Should criminals be punished?

The latter is better prvided that real and commppetent experts ar availabe do deliver the goods withoutany excuse.

Are they in your vision wthout ifs and buts?.

@ jogeshwar

if these ways of changing the mindset and thought patterns of criminals are devised,the professionals can be arranged who deal exclusively with such people....

 

however i asked smth. else .i asked if punishment is more effective or these ways...u dint reply to this thing specifically

It is a management affair. The managers have accepted relative efficacy of both with greater relience on incarceration.

The scenario does have a light at the end of the tunnel.

Education is one of the ways in which this positive change was affected. Education works in two levels to successfully rehabilitate the criminal. On a macro level, society as a whole is being educated to promote the importance of keeping the laws as well as ensuring that there is less discrimination against former criminals. This ensures that there propensity for ex-convicts to return to a life of crime is less, as they are able to secure jobs after their release. Education is also being offered within the prison to allow the prisoners to upgrade and stay relevant to the changing society outside the prison walls.

In criminal rehabilitation, prisoners are given opportunity to increase their content knowledge base. This is essential as studies show that many inmates do not have basic grade school education. This would severely impede their success of acquiring jobs, thus many had to turn to a life of crime. Basic criminal rehabilitation programs ensure that there is a standard level of literacy amongst the inmates who sign up for the course.

The project "Social and Psychological Rehabilitation of Criminals", which was developed by the Penitentiary Committee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, started in the Republic of Belarus. The realization of the new project is carried out with the organizational and financial support of the UN Development Program in Belarus.

The experts working in the laboratory will have to make their contribution to the development of the methods of social and psychological rehabilitation of former prisoners on the basis of existing experience in this field.

H . Barnes wrote :

"The diagnosis and treatment of the criminal is a highly technical medical and sociological problem for which the lawyer is rarely any better fitted than a real estate agent or a plumber. We shall ultimately come to admit that society has been unfortunate in handing over criminals to lawyers and judges in the past as it once was in entrusting medicine to shamans and astrologers, and surgery to barbers. A hundred years ago we allowed lawyers and judges to have the same control of the insane classes as they still exert over the criminal groups, but we now recognize that insanity is a highly diversified and complex medical problem which we entrust to properly trained experts in the field of neurology and psychiatry. We may hope that in another hundred years the treatment of the criminal will be equally thoroughly and willingly submitted to medical and sociological experts."

More positive efforts are needed to make the man whole, and this takes us to the domain of mind culture. Modern scientific studies have validated ancient vedic insights bequeathing to mankind new meditationa. yogic and other therapeutics, at once secular, empirically tested and trans-religious. The psychological, physiologic and sociological experiments conducted on the effects of Transcendental Meditation (TM, for short) have proved that this science of creative intelligence, in its meditational applications, transquillises the tense inside, helps meet stress without distress, overcome inactivations and instabilities and by holistic healing normalises the severed and fatigued man. Rehabilitation of psychatric patients, restoration of juvenile offenders, augmentation of moral tone and temper and, more importantly, improvement of social behaviour of prisoners are among the proven findings recorded by researchers. Extensive studies of TM in many prisons in the U.S.A. Canada, Germany and other countries are reported to have yielded results of improved creativity, higher responsibility and better behaviour. Indeed, a few trial courts in the, United States have actually prescribed(1) TM as a recipe for rehabilitation. As Dr. M. P. Pai, Principal of the Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, has put down -

"Meditation is a science and this should be learnt under guidance and cannot be just picked up from books. Objective studies on the effects of meditation on human body and mind is a modern observation and has been studied by various investigation at MERU- Maharishi European Research University. Its tranquillising effect on body and mind, ultimately leading to he greater goal of Cosmic Consciousness or universal awareness, has been studied by using over a hundred parameters. Transcendental Meditation practised for 15 minutes in the morning and evening every day brings about a host of beneficial effects. To name only a few :

1. Body and mind gets into a state of deep relaxation.

2. -B. M. R. drops, less oxygen is consumed.

3. E.E.G. shows brain wave coherence with 'alpha' wave preponderance.

4. Automatic stability increases.

5. Normalisation of high blood pressure.

6. Reduced use of alcohol and tobacco.

7. Reduced stress, hence decreased plasma cortisol and blood lactate.

8. Slowing of the heart etc.

An Article on TM and the Criminal Justice System in the Kentucky Law Journal and another one in the Maryland Law Forum highlight the potency of TM in the field of criminal rehabilitation (Kentucky L. J. Vol. 60, 1971-72 No. 2; and University of Maryland Law Forum, Vol. 111, No. 2, Winter 1973). There is no reason, prima facie, if TM physiologically produces a deep state of restful alertness which rejuvenates and normalises the functioning of the nervous system.

@Sameer Sharma

Can we be back  to the question of Narad to Ratnakar-For whom are you committing crime?

As long as it is for self the technology you presented will work but when it is for invisible BIG BOSSES I do not think your technology will work.

@ jogeshwar

 

the way u reply to people shows how rude,demotivating and negative u r!

 

keep it up!

@Aishwarya

LOL. I too was at you stage of realization, that is, away from reality. Trust, sooner or later reality will touch you.

Dear Sameer,

I really appreciate your line of thought and the way you have presented it. Kudos for your fantabulous post.

God bless - keep up the good work going.

Best Regards

Daksh

@Aishwarya/@Daksh

 

By any chance did yoou visit 'crimetimes.org' ?

By any chance did you go through any issue of 'International Journal of comparative criminology and offender therapy'?

Mother Teresa succeeded to go in heaven and also got the status of saint after. I am very happy for this even though society has no change. I do not know whether criminal will be changed by your efforts but I am happy to see a little mother Teresa in you. Best wishes.

"professionals can be arranged who deal exclusively with such people."

Please Name the professionals who can substitute jails by reform institutes.

Dear Aishwarya, Sameer and Jogeshwar, I think we are side tracking the real issues as posted by three of you. Yes, whatever you threesome posted is very sound and appreciated. But look at our criminal justice systems from Criminology point of view as taught in our Law Schools? Every good things about prison systems are there in black in white but where is it prevailing. No doubt Aishwarya, posted a very thought provoking issues and Sameer, has given excellent suggestions likeTranscendental Meditiation and I know something about the value of meditiation from some Indian Gurus and Yogic, they are truly superb, which has reached the shore of the western Countries.But as pointed out by Jogeshwar, in reality it is absolutely impossible to introduce them in our present Prison systems. Our Indian criminology is very clear what should be the standard of the prison systems, but in reality it is like veterinary farm. Consider this, some years back,  in my own District jail all the inmates went out of jail and after spending some 6 to 7 hours outside the jail they dociley came back to jail, reason: they went to have food outside as they were not feed by the jail authorities. question is why and how did they go out of Jail inmass? Why did they not escape? If we analyzed all this aspects what Jogeshwar posted about the reality, I agree with him though the posting of Aishwarya is very thought provoking issues with sameer coming out with excellent suggestions. To wind up my posting I would suggest members to go through the Supreme Court Observations of the Human Rights of the prisoners as reported in the case of Charles Gurmukh Sobraj vs Delhi Administration: 1978-(004)- SCC-049-SC. But in the present scenario all those good things in our criminology suystems butteresed with the observations of the Supreme Court is just like a Child crying for the Moon.

Also remember the work by Kiran Bedi and its results.