Alternatives to Discipline and Punishment

Alternatives to Discipline and Punishment is a topic of providing alternatives to incarceration.
Incarceration has flaws and that is why there is a need for alternatives. Incarceration does not always address underlying causes for the criminal act. Especially in the case of youth, who often, cannot be properly diagnosed with a disorder. Within the prison environment a person who may have just made a mistake will be exposed to harsh criminals and as per differential association theory, become worse criminals after they leave jai. Given jails environment and structure, inmates become institutionalized, which can pose a huge issue when it comes to meshing back into society. Set meal times and all the rules, the freedom of life may overwhelm an ex-convict. These can all lead to recidivism. Another issue is also the cost, it costs 70k (for an adult) and 100k (for a youth) to be jailed in Canada for a year. What a waste, considering the percentage of recidivism from those coming from jail. To avoid these there is a need for alternatives. Alternatives can accommodate the diversity within the offending population such as the mentally ill, juveniles, women and people of different ethnicity. With alternatives, there is a possibility for restorative justice to come into play. This can be beneficial to the victim, as well as the offender who may put a face to the crime they committed. This may be a great deterrent to some. Given the heterogeneity of offenders it is good to have a variety of alternative remedies because not everything may work for just one person.
Benefits of Incarceration
Some of the benefits of incarceration are that it keeps high-risk offenders in jail and away from the community. Also, it gives the victims the feeling of satisfaction that the offender is locked up and being punished. Some of the programs which are available to inmates who have admitted their wrongs and are willing to change themselves include:
a) Distance Education: Field of education that focuses their of aim of teaching to those individuals that are not present in the classrooms
b) Vocational Training: Prepares trainees for jobs which are based on manual or practical activities which are non- academic and are related to a specific trade. (E.g. blacksmith)
c) CORCAN: Aids in the safe integration of offenders into Canadian society by providing employment and employability skills training to offenders incarcerated in federal penitentiaries for a short period of time after they are released into the community.
Some of the alternatives to incarceration are:
a) Restorative Justice
b) Conditional Sentencing
When focusing in on what the best measures to take on offenders, youth and victims are it has been seen taking an approach that is directed to the individual is the best alternative. For offenders and youth it is best take the Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) approach since it deals with speaking with a therapist who can single out the problem areas and find alternative measures to deal with those issues. In regards to victims, it is best to assure that they have someone to guide them through the negative experience and provide the education they need in order to move on and defend themselves from future re-victimization. For those offenders and youth who are willing to change, the CBT approach works best since they are provided the opportunity to reach the core issue and help solve it or reform it. With victims, the need to talk about their experience helps with the recovery process and sometimes to do so Restorative Justice can be a good alternative since the victim can speak with the offender and ask questions to find out why this happened.
Incarceration is not the only method of punishing an individual who has wronged to society, sometimes it is better to focus on the individual in give the a sentence that is proportionate to the act they committed. Alternatives may include conditional sentence, probation and parole. These methods provide the necessary punishment and allow the offender to maintain somewhat of a normal life in society. Conditional sentence and probation are quite similar, in that they both provide conditions and limitations to the offender who will still maintain life in the society. Instead of sending the offender off to prison for a minor offense it is better to place restrictions and punish the offender in that way. With parole the offender who is in prison, after a certain amount of time serving his or her sentence is allowed to prove to the parole board that he or she is ready to go back into the society and begin the reintegration process which allows for an easier start at life again.
Restorative justice, based off of native sentencing circles, provides an opportunity for dialogue between the victim and the offender, as there is a mediator present. This only works when both parties habve a genuine interest and put forth a genuine effort to participate. Risk of re-victimising the victim is high when genuine efforts are not put in.
Many programs exist to help preventative measures have been taken. Programs have been created to reduce harm and increase safety. Many types of needle exchange programs, safe injection sites, and crack kits are now available to the public to aid in safe injection of drugs. Although this is not a perfect solution, it is an effort to reduce the spread of disease by needle, prevent overdoses, and prevent needles from being left on the street. One such program, in Vancouver BC, is called insite. This provides addicts a place to inject themselves safely with clean needles, and has health officials there to aid in safe injections. Youth preventative measures would include big brother/big sister programs, and community centers open for youth which provide program and activities as an outlet for kids.
Canada should respond to each case individually. There is no one program that can be used over all cases. Alternatives to incarceration provide a cost effective way of dealing with offenders, which in hopes will bridge the gap they have from the community and reform them into a functional member of society. This works well for lesser offenders, but for those with harsher offences, such as murder or rape, this may not work and incarceration could be the best solution for them.

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