Community work program, take position about pros and cons of this Essay

Community work program, take position about pros and cons of this alternate approach to criminal justice - Essay Example The rest of the essay will discuss the pros and cons of this alternative approach to criminal justice. As a result of community work programs, the participant individuals undergo a personal transformation in the way they relate to society. Moreover, the places and events where they serve require volunteers; and when there is a shortfall of volunteers, the criminal justice system can enroll some minor offenders into this program. In other words, the chief strength of community work programs lie in the fact that they are â€Å"essential services†, as opposed to work conjured up on an ad hoc basis in some of the prisons in the country (Zehr, 2002). The drawbacks of the prison system are all too well documented in social science scholarship. Now that crimes in the twenty first century have taken on more devastating proportions in the form of terrorism, etc., the retaliatory and revengeful measures against individuals and groups found guilty of these crimes will only help increase the likelihood of such attacks in the future. Also, unlawful detention and instances of torture are more likely in under such a legal framework. There are disagreements concerning the ends and means of a particular case. One might dispute that the means are more important than the ends they realize. The question of ethics also crops up while dealing with such topics. Human rights activists hold that an individual, however inhuman he/she may be, needs to be treated ethically maintaining human dignity. An additional barrier towards legalizing torture is that a lot of thought and effort needs to be pumped in to make torture acceptable to all sections of t he society. As long as these questions remain unanswered, more inclusive and compassionate approaches like community service would be ideal as the criminal justice system goes forward (Zehr, 2002). Although community work would be too mild