Abstract
Justitia est caecus or by translation , Justice is blind and ought to treat all people equally. However, when it comes to special populations, blindness will negate fairness thus, justice is forced to have a look and be considerate. Being considerate means that individuals who would otherwise have spent some time in prison end up getting probation, community service, parole and other forms of community corrections. These community corrections play various varying roles depending on the situation of the convict being sentenced . In some cases, consideration is made to the convicts themselves, in others to the tax payers who foot the bill for incarceration and on yet others, to third parties who may be affected by the incarceration.
Introduction
A criminal justice system that focuses purely on ‘an eye for an eye’ might just leave everyone blind without resolving the inherent problem of crime. The community corrections programs created and supervised by the Department of Justice provides a viable alternative for the ‘an eye for an eye’ approach. It provides for alternative forms of justice where the convict will receive a form of rehabilitation as an aftermath of the crimes committed. In some cases, such community corrections also act as a form of mild chastisement. Among the common forms of community corrections include probation, correctional supervision, community service, and Parole (Cole et al., 2018). Among the major beneficiaries of community corrections are the special populations. By definition, special communities are individuals who due to a social factor cannot be considered as normal in the eyes of the law. Common examples of special communities include juveniles, individuals with a form of disability and those with special dependents. As this research paper will reveal, community corrections play a special role in ensuring that justice is dynamic, adaptable and malleable when it comes to dealing with special communities.
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Background
Lady Justice has always been represented as blind and holding a balance in one arm and the letter of the law on the other. However, modern advancement in jurisprudence coupled with an understanding of sociology has led to the legalization that the balance of justice cannot be effective if it remains blind. For example, a juvenile who has grown up in the system has a higher preponderance for committing a crime . If the justice system treats this juvenile in the same way that it treats a child from a stable home, the blindness of justice will amount to a manifest unfairness (Wolf et al., 2017) . It is based on this background that criminal procedure has been adjusted to become malleable and dynamic so that its outcomes can reflect the situation of the convict. Figuratively, therefore, it can be said that the process of utilizing community corrections to special communities is an act of shifting from the traditional blindness of justice.
The Role of Community Corrections on Special Communities
Juveniles
The issue of juveniles and the criminal justice system was gradually becoming an epic crisis. Pubescent children would be convicted and sentenced to short custodial terms. Recidivism would see them head back to jail soon after their release thus, spending most of their teenage in jail. The cycle of recidivism would then continue into adulthood (Wolf et al., 2017) . As a result, not only would the taxpayer incur heavy expenses through judicial processes and incarceration, but also the lives of these individuals would be ruined, and their dreams shattered . The analysis above reflects two distinct roles of community corrections. The first is to provide an avenue for real and effective rehabilitation for the children to avoid them growing into a cycle of crime and imprisonment. The second would be to alleviate the costs that these crimes would visit upon the taxpayer.
Those with Disabilities
Individuals living with a disability also form another segment of special populations that benefit from community corrections. In this regard, justice also becomes malleable so that when it can be helped , an individual with a manifest disability does not end up incarcerated. The role of community corrections in this regard relates more to the taxpayer in general than the convicts themselves (Cole et al., 2018). As long as an individual is incarcerated , the cost of catering for their special needs fall on the taxpayer. One of the major expenses in the penal system today is the cost of psychological care for inmates who have mental disabilities. Electing to opt for community corrections save the taxpayer from this expenses.
Those with Special Dependents
A large cross-section of African American boys who ended up in juvenile detention grew up without their fathers because they were in prison. Many children today are being brought up by the children’s service at the expense of taxpayers because their parents are incarcerated . The situation creates more of a philosophical and sociological as opposed to legal issue on whether third parties ought to suffer because of the undoing of their benefactors; children because of their parents, older citizens because of their children and sick relatives because of their benefactors (Cole et al, 2018). Once again, the criminal justice system, in this case, loses its blindness and considers the secondary consequences of incarceration. In this regard, community corrections play the role of guardian for those who have not committed any crimes yet will suffer for the crimes of their benefactors.
Conclusion
Justice must be fair and balanced meaning it has to consider all the stakeholders involved in the process. In this regard, justice can no longer afford to be blind and still be fair. Special communities vary from situation to situation hence the need for a sensitive form of justice that will be awake to the needs of each situation. As canvassed above, when dealing with special communities such as juveniles, persons with disabilities and those with dependents, community corrections play various varying roles. These roles include reducing the cost of incarceration, avoiding the ruining of juveniles lives through incarceration and avoiding the hurting of innocent third parties. Through community corrections for special communities, lady justice has been compelled to lose her blindness.
References
Cole, G. F., Smith, C. E., & DeJong, C. (2018). The American system of criminal justice . Boston, Massachusetts: Cengage Learning
Wolff, K. T., Baglivio, M. T., & Piquero, A. R. (2017). The relationship between adverse childhood experiences and recidivism in a sample of juvenile offenders in community-based treatment. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology , 61 (11), 1210-1242
