The rate of incarceration of violent serial offenders continues to increase, an indication that there is the need to develop effective strategies to address the situation. Effective prevention, treatment and punishment measures should however not undermine the road to justice but be devoted to ensuring that offenders are accountable while at the same time keep the public safe. Consideration of the budget limit is significant in ensuring that the proposed measures do not create a financial burden in attempts to seek justice. According to Parker, harsh punishment should be substituted with effective mechanisms in order to reduce expenditure on imprisoned offenders (Parker, 2012). Thus, ideal means of prevention, treatment, and punishment of violent serial offenders are necessary to ensure that justice is achieved without foregoing the safety of the general public, and in return, realigning with the financial position offered by the budget.
Prevention of Violent Serial Offenders
The authority is responsible for ensuring that citizens do not indulge in criminal activities. In its authoritative position, it is supposed to ensure that effective mechanisms are implemented to facilitate a society that upholds moral conduct. Thus, prevention is one of the many steps in ensuring that cases of violent serial offending are contained. Public awareness is one of the most effective measures that can aid in reducing violent crimes. According to Canter et al., many serial offenders live in one geographical area, an aspect that facilitates easy identification of offenders. Their geographical identification is an important aspect in profiling of serial offenders (Canter et al. 2000). Whereas crime is behavioral there tend to be influences that are mainly directed from the social environment. This is an indication that offenders can influence their peers to engage in criminal activities (Salfati, 2014). Continuous sensitization of the public through awareness is vital in ensuring that potential offenders are discouraged from indulging in criminal activities. This is significant especially in geographical areas that are presumed to be inhabited by offenders and potential offenders. They need to be sensitized on possible implications of violent and criminal activities, in attempts to ensure that they drop the behavior. Considering the limited budget, prevention of criminal activities through public awareness is efficient as it takes up a smaller portion of the budget compared to incarceration of serial offenders. On the other hand, the authority will have succeeded in bringing up a society that is firmly grounded on ethics rather than personal traits.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Treatment of Violent Serial Offenders
Treatment is an important aspect to consider when handling violent serial offenders. This is with respect to upholding their fundamental rights that are outlined in the human rights doctrines. The government should, therefore, have social welfare that caters for the treatment of offenders. This can be achieved through the implementation of rehabilitation centers. While the criminal justice system is supposed to punish offenders, it is also obligated with the duty to ensure that they provide services that tend to improve the lives of the offenders in line with the provided policies (Gendreau, 2016). According to Gendreau (2016), there are various causes of crime such as alcohol and unemployment, thus, offering social services to offenders is a gesture that may promote humanity. Creation of rehabilitation centers significantly works towards changing the attitudes of the offenders, considering that their past cannot be changed. Concentration on attitudes thus provides a long-term solution. Rehabilitation centers effectively work towards the reduction of recidivism in return increasing the public safety which is critical. In relation to the treatment of violent serial offenders, rehabilitation should aim at correcting antisocial behavior that may hinder the reformation of the offender in the future. To avoid recurrences of offender reincarceration, treatment services should be directed to cognitive behavior, as one of the most convenient avenues of correcting the behavior of offenders.
Punishment of Violent Serial Offenders
Punishment of violent serial offenders is preferred as the most effective way of bringing justice to the offended while at the same time ensuring that the offender does not repeat the same offense. Although punishment has been suggested as an effective mean of justice, the increased crime rate has been attributed to heavy punishment. According to Hylton, harsh punishment is not ideal for potential criminals and for the safety of the public. One of the most significant reasons for the opposition of harsh punishment has been the gap created that has facilitated corruption within law agencies (Hylton, 2018). Many law enforcers have been found to target certain groups or individuals, by using the harsh punishments as the reason to take bribe from them. Harsh punishment such as heavy fines and imprisonment are ideal but not in all cases. To reduce the cases of corruption, Hylton (2018) contends that fines from offenders should not be used directly to benefit law agencies, but can be channeled to programs like prisoner’s education. Any punishment should be for educational purposes that seek to ensure that the offender is in calculated with essential virtues. Determination of the psychology of the offender is also ideal in ensuring that the punishment given is right. This aspect brings about the guidelines on how to judge offenders. Statistical devices are significant in predicting the judgement patterns as compared to personal judgements that are filled with informed verdicts (Holsinger, Lurigio & Latessa, 2001). Case classification should also be considered as it allows law agencies to allocate enough resources for effectiveness. In regard to staying within the budget, harsh punishments should not be used as the absolute method of punishment, as it creates more gaps in terms of agencies corruption and more resources allocated to the high number of incarcerated individuals.
Conclusion
Summarily, addressing of prevention, treatment, and punishment of violent serial offenders is a challenge that calls for effective measures. It is imperative for the authorities to reconsider the existing methods by adopting new mechanisms that can positively work towards addressing the issue of violent offending. Considering the public safety, the budget and the possibility for change, prevention through public awareness is significant. This is due to its address on potential criminals and reducing the cases of reincarceration. Treatment of prisoners by establishing rehabilitation centers is also an effective mechanism since it works towards future morals while at the same time meeting the fundamentals rights of offenders. Punishment by fines and imprisonment is ideal but there are factors that should be considered to ensure that it is effective. Fines should not be used to finance law agencies as it promotes bribery, while at the same time harsh policies and punishments may result to negative outcomes, especially when there is need to maintain the budgetary levels.
References
Canter, D., Coffey, T., Huntley, M., & Missen, C (2000). Predicting serial killers’ home base using a decision support system. Journal of Quantitative Criminology 16 (4): 457-478.
Gendreau, P (2016). What works to change offenders. Rehabilitation Theory . 148-170.
Holsinger, M., A. Lurigio, J., A. & Latessa, J., E (2001). Up to speed: a review of research for practitioners. Federal Probation 65 (1): 46-50.
Hylton, N. K (2018). Whom should we punish, and how? Rational incentives and criminal justice reform. William & Mary Law Review 59 (2513): 2514-2572.
Parker, N. R (2012). Why California’s ‘three strikes’ fails as crime and economic policy, and what to do. California Journal of Politics and Policy 5 (2): 206-231.
Salfati, G. C (2014). Serial crime: psychology of behavioral consistency and applications to linking . 262-268.
