“Define and describe the process of prisonization. In terms of this process, why might imprisonment be more dangerous than helpful with offenders? How does prisonization contribute to criminality?
Introduction
Prisonization is the process by which an individual is kept in jail for a given period of time, to undergo disciplinary and rehabilitation in case of a mistake that is committed. This process takes effect immediately after undergoing court process. The court process determines the validity of the crime and determines the period of time that the criminal is to be jailed. Crimes vary depending on one factor or the other.
Imprisonment is harmful to law offenders; this is only due to; it serves to deny them their basics rights. Being imprisoned means that, a person is excluded from the rest of the society for a given period of time. A criminal is not allowed to mingle with the public due to the dark reputation that they hold. Basic rights such as; freedom of movement, expression and worship, are violated. A criminal is not allowed to participate in any social activity, in the society. This is due to the simple fact they are kept out of the society. All criminals have no right at all to express or air their grievances to anyone. A prison serves as a correction facility, no criminal is allowed to participate in any negotiations with the management. On the contrary, all prisoners ought to follow all the rules and regulations that are provided by the correctional facility.
Access to a balanced diet in prison is inevitable. All prisons are sponsored by the national government. They use revenue from the national treasury to prepare and determine the budgetary allocation for prisoner’s meal. All prisoners are subjected to the type of food available. There are no provisions for any special meals or balanced diet. This contributes heavily to the poor health conditions of all the prisoners. Survival for the fittest is the order of the day across all the prisons that host prisoners. This subjects prisoners to poor health conditions. Despite the health conditions of the prisoners, they are expected to deliver in community service policing. This includes; a hardcore job that requires the use of excess energy in order to deliver on the tasks. Repeated actions such as this contribute heavily to criminality. Prisoners are not taught survival tactics and how to apply them in the outside world.
Lack of access to basic information is another challenge that prisoners are subjected to. Information is critical to any living citizen. Information provision allows an individual to make sound judgments at any given time. Prisoners are not allowed to access any public information. It is believed that, access to information by prisoners causes status quo to the prison environment. This might contribute to internal fights and to some extent, prison breakout. Lack of access to information promotes criminality. A criminal doesn’t have the capacity to make an informed judgment without any exposure to credible information.
Prisoners ought to be treated like any other living being. They need to be trained on the dos and don’s when relating with the general public. Prisoners should be allowed equal rights as any other responsible citizen.Works Cited;
BELL, John. “Disciplining Prisoners.” European Public Law 20.1 (2014): 15-22.
Easton, Susan. “Protecting Prisoners: The Impact of International Human Rights Law on the Treatment of Prisoners in the United Kingdom.” Prison Journal 93.4 (2013): 475-492.
