Prisons & Punishment XXXXXXXXXXAssessment 2 Research Essay Questions 1. Assess the global move...

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Prisons & Punishment XXXXXXXXXXAssessment 2 Research Essay Questions 1. Assess the global move towards privatization of prisons using utilitarian principles of punishment. 2. Are we moving away from the “civilising processes” of modernism that generated the rise of the prison, towards a “de-civilising” (Pratt 1998; 2000) punitive sentiment that characterises contemporary retributive practices in criminal justice? Discuss with reference to the concept of the “new punitiveness” and consider increased prison sentences, the global rise in prison populations and the growth of new community penalties in your answer. 3. Are Community Corrections a “success”? Refer to Cohen’s concept of netwidening, Foucault’s concept of the “carceral network” and the most recent Corrective Services figures on community offenders (http://www.correctiveservices.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/500954/ Facts-and-Figures_V13_white.pdf) in your answer. 4. Explain the contemporary disenfranchisement of (child) sex offenders by post sentence controls and indefinite detention. Frame your analysis through concepts of risk and disgust. 5. In mid 2009, the United States of America had the highest imprisonment rate in the world, with a prison population total of 2,297,400; 748 inmates per 100,000 of national population. Federal prisons house 60% more inmates than they were designed for and state prisons are only slightly less full. Through the phenomenon of mass imprisonment, explain Christie’s idea of “dangerous states” with reference to his argument for the minimum possible use of crime control. 6. The latest Bureau of Statistics data shows that women, and in particular, Indigenous women are the fastest growing demographic within the current prison population in Australia. Discuss the intersections of disadvantage which might contribute to this trend.
	
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School of Social Sciences and Psychology 
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101558-Prisons and Punishment

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
UNIT WEEKLY SCHEDULE .................................................................................... XXXXXXXXXX2 
 
1.0 UNIT DETAILS, STAFFING, AND HELP ............................................................. XXXXXXXXXX3 
 
1.1 Unit details ..................................................................................................... XXXXXXXXXX3 
 
1.2 What to do if you need help? ......................................................................... XXXXXXXXXX3 
 
2.0 UNIT CONTENT ............................................................................................. XXXXXXXXXX4 
 
2.1 Handbook summary ....................................................................................... XXXXXXXXXX4 
 
2.2 Unit content ................................................................................................... XXXXXXXXXX4 
 
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2.4 Attendance requirements and workload ....................................................... XXXXXXXXXX4 
 
2.5 Changes to unit in response to student feedback .......................................... XXXXXXXXXX4 
 
3.0 UNIT LEARNING OUTCOMES ......................................................................... XXXXXXXXXX4 
 
4.0 HOW DO ACTIVITIES AND ASSESSMENTS RELATE TO LEARNING OUTCOMES? XXXXXXXXXX 
 
5.0 ASSESSMENT OVERVIEW .............................................................................. XXXXXXXXXX5 
 
6.0 TEXTBOOK(S) AND...

David · Accepted Answer

Topic chosen: Assess the global move towards privatization of prisons using utilitarian 
principles of punishment.  
Prison crowding is one of the biggest problems that some of the countries are facing in 
today’s world. With the rise in number of prisoners and the lack of space in the public prisons, 
the government has started to look for an alternative. One alternative that is increasingly being 
used in some of the countries is the concept of private prisons. This means a prison held and run 
by private industry.   
Privatization of prison dates back to 15
th
 or 16
th
 century and it started in England. 
Recently after 1980’s, the trend has restarted in the world with The United States taking the lead. 
The main reason behind the same is given as the surge in the population inside the prison. In 
2007, it was the first time in complete history of US that more than 1 person out of every 100 
adult is behind the bars. At this time, federal and government have to rely on private prisons. 
More than 7% of the entire persons behind the bars are living in private prisons.  Most of the 
private prisons across the world are for profit and hence they try to maximize their profits. 
(Cheung 204) 
Other reasons for the privatization of the prisons are low cost, more security in and 
outside the prisons, types of services that are provided by private prisons and hence the quality 
increases. The private prisons are able to manage more number of prisoners at a point of time 
and that to be without much of problems inside the prison. It is just because of these benefits that 
the law makers and government officials are able to hand over such huge number of prisoners. 
(Reisig 2009) 
Principle of utility in terms of punishment means the penalties should be in proportion to 
the severity of the crime done by the person. The punishment given to a person should have 
some utility. Without any utility there is no point in punishing someone. One utility can be to 
prevent such type of crime in future.  
There are many advantages of private prisons and hence the number of private prisons is 
on the rise in the complete world. Without doing the cost benefit analysis, no decision can be 
taken. According to Cody Mason (2013), most of the public prisons have more number of 
prisoners than their full capacity. This is true worldwide. With increase in the crime in the global 
scenario it is important for the government to prevent such crimes by pushing the criminals 
behind the prisons.  Hence it calls for more number of prisons in any country. Without proper 
infrastructure, it would be nearly impossible to achieve the same. Hence there is a utility for the 
government to back these private prisons and that is why many countries are utilizing private 
prisons and such detention centers for these prisoners. This would help the government to 
decrease the cost of constructing prison and the problem of overcrowding. These developments 
have helped not only government but also many private companies running these prisons.

Prisons & Punishment XXXXXXXXXXAssessment 2 Research Essay Questions 1. Assess the global move towards privatization of prisons using utilitarian principles of punishment. 2. Are we moving away from...

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