Crime

Learning Objectives• Accurately describe the social, economic, and

political dimension of major problems and dilemmas facing contemporary American society;

• Use knowledge and analyses of social problems to evaluate public policy, and to suggest policy alternatives, with special reference to questions of social justice, the common good, and public and individual responsibility.

About Paper 2• What it Contains– Revised Paper I paper – A critical analysis and a moral analysis of the

Controversial Policy Solution

• 9-11 TOTAL Pages- 15 Works Cited

• Due in class on 8/4• Rubric

About Paper 2

• You must submit two copies– in class on the day and time they are due – submitted to turnitin.com via Blackboard by 11:59

PM on the Day they are due.

• I grade the hard copy, and if this is late, you receive a grade of zero for that assignment

Crime

CRIME AND THE COURTSThe Judicial Process

The Bill of Rights Provides Basic Criminal Protections

• ½ of all felonies are dismissed

• Unreasonable search and seizures

• Self Incrimination

• Exclusionary Rule

So you have been arrested step 1

• Read your rights

• Booked

• Meet with a lawyer

Meeting with the lawyer

Arrested Part 2

• Taken before a judge before trial– Bail

– Who is denied Bail?

– Recognizance

Arraignment

• The charges are read against you

• Plea of guilty or not guilty

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsKZiIX-ij0&NR=1

Arraignment

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsKZiIX-ij0&NR=1

Plea bargaining

• 90% of cases are plea bargained

• Cuts down on costs and system overload

• Critics argue that it disadvantages the poor

Sentencing

• Duty of the judge to decide who gets what

• States differ in maximum and minimums

• This has lead to an increase in incarceration

Where you go

• Probation

• Jails- run by county or city

• Prisons- usually run by state for sentences of 1 year or more

• Federal Prisons

The Growth of the Prison Population

Incarceration/ Supervison

Race and Ethnicity

Incarceration Rates

• 750 Americans per 100,000

• 1 in 30 between 20 and 34

• 1 in 5 black males• 1 in 36 Hispanic Males

• 1 in 99 adults were in prison or jails

The Growth in the Prison Population

• It has increased by 4x since 1975

• Why the Increase?

More Arrests

Likely To Go To Jail

Tough On Violent Crime

Drug Arrests

Probation and Prison

Prison Overcrowding

• Locking people up leads to crowded Prisons

• Why is this a problem?

Goals of corrections

• Incapacitation

• Restitution

Goals of Corrections Part 2

• Deterrence

• Rehabilitation

Costs of Corrections

• How much do we spend– 6.8% of state budgets– $49 Billion nationwide– 3.3. Billion in Texas

• Why so Costly?

Who is Spending

Costs

The Problem of Recidivism

• The Repeat of an Offense

• 2/3-3/4 are Recidivists

– Parole, Probation and Rehabilitation do not seem to work.

What can We do?

• Broad Social Reform

• More Money for Rehabilitation

These are unlikely

Legalizing/Decriminalizing

• Victimless Crimes

• Minor Drug offenses

It sends a message that society tolerates and supports such activities

Alternatives to prisons

• Current system is very expensive

• More unconditional releases

• More House arrests

Make people less of a target

• Better home/personal security

• Decrease environmental opportunities. – More cameras– More Police– More lights

Health Care

Is it a Constitutional Right

• No– Not Mentioned in the Constitution

– Not wanted by the States

– It therefore belongs to the people

• Yes- Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA 2010)

Health Care Has Multiple Goals

• Being Healthy• Living a Long Life• Having Good Medical Care• Making sure Everyone has this

These goals make policy difficult

How Much do We Spend

• 2.6 Trillion Dollars

• 8000 Per person

Percent of GDP

A Hybrid System of Public and Private

• 46% is paid for by the government

• The Rest is from employers, and individuals

Where the Money Comes From

What the Government Covers

• Medicaid

• Medicare

• SCHIP

• Veterans Administration

• Government Employees

Medicaid

• Health Care as Welfare

• Single Largest Welfare program for the poor

• Fraught with problems

Medicare

• Health Care for Seniors

• How it works

Medicare

• Non-Means Tested

• Increasingly Expensive

• Fraught with Problems

SCHIP

• Health Care for Children on the Bubble

• Increasingly Expensive

Private Insurance

• Fee For Service

• Managed Care- 90% of all private insurance

Terms of Health Care

• Premium

• Deductable

• Copayment

How We Get our Health Care

Strengths of the System

• Best Doctors and Hospitals

• Most Advanced Treatment

• Most Research and Development

• People with Health Care are satisfied With it.

The Problems of the System

• Access

• Cost

• Quality

The Problem of Access

The Problem of Access

• Not 50 Million Americans

• But 50 million in America

The Problem of Access

Why People do not have insurance

• Health Care is historically been a private choice

• Health Care is an opportunity cost

Options for the Uninsured

• E.R.

• Self Medicate

• Do Nothing

Problem 2 Quality

• Quality is maldistributed

• We focus on sickness, not health

• We are overspecialized

Problem 3: Cost

• Outpacing Inflation

• Why

Cost- Technology

• MRI’s

• Bypass surgery

• Fake Knees and Hips

• These help us live longer

Cost- Labor

• 5.5 People per patient

• Jobs that require skill and education

• Recession Proof

Cost- Malpractice

• Actually not the suits themselves

• Defensive medicine

• High Insurance- just in calse

Cost- Greedy people

• We want to get our benefits back

• We do not realize the actual costs

• A “Tragedy of the Commons”

Cost- An Older Population

• Our last years of life consume much of our health care dollar

• We are living longer and there are more of us

• More Care means more $

Cost and Prescription Drugs

• Average cost is $2400

• 9 in 10 Seniors use a drug

• Direct to Consumer Ads