Alternative To Prison Programs For IncarceratedOregon's 'Alternative Incarceration Program' (AIP). who graduate from the program are released from prison early. trial judge must state that the convicted criminal is allowed to participate in alternative programs. Rikers Island, near New York City: thanks to innovative policies, the state's prison rolls and crime rate are both down. Photograph: Chip East/Reuters. Program Goals. The Drug Treatment Alternative to Prison (DTAP) program was developed by the Kings County District Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, N.Y., and is the first prosecution-led residential drug treatment diversion. Top 10 Modern Prison Programs. effective alternative to prison. These programs may be part of prison religious offerings and ministry or may be wholly secular. ALTERNATIVE TO INCARCERATION (ATI) PROGRAMS. The Division of Probation and Correctional Alternatives (DPCA) funds and oversees a variety of pretrial services and correctional alternative programs throughout New York State. Prison Reform and Alternatives to Imprisonment. Why promote prison reform? Central to the arguments to promote prison reforms is a human rights argument - the premise on which many UN standards and norms have been developed. However, this argument is often insufficient to encourage prison reform programmes in countries with scarce human and financial resources. The detrimental impact of imprisonment, not only on individuals but on families and communities, and economic factors also need to be taken into account when considering the need for prison reforms. Human rights considerations. A sentence of imprisonment constitutes only a deprivation of the basic right to liberty. It does not entail the restriction of other human rights, with the exception of those which are naturally restricted by the very fact of being in prison. Prison reform is necessary to ensure that this principle is respected, the human rights of prisoners protected and their prospects for social reintegration increased, in compliance with relevant international standards and norms. Imprisonment disproportionately affects individuals and families living in poverty. When an income generating member of the family is imprisoned the rest of the family must adjust to this loss of income. The impact can be especially severe in poor, developing countries where the state does not provide financial assistance to the indigent and where it is not unusual for one breadwinner to financially support an extended family network. Thus the family experiences financial losses as a result of the imprisonment of one of its members, exacerbated by the new expenses that must be met - such as the cost of a lawyer, food for the imprisoned person, transport to prison for visits and so on. Alternative To Prison Programs For InmatesWhen released, often with no prospects for employment, former prisoners are generally subject to socio- economic exclusion and are thus vulnerable to an endless cycle of poverty, marginalisation, criminality and imprisonment. Thus, imprisonment contributes directly to the impoverishment of the prisoner, of his family (with a significant cross- generational effect) and of society by creating future victims and reducing future potential economic performance. Public health consequences of imprisonment. Prisons have very serious health implications. Prison abolitionists see the prisons as an. In the Community Based Alternatives to Incarceration in. Many of these alternative programs in which Stein suggests are ones that are started by the community as. ALTERNATIVES TO INCARCERATION IN A NUTSHELL An “alternative to incarceration” is any kind of punishment other than time in prison or jail that can be given to a person who commits a crime. Frequently, punishments other. Prisoners are likely to have existing health problems on entry to prison, as they are predominantly from poorly educated and socio- economically deprived sectors of the general population, with minimal access to adequate health services. Their health conditions deteriorate in prisons which are overcrowded, where nutrition is poor, sanitation inadequate and access to fresh air and exercise often unavailable. Psychiatric disorders, HIV infection, tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C, sexually transmitted diseases, skin diseases, malaria, malnutrition, diarrhoea and injuries including self- mutilation are the main causes of morbidity and mortality in prison. In countries with a high prevalence of TB in the outside community, prevalence of TB can be up to 1. In most countries HIV infection in prisons is significantly higher than within the population outside prison, especially where drug addiction and risk behaviours are prevalent. Prison staff are also vulnerable to most of the diseases of which prisoners are at risk. Prisons are not isolated from the society and prison health is public health. The vast majority of people committed to prison eventually return to the wider society. Thus, it is not in vain that prisons have been referred to as reservoirs of disease in various contexts. Detrimental social impact. Imprisonment disrupts relationships and weakens social cohesion, since the maintenance of such cohesion is based on long- term relationships. When a member of a family is imprisoned, the disruption of the family structure affects relationships between spouses, as well as between parents and children, reshaping the family and community across generations. Mass imprisonment produces a deep social transformation in families and communities. Taking into account the above considerations, it is essential to note that, when considering the cost of imprisonment, account needs to be taken not only of the actual funds spent on the upkeep of each prisoner, which is usually significantly higher than what is spent on a person sentenced to non- custodial sanctions, but also of the indirect costs, such as the social, economic and healthcare related costs, which are difficult to measure, but which are immense and long- term. The benchmarks for action in prison reform: the United Nations Standards and Norms. As the guardian of international standards and norms in crime prevention and criminal justice, UNODC is mandated to support Member States in putting into practice these standards and norms by assisting States in building fair and effective criminal justice systems. Over the years a considerable body of United Nations standards and norms related to crime prevention and criminal justice has emerged. Key among standards and norms that relate directly to prison reform are: • United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners• Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention and Imprisonment• Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners• United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non- Custodial Measures (Tokyo Rules)• United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non- custodial Measures for Women Offenders (Bangkok Rules)Other UN instruments relevant to the prison system: • Universal Declaration of Human Rights• International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights• The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment• Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners• UN Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women• Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials• Basic Principles on the use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials• Safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty• UN Recommendations on Life Imprisonment• Basic principles on the use of restorative justice programs in criminal matters• Kampala Declaration on Prison Conditions in Africa• Arusha Declaration on Good Prison Practice. For further info: see. Compendium of United Nations standards and norms in crime prevention and criminal justice"UNODC's integrated and multi- disciplinary approach to prison reform strategy. It is of utmost importance that prison reform is not regarded in isolation from broader criminal justice reform. UNODC believes that effective prison reform is dependent on the improvement and rationalisation of criminal justice policies, including crime prevention and sentencing policies, and on the care and treatment made available to vulnerable groups in the community. Reform of the prison system should therefore always take into account the needs relating to the reform of the criminal justice system as a whole and employ an integrated, multi- disciplinary strategy to achieve sustainable impact. Thus, reform initiatives will usually need to also encompass criminal justice institutions other than the prison service, such as the judiciary prosecution and police service, as relevant. An integrated approach also takes account of areas that are typically not regarded as part of the "criminal justice system". These include, for example, the development of substance dependence treatment programmes in the community or psycho- social counselling programmes, to which certain offenders may be diverted, rather than being imprisoned, thus ensuring that services in prison are not overstretched, trying to meet the needs of a growing number of prisoners with special needs. The integrated strategy to prison reform can benefit immensely from the establishment and development of collaboration and partnerships with other UN agencies and other international and national organisations engaged in complementary programmes. Thematic Areas of Work in the field of Prison Reform and Alternatives to Imprisonment. UNODC's technical assistance in the area of prison reform covers the following thematic areas: pre- trial detention; prison management; alternative measures and sanctions; social reintegration. A cross- cutting theme relevant to all prison related interventions is healthcare, including specifically the prevention, management and treatment of HIV/AIDS and drug dependency. Read more.. Pre- trial detention. There are three main issues that need to be taken into consideration in the context of pre- trial detention: firstly, pre- trial detention is overused in most countries worldwide and in many developing countries the size of the pre- trial prisoner population is larger than that of the convicted prisoner population. This situation contradicts the provisions in international standards, including ICCPR, that provide for the limited use of pre- trial detention, only when certain conditions are present. Secondly, pre- trial detention is the period most open to abuse in the criminal justice process. Recognizing the particular vulnerability of pre- trial detainees, international human rights instruments provide for a large number of very specific safeguards to ensure that the rights of detainees are not abused, that they are not ill- treated and their access to justice not hindered. Thirdly, although pre- trial detainees should be presumed innocent until found guilty by a court of law, and treated as such, conditions in pre- trial detention are often much worse than those of prisons for convicted prisoners.
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