Corrections officers?

[portokiwi]

Just a question????? are there any corection / Prison officers on this site?
Saw the programme on tv1 at 2130 last night, Thought it was very interesting On gangs and our prisons here in NZ

[SMOKEU]

I saw that show as well. The problem is that the jails here are too empty. Lock the fuckers up for longer.

[rustyrobot]

Lock the fuckers up for longer.

As astute as your analysis is (and confusing when teamed with your 'Fuck The Police' avatar), I just dont see that locking people up for longer helps the situation at all. Prison is essentially crime school, and an institution that de-socialises people. I think that without rehabilitation programmes and the chance to re-integrate, locking people up for longer just takes them further away from society, and societal norms. When they do get released, they are stigmatised, have even less social skills and have spent the last however many years getting crime lessons off of their longer serving cell buddies. Can't say that in 6 words though.

[Mully]

When they do get released

There's your problem. Don't let 'em out.

[duckonin]

Rustyrobot, there are those that do not need rehabilitation after coming out, those that do are shit bags anyway and no amount of rehabilitaion is going to help, only age may do that, you would have to read the rap sheets on those persons and most need locking away from society forever.

[SMOKEU]

As astute as your analysis is (and confusing when teamed with your 'Fuck The Police' avatar), I just dont see that locking people up for longer helps the situation at all. Prison is essentially crime school, and an institution that de-socialises people. I think that without rehabilitation programmes and the chance to re-integrate, locking people up for longer just takes them further away from society, and societal norms. When they do get released, they are stigmatised, have even less social skills and have spent the last however many years getting crime lessons off of their longer serving cell buddies. Can't say that in 6 words though.

Some people simply can't be or don't want to be rehabilitated. No matter how much conselling they receive, or how much support they get from the justice system, there is a very large group of people who will continue to offend for as long as they can before being locked up again. The cycle simply repeats itself over and over again until the criminal dies. If people don't want to change their behaviour then counselling or rehab isn't going to achieve anything.

[Her_C4]

At the risk of repeating myself incessantly - you cannot rehabilitate someone who has never been habilitated in the first place. Trust me on this. I have seen children as young as 3 years old 'tooled up' and know what to do with them. I have also seen the outcomes of young children who have been forced to take part (don't make me go into detail here) in block rapes. How do you REhabilitate? You don't. Early and appropriate intervention , nature / nurture blah blah blah...

[JimO]

stop paying undesirables to have children, stop paying people to do nothing, stop hitting people with wet bus tickets when hitting them with a wet bus is a better option, can all the treaty bludging and eventually the prison system wont be under the pressure it is currently

[rustyrobot]

I think you make good points against the imaginary boogie-man criminals, but I just don't know how many people who commit violent (for example) crimes fit in this category. I work with people who have been convicted of violent offences against their family members, and those people come from all walks of life. I don't believe it is as easy to pigeon-hole people as you would think. Okay, there are the obvious 'born into a gang family, grew up surrounded by gangs, going to be trouble their whole life' types, but I would suggest they aren't as plentiful, or obvious as the media would lead us to believe.

As far as longer prison sentences (or even the death penalty) it doesn't seem to work in other countries - America has far more violent crime than New Zealand, and all of those ultra-orthodox super-strict religious states in the middle east are the breeding grounds for violent extremists (although the internal murder rates of some are fairly low). Countries with more moderate/compassionate justice systems (Iceland, Denmark), have far lower crime rates. Perhaps this is a case of chicken vs. egg though, and they have more relaxed justice systems BECAUSE of the lower crime rates. Either way. "Lock up the bastards for ever" hardly seems to be a deterrent to the next generation of bastards.

If people don't want to change their behaviour then counselling or rehab isn't going to achieve anything.

I totally agree. I just think that when you look at people who have turned their lives around, it is usually because of a connection with something/someone outside of that crime life that they identify with and cling to. Yet, they have to be able to make this connection in the first place to make the change.

Blah. Not pretending to have any answers. Just suggesting that maybe the answer is a bit deeper than cliches and angry slogans.

[rustyrobot]

Spelling corection officers?

[portokiwi]

GEE Rusty, thank you for that I have changed my spelling.
Seeing how the (bad spelling) Scandinavians have reduced their pers in jail.
Would NZ or Could NZ follow that path?????????
or are our crims that bad.......

[davereid]

As far as longer prison sentences (or even the death penalty) it doesn't seem to work in other countries - America has far more violent crime than New Zealand.

Thats a common, but completely incorrect assumption. There ARE places in America that have shockingly high crime rates, particularly murder rates. They are virtually all black and hispanic gang controlled ghetos.

Most of the USA manages crime rates we can only wish for.

[CookMySock]

I met one bloke who was a prison officer. He absolutely loved his job. I cannot for the life of me see why.

I'm pretty sure being in prison is actually a horrible experience for many people, who are adamant they aren't going back there again. I've had the luxury of a single-over-nighter, and that was a fucken nuff for me. Screw that.

Steve

[firefighter]

At 90k pa per prisoner, the only solution is my pit of death. No need for prison, you would walk in, past all the blood and corpses, shit your pants, your crime would be heard, I judge whether you will really learn or be a re-offender, then let you go with the stern warning, do'nt let me see you again. If I did without some pretty exceptional circumstances, that's you joining the others.

Obviously, a low security prison for those who truly seem rehabilitative. Others like those pieces of shit you see on 10 7, no fucken chance in the pit!

The only solution. It is folly to believe anything different. It's amazing how well those who work with these scum get brainwashed into feeling sympathy for them. Everyone knows what right and wrong is.

I'm sick of seeing rapists, murders and kiddie fiddlers getting a second chance, after 10 or so years. What the fuck?! You took a life, why the fuck should you be allowed to continue on with yours?

[portokiwi]

Wow shows how good the system is here in NZ......