Role of Prisons in Modern Penology
ROLE OF PRISONS IN MODERN PENOLOGY
Dr.
Goutam Barman
1. INTRODUCTION
Prisons and incarceration are widely used methods of punishment and
rehabilitation for individuals who have been convicted of criminal offences or
facing criminal trial. In recent years there has been growing concern about the
effectiveness and fairness of modern prisons as well as their impact on
individuals, families and society as a whole.
2. MEANING OF PRISON
Prison is a place in which persons are kept in custody pending trial, or
in which they are confined as punishment after conviction. The term “Jail” is a generic term which is
also applied to penal institutions housing both persons awaiting trial and
persons committed to sentences. Prisons are established with a view to protect
the law abiding citizens from different types of criminals.
3. MEANING OF PENOLOGY
The word “penology” is derived from the Latin words
“Pena” meaning “punishment” and “logos” meaning “study.” Therefore, penology is
the study of punishment. Penology is the scientific study of the punishment and
rehabilitation of criminals. It is a multidisciplinary subject that aims to
study and evaluate the application of penal sanctions to wrongdoers. It has
broadly focused on the justifications, characteristics and effectiveness of
penal institutions. Since the 18th century, many penologists have
conceived of prison as a place with rehabilitative potential, emphasizing its
role as a means of reducing reoffending or of instilling moral backbone into
offenders. Penologists are interested in
finding ways to rehabilitate prisoners and reduce crime rates.
4. ROLE OF PRISONS IN MODERN PENOLOGY
The modern concept of penology is to change the attitude of the
offenders, their way of life so that when they return to the mainstream in
community, they will become a useful member of the society. Modern penology
emphasizes the importance of rehabilitating offenders and preparing them for
successful re-entry into society. These approaches recognizes that simply
punishing offenders without addressing the root causes of their criminal
behavior is unlikely to prevent recidivism and may even exacerbate the problem.
The objective of prison is not to retaliate against an offender. It aims
to make a prisoner a better human being so that he may become a good citizen
and useful person for society in future. There are various measures to do so
like prison labour, education, religious instructions, etc. Thus the prison
system has a great role to play to achieve the objects of modern penology. The
role of prisons under modern penology can be discussed under the following headings:
i. Rehabilitation of
offenders
ii. Restorative Justice in
prison
iii. Community
Supervision of offenders
iv. Re-entry programme
of offenders
v. Incapacitation
vi. Deterrence
i) Rehabilitation
of offenders
Offender rehabilitation is a process that aims to help the offenders or
the prisoners to re-enter society after serving their sentence. The goal is to
reduce the rate of recidivism or the likelihood of reoffending by addressing
the root causes of crime. The rehabilitative program which is carried out in
prisons are:
·
Vocational training and general education: Now-a-days prisoners are given
vocational training and other general education so that after their release
from jail, they can earn livelihood by applying their said education or
vocational training.
·
Mental Health: Prison authority treats the prisoners in a very gentle way
so that prisoners can feel free to express their problems before the prison
authorities. It is tried to reflect that prisoners have also human right. It is
often seen that prisoners are given ample scope to represent them before the
court by engaging advocate even for free of cost.
ii. Restorative Justice in prison
Restorative justice is an approach to justice that aims to repair the harm
done to victims. In doing so, offenders take responsibility for their actions,
to understand the harm they have caused, to give them an opportunity to redeem
themselves and to discourage them from causing further harm. This approach emphasizes
repairing the harm caused by a crime and involves the offenders, victim and
community in the process. Restorative justice programs may include mediation,
community service, etc., to amend the behavior of offenders. In a restorative
justice programme, a meeting is organized between the victim and offender. This
is sometimes done with representatives of the wider community. The goal for
them is to share their experience of what happened, to discuss who was harmed
by the crime and how, and to create a consensus for what the offender can do to
repair the harm from the offences. This may include the payment of money given
from the offender to the victim, apologies and other amends, and other actions
to compensate those affected and to prevent the offender from causing future
harm.
That prison system should play a very active role to carry out the
restorative justice. Prison is one of the best places where face-to-face
meetings between the offenders and victim can be organized to achieve the
purposes of restorative justice. It is however, surprising to note that Indian
prison system has done nothing to achieve the restorative justice. It may be
due to lack of legislative sanction to do the same.
iii. Community Supervision of offenders
This approach involves monitoring offenders in the community rather than
incarcerating them. Community Supervision programs may include house arrest,
electronic monitoring and drug testing to ensure that offenders are complying
with the terms of their sentence. The prison system is applying the concept of
community supervision by releasing of prisoners/offenders on parole or furlough
or probation. The community supervision process would help the Indian criminal
system to ensure effective rehabilitation of the offenders.
iv. Re-entry programs of offenders
These programs help offender transition back into society after their
release. Re-entry programs may include job training, housing assistance and
mentoring to help the offenders to build a new life for themselves. The prisons
are the best places where re-entry programs of offenders can be carried out.
That by proving vocational training, general education, etc., in the prisons, a
suitable situation is created for the re-entry of the prisoners into the
society after release from jail.
v. Incapacitation:
Prison use security features to make it difficult for inmates to escape.
vi. Deterrence:
The fear of prison deters many members of society from committing crimes.
5. CAUTION AGAINST EXCESSIVE
REFORMATION
Despite the
fact that traditional methods of deterrent and retributive justice have fallen
into disuse and they are now substituted by modern reformatory measures, it
must be stated that excessive reformation is likely to defeat the very object
of penology. If the difference between life inside and outside prison is
narrowed down beyond a certain limit, it is bound to culminate into
catastrophic results. The element of deterrence is as necessary for any penal
program as reformation; otherwise, the very purpose of punishment will be
defeated. It must be realized that the ultimate control and prevention of crime
depends on the proper utilization of criminological knowledge to the needs of
society. This accounts for the emerging importance of applied criminology in
recent years. The focus of attention should therefore not only be the offender
or his criminal act but the interest of society in general and the rights of
the victim, in particular, which must be protected at all costs. It is only
then that the real objective of penology would be accomplished. A balanced
penal program justifying deterrence when it is absolutely necessary and
reformation as a general model of treatment of offenders would perhaps be the
best policy to achieve the desired ends of criminal justice administration.
Justice must be prompt, stern, and summary inspiring a wholesome fear in the
criminal. It must not be forgotten that the protection of society against crime
and criminals is far more important than the personal gain of the individual
offender in committing a particular crime. Therefore, it is the offender who
must suffer in the larger interests of the community. Then only the real ends
of penal justice can be accomplished. It must be remembered that punishment
presupposes an offence and the measure of punishment must not be lesser than
the offender deserves. It must be recognized that there is a strong and
wide-spread demand for retribution in the sense of reprobation. It may have
retreated that the faith and philosophy behind the administration of criminal
justice is the attainment of social justice and not individual justice.
Therefore, a blatant shift to absolute reformation cannot be accepted as our
constitutional creed.
6. CONCLUSION
Thus prisons
play an effective role under modern penology to protect to society from the
offenders by applying various rehabilitative measures giving due consideration
to the human right aspect of the offenders. The prisons are not merely centre
for serving punishment, rather it is the centre of rehabilitation and
reintegration in conformity with the modern penology.
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