When it comes to prison population, most people look at the cause and very few look at the effect.
What causes people to be in prison is simple - they broke the law. Generally speaking simple possesion is overlooked by both the police and the courts - of course, the "in your face" attitude of some people just begs for arrest. People in jail and in prison are usually there for multiple offenses - they have no respect for authority and little use for the law - and many of them were trained into this condition by the very governement that's putting them behind bars.
Which lead us to effects. To do this we must ask questions that tend to be politically incorrect, so they are meekly asked and rarely answered.
What is the percentage of inmates from single parent homes?
What is the percentage of inmates that were deemed to have "special needs" in the school and social welfare system (in Massachusetts, these kids generally end up on CHINS (Child In Need of Services) which is a nice way of saying the kid has an attitude and will eventually end up in jail)?
What percentage of the inmates were in foster homes at one point or another?
Many children today are not given or held to any kind of expectations. The system supports them until they're 17 or 18 - and then they get the boot. Girls can get pregnant and the system will support them - they and their children will be diagnosed by some caring psychologist as having some mentall illness or syndrome and they all get SSI checks - mother AND children. The kids get several hundred dollars each quarter for clothes - rent subsidies, food stamps and free mediacal care are provided along with a host of other services - a social worker does all of the families thinking for them - the boys have no father to slap them down - they hang around the street corner and get all of their values about being a man from their peers - and then one day, the boys turn 18 - and BOOM - they're off of the system and too lazy or stupid to figure out how to get back on the system (that comes later on after one or two prison terms).
I'm sure you get the picture!
Until we start correcting the effects, the prison system will continue to increase and be a drain on our economy and society.
It's all about personal responsibility. Hold these kids responsible for their actions and most of them will come around. In Massachusetts, a kid who just sits in the classroom will eventually get out of school, with or without a diploma (that's in the coourts right now) - but if a kid acts up, he gets special treatment and goes to a special class for kids with special needs - and if he really acts up, he gets the top shelf treatment and gets bussed to a special scholl for kids with acting out problems - thay can do whatever they want at any step in any of these schools and they NEVER suffer a conseuence for their actions, other than to get sent to settings that are LESS restrictive.
By the way, my wife tried to do foster care for a while , so I've seen and worked with these kids and their mothers first hand - everything I say is from personal experience and knowledge. You'd never believe how these kids think - going to prison is a hallmark of manhood to them - a fricken badge of honor, I kid you not!
What causes people to be in prison is simple - they broke the law. Generally speaking simple possesion is overlooked by both the police and the courts - of course, the "in your face" attitude of some people just begs for arrest. People in jail and in prison are usually there for multiple offenses - they have no respect for authority and little use for the law - and many of them were trained into this condition by the very governement that's putting them behind bars.
Which lead us to effects. To do this we must ask questions that tend to be politically incorrect, so they are meekly asked and rarely answered.
What is the percentage of inmates from single parent homes?
What is the percentage of inmates that were deemed to have "special needs" in the school and social welfare system (in Massachusetts, these kids generally end up on CHINS (Child In Need of Services) which is a nice way of saying the kid has an attitude and will eventually end up in jail)?
What percentage of the inmates were in foster homes at one point or another?
Many children today are not given or held to any kind of expectations. The system supports them until they're 17 or 18 - and then they get the boot. Girls can get pregnant and the system will support them - they and their children will be diagnosed by some caring psychologist as having some mentall illness or syndrome and they all get SSI checks - mother AND children. The kids get several hundred dollars each quarter for clothes - rent subsidies, food stamps and free mediacal care are provided along with a host of other services - a social worker does all of the families thinking for them - the boys have no father to slap them down - they hang around the street corner and get all of their values about being a man from their peers - and then one day, the boys turn 18 - and BOOM - they're off of the system and too lazy or stupid to figure out how to get back on the system (that comes later on after one or two prison terms).
I'm sure you get the picture!
Until we start correcting the effects, the prison system will continue to increase and be a drain on our economy and society.
It's all about personal responsibility. Hold these kids responsible for their actions and most of them will come around. In Massachusetts, a kid who just sits in the classroom will eventually get out of school, with or without a diploma (that's in the coourts right now) - but if a kid acts up, he gets special treatment and goes to a special class for kids with special needs - and if he really acts up, he gets the top shelf treatment and gets bussed to a special scholl for kids with acting out problems - thay can do whatever they want at any step in any of these schools and they NEVER suffer a conseuence for their actions, other than to get sent to settings that are LESS restrictive.
By the way, my wife tried to do foster care for a while , so I've seen and worked with these kids and their mothers first hand - everything I say is from personal experience and knowledge. You'd never believe how these kids think - going to prison is a hallmark of manhood to them - a fricken badge of honor, I kid you not!
