Incarceration in Germany, Netherlands and the United States of America
Incarceration in the world has taken a new turn, as different countries in the world have come up with ways of dealing with prisoners (Currie, 2013). This has been attributed to the high rates of crime in the world, which have consequently resulted in either the death of most people, or in the destruction of property. Moreover, different types of crimes have also come up, thus making the processes of incarceration to change in order to punish the wrong doers (Sevdiren, 2011). For instance, the world is currently facing cybercrimes, a type of crime which had never been witnessed in the past. This has consequently led to the revision of incarceration philosophies and practices in order to deal with such crimes. On the other, population increase and immigration have consequently led to very stiff punishments imposed on the prisoners.
The US has very strict incarceration philosophies and practices in the world. This is consequently because, the country is mainly concerned with the security its citizens. The US has therefore decided to punish the wrong doers very harshly, in order to discourage most people from indulging in criminal activities. This stiff punishments have therefore seen the country having one of the highest populations of prisoners (Sevdiren, 2011). For instance, the least sentence in the country is a period of 3 years. This therefore makes most criminals to be imprisoned even after committing simple mistakes which could have been solved through mediation. On the other hand, in Netherlands and Germany, the average prison sentence is less than a year. In both the Netherlands and Germany, the countries are only concerned with punishing the wrong doers through advising them and teaching them on the importance of maintaining peace and working under the rule of law (Currie, 2013).
The US has consequently used prisons as a way of punishing the wrong doers, a move which has consequently affected the country (Currie, 2013). The country spends a lot of money in order to cater for the prisoners, since the number of prisoners has been on the rise since 19th century. In addition, 30% of the prisoners in the US are likely to go back to prison immediately they are released, simply because they tend to develop worse behaviors while in prison. On the other hand, the rates of incarceration in the US is 693% out of 100,000 as compared to Germany’s 76% out of 100,000 and Netherlands 69% out 100,00 people (Sevdiren, 2011). This consequently shows how the US is determined to deal with crime, such that the rates of incarceration are very high as compared to both Germany and the Netherlands.
While the Netherlands and Germany rely on fines and community based sentences, the US still relies on prisons. Due to overpopulation in the prisons, the US has not been able to fully rehabilitate the prisoners, thus making them to turn into hardcore a thing which makes it hard for them to change particularly after being released from prison (Sevdiren, 2011). The US incarceration philosophies and practices are therefore very stiff, a thing which has consequently led to a relative reduction in the rates of criminal activities in the country (Currie, 2013). The country should however look for other possible ways of punishing the wrong doers, other than imprisoning them for very a long period. Even though the US has very strict punishments as compared to Germany and Netherlands, crime rates in the US are very high as compared to Germany and the Netherlands.
Reference
Sevdiren, O. (2011). Alternatives to imprisonment in England and Wales, Germany and Turkey: A comparative study. (Alternatives to Imprisonment in England and Wales, Germany and Turkey.) Berlin: Springer Berlin.
Currie, E. (2013). Crime and punishment in America.
