, composition of courses to suit individual needs. Open by dictionary definition means: unconfined, without barriers, accessible. By broadening student input to learning under the guidance of teachers and the industry assisting students to make informed decisions the system is ?opened? and can provide the following benefits: Access is no longer confined to a narrowly defined group The time and place and mode of study are determined by the student The student knows progressively how he is going and what his weak points are (competency-based assessment). The student largely determines what is studied and how learning occurs as he is given more learning responsibility. (Student is urged to: seek out reference material, ask further questions, relate principles to his circumstances, try different styles of answering questions) Recognition of prior learning both as industry experience and other outside studies will enhance Oten courses as feedback from student to teacher in answering questions will refine existing courses. Student ?centred learning must be incorporated to remove traditional barriers and hence allow an Open Learning environment to flourish. The more a student becomes involved in his learning process the more likely he is to stick at it. Open learning is about being available to everyone no matter what his or her disposition! (b) There are many factors, which will determine to what extent student-centred learning can be achieved within an institution. The material being studied- Many courses requiring licensing, the meeting of industry standards or courses leading to tertiary qualifications such as the Higher School Certificate offer limited open learning possibilities. Industry- The willingness of industry to be more flexible so that curriculum requirements can be met by a variety of pathways. The teachers- their ability to guide, nurture and advise students on appropriate matters such as: urging students to seek out reference material, prompting additional responses from students by asking questions additional to the assignment, communicating well with students to the point where specific principles of a lesson can be related to the specific circumstances of the unit. Resources- Student-centred learning will inevitably require a higher ratio of teachers to students (as compared to face to face teaching). These teachers have to be available in the numbers required and be suitably qualified. Existing courses- Many of Oten?s courses are adaptations of courses originally designed for face-to-face teaching. Some will require mixed mode delivery because of either the complexity of a particular subject or certain aids required to complete a particular course. (e.g Networked computers may be required for certain computer strands) Enrolments- Obviously to fully open up courses it would be ideal for many students to enroll for courses at any time throughout the year. This however would make forward planning as to staff requirements and the availability of facilities such as examination centres, tutorial classes etc virtually impossible. Students- A high degree of student-centered learning requires students with a high level of training and teachers with a high level of expertise so that students can be guided into making informed decisions. As the object of Open learning is to make courses more accessible then students with varying levels of expertise, experience and training will be undertaking these courses. By accepting such a variety of students the degree of student centred learning will be limited by the students ability to take on board such principles and the skills of the teachers in developing and encouraging these principles. QUESTION 2. (a) Here are as I see it some of the major differences in tools, aids and techniques used in face-to-face and external teaching. Face-to-face teaching Tangible items can be shown and demonstrated in class (e.g firefighting equipment, smoke detectors, fire installation panels) to reinforce learning. Blackboards, whiteboards, overheads and other visual aids can be used to to clarify principles. Feedback is rapid.

The Freedom Concept

The Freedom Concept The concept of freedom is often discussed and debated by philosophers, political scientists, or lawyers. It is viewed as one of unalienable rights of a person; yet, it can be restricted due to some reasons or purposes. This paper is aimed at showing that freedom is impossible without some responsibility for ones actions and some restrictions are inevitable.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on The Freedom Concept specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Without these restrictions, the very existence of society can be threatened. On the whole, this issue can be important for individuals, communities, and states. The way in which people understand the notion of freedom affects criminal laws, international relations, and the moral principles of an individual. This is why various aspects of freedom are still worth examining, even though many thinkers have discussed them. First of all, one can ask whether freedom is always a good thing. At first glance, this question may seem outrageous or ludicrous because people usually regard individual liberty as something indispensible for a human being. However, this view can be disputed because under some circumstances the freedom of an individual has to be limited. For instance, criminals are deprived of their right to freedom, because they can pose a threat to other people. Additionally, one can mention traffic rules that are familiar to every person. They are taken for granted even though they do limit personal freedom. Even the most severe critics of the state cannot deny the necessity of such restrictions. Therefore, freedom may not be a good thing if a person completely disregards the interests of other people. Overall, this issue has been discussed by many prominent philosophers. In his classical work Leviathan Thomas Hobbes points out that people who are not bound by any rules, will inevitably enter into conflict in which only the strongest can prevail (Hobbe s, 1976, p. 86). He believes that the life of such people will be â€Å"poor, nasty, brutish, and short† (Hobbes, 1976, p. 86). Thus, it is possible to say that absolute freedom is hardly possible, because it can be interpreted as ability to anything that a person wants to. There were people who possessed almost absolute freedom, for example, one can mention the dictators of the twentieth century like Hitler or Stalin, but it was based on the use of coercion and violence. This is why people seek not to be free, especially they want to be protected by the law or the state. The very idea of social contract is based on the premise that people forfeit some of their rights in order to create a peaceful community. This necessity to limit ones freedom was discussed in the works of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (2008) who believed that state should act as an arbiter and enforcer of the social contract (p. 39). The existence of such a contract implies that people consent to follow some rules that limit their freedom.Advertising Looking for term paper on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The philosophical and ethical aspects of freedom are important for international relations. Very often political leaders talk about the necessity to free other societies. In many cases, such actions may involve military intervention. The question arises whether this intrusion into the life of a sovereign state can be justified on rational or moral grounds. The thing is that there are societies in which the individual freedom of a person is practically non-existent, for instance, one can mention North Korea (Forsythe, 2009, p. 333). In such cases, political pressure seems to be ethically acceptable. However, one cannot say the same thing about military intervention that usually threatens the lives of people have nothing to do with the policies of the state. As a rule, they are the victims of this state. Certainly , one can say that the economic, military pressure on a certain sovereign state is not permissible, because the laws of the country have been adopted by the majority of people living in this community. However, such an argument can be disputed, because in many totalitarian societies citizens are afraid of expressing their discontent. Thus, the concept of freedom should not be excluded from international relations. Additionally, it is quite reasonable to ask whether people living in the United States can be called free. This issue is also worth discussing since America is often regarded as the most democratic and liberal country. Overall, it is impossible to speak about absolute or unrestricted freedom, but as it has been mentioned before, this unrestricted freedom cannot exist in the civic society. Yet, if we are speaking about economic or political liberties, the United States can certainly be regarded a free country. Again, this idea can be better illustrated by comparing America to other countries such North Korea or Afghanistan in which the political rights of people are not recognized or upheld by the state. Despite the fact that the concept of freedom has been discussed in many philosophical, legal or political works, it continues to attract attention of many people. This notion shapes almost every form of relation within the societies and at an international level. This paper suggests that freedom inevitably involves some degree of restriction; otherwise it can hardly exist. This is the main point that should be taken into consideration. Reference List Forsythe, D. (2009). Encyclopedia of Human Rights. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on The Freedom Concept specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Hobbes, T. (1976). Leviathan. New York: Forgotten Books. Rousseau, J. (2008). The Social Contract. London: Cosimo.

The Jamestown Fiasco Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Jamestown Fiasco - Essay Example When the settlers arrived they were not aware of all the troubles that they were going to face. They did not make a wise decision in choosing their location because it was surrounded by a swampy area and it did not provide them access to proper water and also they did not realize that the area that they had chosen was not occupied by Indians but still they could easily reach there. The settlers did not have a very high opinion of the Indians from the beginning and they thought that they did not deserve any rights because they were uncivilized people with no religion. So even before they had set a firm ground in Jamestown they had no plans of proper negotiations with the Indians. The Indians had a different thought about the settlers. They wanted to cooperate with them and in return get access to modern weapons and tools for themselves. The colonists should have realized that to make a good place for themselves they should have availed the opportunity and they should have shaken hands with the Indians and worked in collaboration with them giving the Indians what they needed and taking from them the things required by them. The Indians soon realized that the motive of the settlers was to get hold of their land. As soon as the Indians got to know of their ill plans they started attacking the settlers. Thus the death toll of the colonists rose and within a few moths their number decreased to less than half. 2. Why were the Jamestown settlers unable and/or unwilling to feed themselves. During the time period when everything was under John Smith the relations between the Indians and the colonists took a very good turn. At first when John Smith took over he also used oppressive means against the Indians but soon he was advised by Ocanindge who was an Indian associate to think about the outcome if the Indians would stop working on their fields. He advised him to work in collaboration with the Indians for the betterment of both the communities. The turning point actually came when John smith and some of his fellows came under the attack of the Indians. In this attack most of the men who accompanied John Smith were killed and he was made captive by the Indians. The leader of the Indians who was Powhatan ordered the killing of John Smith but he was saved by the leader's daughter Pocahontas and following this event many things changed for the good. The Indians in return for modernized tools from the English provided them with crops and food for them. This helped both the parties to enjoy the benefits of each others services and this essay would further describe these events. This did not last for a very long time because in 1609 when the area was hit by harsh winter the Indians were not able to provide the settlers with crops. The Indians knew about such conditions and they had kept food reserves for themselves. Thus now they became unable to supply the settlers with food and the relations between the two sides became tense again. The settlers used oppressive forces against the Indians and the Indians replied in a similar manner. This continued for a long time until the supplies were sent to the settlers. The settlers had stayed there for a very long t

Markerting fundamentals Nintendo DSL polar white Essay

Markerting fundamentals Nintendo DSL polar white - Essay Example It has launched in various markets within a short span and hence the political disturbance in any one market will not affect its overall sales. While Sony and Microsoft, its main competitors spent extravagantly on fast chips, graphics, and cutting edge disk technology but Nintendo designers use energy-saving chips and a standard optical disk player to lower product costs (Bremner, 2007). Others in the industry like Atari failed because they did not have high-quality software and games to sell the hardware (Marketing Week, 2006). Video game is a cyclical industry in which new consoles are launched every five or six years. With each cycle the power of the hardware increases with better graphics and more powerful games (The Economist, 2006). Nevertheless, Nintendo felt that industry has reached a crossroad and games are not designed for non-gamers. This undermines the prospects for future growth. With this in mind, the new Nintendo DS was launched making it easier to learn and play. It launched a different color of the product that was unique to each region/country. For instance, in Europe it launched the black version in addition to the white color which it launched initially in Japan. In Australia and North America, they launched online white and renamed it Polar White. The current market leaders being Sony and Microsoft concentrate on 16- to 24-year-old males market, which is core to the gaming industry. Nintendo DS are easier to learn and play and is aimed at the younger, female segment (Marketing Week, 2006). They have very strategically taken this step as they are unable to cope with the market leaders. The games for the core market are becoming dull and similar and hence Nintendo expects to create a market for Nintendo DS with this strategy of segmentation. Since every five or six years new launches take place, Nintendo DS has been launched at a very strategic time because the

Criminology and criminal justice system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Criminology and criminal justice system - Essay Example The report shows that the witnesses and victims, on the other hand, get an entirely different treatment, they’re offered protection and kind words are offered to keep them calm. On first glance, it might seem unfair that since the system is not sure of their innocence, theirs or the suspects but again just like the system has criteria to meet in order to be able to arrest some one, they have their reasons of suspecting these people to be innocent and worthy of protection. Protection is provided so that the criminals might not try to hurt the witnesses or intimidate them into not coming to court, because this is the reality of our system, even if every one knows that a person is guilty of a crime but cannot be proved guilty albeit he contrived in the background for getting the witnesses out of the equation to eradicate proof in the form of intimidation or physical or fatal torture, even though everyone knows that for a fact, if it can’t be proved the person walks free an d it is for these reasons that there are many criminals plaguing the society but they have developed such strength and organization that the law cannot touch them. Our criminal system might not be perfect as regards to efficiency and sometimes even seem brutal especially if a mistake is made. It might some times seem unfair to give special treatment to some people but more often than not the law doesn't make the mistake of protecting the wrong person and the risk that their hypothetical guess as regards to one party’s innocence.... the manner in which all of this is imposed upon him isn't quite what an average human would haggle over but if it were a true con who were getting that treatment, of course it would be perfectly befitting. Perhaps that is what the authorities assume before undertaking any arrest. The criminal justice system perhaps prides itself for efficiency, there are a myriad number of checks the ground police have to go through before they can freely proceed to even search a suspected person's property let alone undertaking an arrest. The authorities take great care that they are not mistaken in their doubts of a person before they go charging up towards him to remind him or rather impose all his rights on him and try to persuade him that now may be the perfect time to start making use of them. Sure they might make a mistake some time and its most unfortunate for the society and of all people the accused when that happens but in order to keep a city clean of crime and cons policemen must be afforded some free movement as well, its up to the court to make the final decision and it is the duty of a policeman to bring a possible crime to light, it is only after a suspect meets all the criteria, and comes up to the bench mark of suspicion that our officers can go ahead and carry out an arrest, it is not an easy job, their prime incentives are to uphold the law and protecting the innocent. Keeping crime orientated people off the streets and keeping the pious ones

Thomas Malthus Thomas Jefferson Essay Example for Free

Thomas Malthus Thomas Jefferson Essay Thomas Malthus is popular for his Malthusian theory of population where he presents a mathematical perspective to express his ideology about population. To him, the population grows at a geometric rate while the food supply grows at an arithmetic progression and the resultant effect of this is that the population would out do the food supply. Consequently there would be increased rates of starvation and extreme poverty. Although he was aware of technological advancement he did not appreciate the fact that it would have a significant effect on the food production and hence the adverse effects of population growth would not be felt. He argues that the population would be checked by natural calamities like drought, war, famine as well as moral restraint where some people may not get married or others would delay marriage to bear few children. He also cited high infant mortality rates as a means of controlling the population.   Although many dismissed his theory citing it as one full of pessimism, Thomas Jefferson partly supported it. To him, it would best explain the European situation but not the American state. It is actually true the American land was very vast that it would accommodate many people. Population growth would consequently be seen as a means of ensuring that the unoccupied lands were utilized. (Faragher J, 2002). If the Americans worked hard to increase labor effectiveness then the food supply would be adequate for the increasing population. He argued that both the food supply and the population would increase at a geometric progression and hence no cause for alarm.   Thomas Jefferson did not seem to favor industrialization and advocated for increased agriculture. He distinguished Europe and America where he was quick to note that Europe had abundant labor and if it utilized its land to the optimal it would be able to overcome the adverse effects of population growth. (Wood J, 1994). To him, Europe should aim at maximizing its labor potential. He further argued that the European political economy was in a manner that needed to be changed as it was exploitative and to this respect he favored the democratic American population. Population policies did not exist to control the population but natural means favored it. It is important to note that immigrants were excluded but this was not due to economic reasons but due to racial as well as religious reasons. (Wood J, 1994).   He explained how the European population had doubled in a span of 23-24 years which is equivalent to a 3% increase per annum making it necessary to retain the previous reserves as they would be needed by the increasing population. However, for the American case he argues that population growth would be a mechanism of ensuring that vacant lands were occupied. (Wood J, 1994).   Ã‚  I think that both Malthus and Jefferson had a misconception regarding population growth and food supply. They underrated people’s innovation abilities. The theory was based on historical data and consequently a way of explaining historical trends and hence ineffective in explaining future population trends. It is inappropriate to justify the applicability of the theory because Europe population seemed to be increasing in a regular pattern. The linear or rather arithmetic progression of food supply was not based on experimentation but rather on convenient assumptions. (West B and Deering W, 1995). Population does not seem to increase exponentially as they both argued. In fact in the face of industrialization people tend to concentrate more in improving the quality of life rather than the population size. Again, the notion that population growth and food supply being independent on each other is also wrong. Malthusian theory does not bear any truth in today’s society as people’s birth rates have declined. A major advantage of increased physical mobility in the American society is that it ensured the provision of labor in areas where it is demanded and this was vital in the industrialization process. The physical mobility is also vital as it ensures the transfer of technological know how which is very significant in economic growth.   (Bergsten F, 2005). Social evils like crime and prostitution are bound to rise due to increased mobility. The political organization must also be affected as with time some immigrants become permanent citizens and have to air their views which is not necessarily the wish of the natives. Discrimination also emerged especially against the immigrants and this led to the rise of classes. The immigrants recorded lower living standards as compared to the natives. (Bergsten F, 2005). References: John MacK Faragher 2002. Out of Many: A History of the American People, 4th ed. Prentice Hall Publisher. Fred Bergsten. 2005. The United States and the World Economy: Foreign Economic Policy for the immigrants. Peterson Institute Publishers.   Bruce West and William Deering. 1995. The Lure of Modern Science: Fractal Thinking World Scientific Science Publishers. John Cunningham Wood. 1994. Thomas Robert Malthus: Critical Assessments. Routledge Publishers.