Iowa Correctional System

Words: 896
Pages: 4
Open Document
The Iowa correctional system is a complicated creature. Many aspects of thinking are involved in the process of an offender’s prosecution. From research I have done, it seems obvious to me, that Iowa wants only the best for the offender and also the best for the residents of the state. Overcrowding issues in prisons has been a significant problem in recent years. Citizens make it obvious they do not want convicted criminals walking the streets and they do not want to pay the taxes is costs to incarcerate these individuals. So where is the middle ground? Iowa has taken steps to find what is best for both parties.
But first I want to talk about the juvenile system. The juvenile justice system can often be viewed as process which moves through …show more content…
These referrals are based on arrests and/or the filing of a juvenile petition. In sum, what this means is that law enforcement officials are the ones who initially introduce the juveniles into the corrections system. Adding on to this, many police agencies have officers who are specialized in dealing with juveniles. This is mainly due to a focus on rehabilitation. These juvenile officers are afforded the ability to choose from a number of discretionary alternatives in the form of programs to, in hope, help the juveniles with their disgruntled behavior. Moreover, in some counties, juveniles might have to opportunity to be appointed to a panel of adults who volunteer their time to provide an alternative to the formal juvenile court system. Another option for delinquent juveniles is a scared straight program. Scared straight programs make an attempt to prevent juveniles from taking part in crime. This attempt is done through the introduction of a juvenile into an adult facility, where they are hopefully scared straight. The intimidation that may arise from this introduction may be enough to open a juvenile’s eyes to the path they might be …show more content…
These facilities are all governmental funded as Iowa does not contract with private prisons. A list of the prisons consist of: Anamosa State Penitentiary in Anamosa, Clarinda Correctional Facility in Clarinda, Fort Dodge Correctional Facility in Fort Dodge, Iowa Correctional Institution for Women in Mitchellville, Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Oakdale, Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison, Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility in Mount Pleasant, Newton Correctional Facility in near Newton in Jasper county, and North Central Correctional Facility in Rockwell City. As of 2016, these prisons housed 5,571 inmates combined.
In the past, the government has taken a “tough on crime” stance on criminal activity; Iowa is no exception. Years ago, with the ever increasing time an offender had to do and with mandatory minimums, the inmate population all across the country sky rocketed. Prison populations were so boisterous; some may have considered it an epidemic. For example, the United States only represents about 4.4 percent of the world's population, but it houses around 22 percent of the world's prisoners. It was obvious that the United States faced a serious
Show More

Related Documents: Iowa Correctional System

Labeling Theory In A Class Divided

In A Class Divided, a teacher named Jane Elliot wanted to teach her third grade students about discrimination since Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed the day before. In a small town of Iowa, Jane Elliot conducted a classroom experiment that would be considered as daring. The experiment involved treating the children in her classroom who had a certain eye color (blue) as superior to children with brown eyes. The students had to wear a…

Words 631 - Pages 3

John Wayne Gacy Theory

Gacy, who, in 1994 was executed via lethal injection for 33 counts of murder and one count of deviate sexual assault. As myths go, it is said that serial killers are always present in a society, and, while not common, does in fact cost the justice system millions of dollars. Now more than ever, there has been a push and interest in rehabilitation of offenders over the traditional retributive stance.…

Words 1504 - Pages 7

Research Paper On Convicted Felons

their voting rights and can cast absentee ballots from prison. Florida is one of four states that permanently deny felons their right to vote until they have been restored by the governor or a clemency board. The others are Virginia, Kentucky and Iowa. The Sentencing Project, a criminal justice advocacy group, 5.3 million Americans (1 in 40 adults) were unable to vote due to a felony conviction in the 2008 elections. This included 1.4 million African-American men, more than 676,000 women, and…

Words 1477 - Pages 6