Social Deviance, Social Control, and Changing the Criminal Justice System in America

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Had to answer: If you were asked to build a better vision of social control and, thereby, reduce deviance in American society how would you do it?
Then my response:
In any given society, there are elements that control the way that interact. This means that every person that is in that particular society has to abide by the norms that have been set out. Ideally, this one of the aspects that means that one fits in within the society. It is common to find that there are persons that do not want to conform to the ways of the society. These are the persons that are considered to be deviant. For example, it is a common norm that one should never steal what belongs to another. As such, when one is involved in acts of theft, they are considered to be deviant in the society as they have taken part in an activity that is considered to be wrong. In the light of the social order, such person is thus taken through the justice system which decides what type of punishment the person should be awarded. The justice system is a part of the social control that is used in the society to make sure that every other person is following the social norms. As such, the norms and the elements of social control tend to act as gauges for the social order. Norms can also be viewed as cultural practices that are generally accepted by the members of a given society.
The elements behind the social deviance that is found in the American society has been widely studied with some of the researchers stating that it may actually stem from genetic lineages. One of the most underestimated elements that bring about social deviance in the American society is that of social inequality. For most of the people, when they come to America, they take it that this is the land of opportunity. As such, they come with such high hopes, looking forward to make a living and name for their families. America is a metropolitan society, where all the people from all backgrounds are free to take their chances in life. However, the American dream is not so much practical as it is said. For the longest time, African Americans, Hispanics and the Chinese among other races have experienced social injustices that go beyond their personality. While some of the practices can be traced back to the 60`s and even earlier, social inequality is one of the most significant problems that the American society suffers from.
To reduce the social deviance rates in America one of the elements that has to change is that of associated with the justice system and by extension of the correction facilities. While the correction facilities are meant to bring about correction to the entire society, there is a worrying trend within the prison system. The highest majority among the inmates in the correction facilities are African Americans and the Hispanics, while the whites make the smallest percentage. This is a trend that has been going on for decades, where the justice system has intentionally targeted some of the races in the society. This is an element that stems from the social inequalities in the American society that extend to the slavery era. There is a need for the justice system to be redefined to make sure that it is not biased along racial prejudices.
The other element that caused elements of social deviance in the American society to keep rising, is labeling the criminals or persons that have been convicted of crimes. Ideally, the correction facilities are supposed to being about correction of deviant behaviors in the persons convicted. However, once the offenders leave the correction facilities, they are met with hostility and rejection from the society. Ironically, this is an aspect that is state orchestrated. Persons that are convicted of rape, murder and other forms of violence are branded criminals for a lifetime. For these persons, even though they left the correction facilities with a positive attitude towards life having been reformed, they are likely to end up slipping to their old habits from frustration in the society. It is difficult for such persons to work or start fresh without most of the society discriminating against them. As such, the best way to make sure that the correction facilities live up to their name and original design and purpose, there has to be some element of social change that starts with reviewing laws and legislations that tend to victimize the convicts. By establishing support systems that the convicts can rely on when they get out of prison. This way they have a chance to start fresh with the right traction that they need, other victimization for the crimes that they committed in their past. Billions of dollars go into the correction facilities, however, they ironically do not create better citizens. It is common for teenagers that go through the juvenile correction facilities to come out as hardened criminals instead of having been reformed. This is due to the fact that, even the kind programs that are used in the correction facilities allow the vile habits and behaviors to flourish in the prison systems. Persons that are taken for petty crimes, come out as seasoned criminals. The prison system also needs to embrace the research findings that have suggested quality correction programs that establish change in attitudes and behaviors in the convicts along with systematic support systems, that establish a positive connection between correction facilities and the reintegration into the society.
Then my classmates response:
This is a very difficult question to answer. What would I know that politicians, experts in the field, or historians would not have already thought of? I don't think that the answer is something that people haven't already thought of, but in fact several things that could be done that has been discussed not only in our text but in the required videos and news outlets.
As a community, we strive for order and for safety in our society and for its betterment. To ensure this and curtail the existence of deviance, we have taken on the idea of strict punishment for offences in America. While this may be warranted for terrible crimes such as murder, but for non-violent crimes such as drug possession, the judicial system has grown too harsh with its sentencing. What has happened is that the government has created mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines which means that judges are no longer allowed to use any type of discretion when sentencing a convicted criminal, instead there are a set amount of years for certain crimes, no matter what their criminal record may have been before or under what circumstances the crime was committed.
It was shocking to hear that the Garrison brothers were sentenced to twelve to fourteen years in prison under the mandatory sentencing guidelines, while if it had been under a judge's discretion they would have only served five years. This is a prime example of what has caused the prison population to skyrocket five hundred percent in thirteen years according to the incarceration video. My suggestion is instead of locking away people for so long and focusing on the criminal's punishment, we need to focus more on rehabilitation of the criminal so that they can become a more valued member of society. This is how I feel about most of the deviances that could be considered criminal, we need to spend more time trying to rehabilitate rather than punish. I don't believe that there is ever a way to really control deviance, only ways to rehabilitate a person whether it be through education or therapy.
What you write: tell what you like/dislike, agree/disagree, any question ask those too, but make sure your opinion is on the same page as my response.