Criminology of prisons
Introduction
Most people in society are law-abiding citizens and follow the rule of law, however, there are some elements in all societies that break the law. Most of these crimes will be punished by prison, the purpose of prison is to punish wrongdoings considered not within the normal spectrum of society and the law. “Punishment is a pain or other unpleasant consequence that results from an offense against a rule and that is administered by others, who represent legal authority, to the offender who broke the rule” (Newman 1978, 6–7).
Main Body
Punishment of crimes serves many social functions, and is justified on the philosophies of retribution, incapacitation, deterrence, rehabilitation, and restoration. …show more content…
The prisons to which they would be assigned are maximum security and are designed to make escape impossible, thus keeping the public and society safer.
Category B prisoners are not sent to maximum security prisons, but they have still committed serious offences, so they should not be given the opportunity to escape, so Cat B prisons are very difficult to escape from. Most prisoners on remand and awaiting trial will be sent to a Category B prison.
Prisoners assigned to Category C are less likely to make an attempt at escape but cannot be trusted in open prison conditions.
The offenders that can be trusted being in open conditions are categorised as D. These are the prisoners serving sentences for nonviolent crimes. It can also be assigned to prisoners that are nearing the end of their sentence.
In Scotland there are 3 category’s that prisoners can be assigned. High supervision is just as it sounds, it is assigned to the most risk prisoners and all their movements will need to be authorised and subject to supervision by a prison officer. Prisoners assigned to Medium Supervision are a less of a risk and their movements are not so restricted, but they are still under supervision. Lastly there is Low Supervision and much like open prison they have minimum restrictions and supervision, even being allowed into the …show more content…
If children are involved the other parent may have to take a job to support them which means they would see less of both parents. This also effects the wider community, the loss of a worker and their contribution to the economy. The loss of a family member to prison can also have an effect on families’ emotional wellbeing, especially children. Children are often oblivious to any wrong doings their parents may commit, to them they are just Mum or Dad and not having them in their lives on a permeant basis may result in depression or even acting out. There is also the shame that some families may feel or be subjected to by having an association with an offender and may become ostracised by the wider community resulting in isolation and further