Function, Issues, and Impacts for Jails and Prisons

The main functions of jails and prisons are to promote; rehabilitation, debilitation, punishment, and inhibition. Nevertheless, there are latent functions served by jails, including sustenance of crime schools and political degeneration by dictatorial regimes, among others. Therefore, restricting some of the rights of criminals while in prison can be a noble cause.

Part 1

Despite the provision of some rights for the inmates, restricting some of their rights and freedoms becomes necessary in enhancing security within the facilities. For instance, the deprivation of privacy rights, which allows the prison wardens to carry out warrantless searches on the inmates, allows the former to eliminate the presence of harmful contrabands and weapons ("Do Inmates Have Rights? If So, What Are They?", n.d.). This way, they can curb death cases through murder or suicide by the inmates. Jails are controlled by the local government, where the inmates serve sentences of less than one year, while the state governments run prisons, and the individuals held here serve sentences of more than one year ("What is the Difference Between Jail and Prison?", n.d.). The death penalty remains a criminal justice issue administered as a form of punishment in some countries like the United States. Hence, Criminal justice issues focus on establishing decisions in a criminal context and are a subset of the social justice issues.

Part 2

On the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations’ (CDCR) Twitter page #PPPSWeek, the department is involved in the promotion of social justice by working to provide personalized goals and guidelines for parolees. This way, fair opportunities are established for them enhancing their ability to incorporate into society. On the other hand, the provision of paroles and rehabilitation encourages criminal justice by providing solutions to deter crime. Moreover, the constitutional authority provides for the exercise of such actions to promote peace and provide punishments for accused individuals. Hence, dealing with criminal justice ensures social justice as a whole.

Restricting some of the inmates' rights is beneficial to enhancing security within the jails and prisons, ensuring smooth operations. Moreover, the promotion of criminal justice results in the observance of social justice as a whole, given the interdependence of the two. Hence, for social justice to be gained, criminal justice has to be focused on.

References

Do Inmates Have Rights? If So, What Are They? https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/do-inmates-have-rights-if-so-what-are-they-31517

What is the Difference Between Jail and Prison? https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/what-is-the-difference-between-jail-and-prison-31513