Question

Consider the concept of "widening the net," which argues that the use of intermediate sanctions rather than prison actually increases the reach of the criminal justice system and the number of American citizens subject to governmental oversight. What do you think about this? Is this really happening? If so, does it represent an infringement on the rights of American citizens, or is it justifiable as a less invasive option?

Answer 1

Widening the Net explains the concept of providing corrective measures to offenders of minor crime on order to prevent them from getting into prison and overpopulate it. This will give the government more opportunity to oversight the offenders inside the society and it will keep the offenders on their toes not to commit further crimes because they know that the government is constantly monitoring them.

The most important thing is that the prisons will not become overpopulated with criminals who will create a negative environment altogether. This will prevent minor offenders becoming major offenders in the future with the influence of the criminals who are already in the prison. People in the neighbourhood will know that potential offenders are watched by the police 24 hours a day thus feeling safe. The final benefit is that the government can save millions of dollars because the number of prisons and the inmates will be less.