Incapacitation Strategies

          Supporters of the incapacitation strategy advocate incarcerating offenders to prevent them from engaging in future criminal activity.  Confining offenders is the most common way to incapacitate criminals.  The overall goal of incapacitation is preventing the most prolific and violent criminals from re-offending in the community (Zimring & Hawkins 1995).  Some of the methods used for this strategy include mandatory minimum sentencing, habitual offender laws, and three-strikes laws (MacKenzie 2006).

         The most recent of these strategies are the federal and state three strikes laws (MacKenzie 2006).  The law specifies that a judge must sentence an offender with three are more convictions to a long prison term (Zimring, Hawkins, Kamin 2001).  Directed towards repeat offenders enacted with the belief that crime rates were rising and tough three strike laws would help reduce crime Zimring, Hawkins, Kamin 2001).  Three strikes laws were based on the conclusion that offenders with three or more previous convictions were unwilling, or has demonstrated a lack of desire to change and become a productive member of society.  It was determined that these individuals should be incarcerated for extended periods of time or life sentences (Zimring, Hawkins, Kamin 2001).
                                                                                                                             
           Repeat offenders have always been recognized in the criminal justice system.  Early in the 17th century stricter sentences for criminals that continued to commit crimes were adopted by both colonial America and England (Dvoskin, Skeem,  & Novaco 2011).  Habitual offender statutes proved to be controversial, and in some cases the laws were abandoned before being extensively put to use (Dvoskin, Skeem,  & Novaco 2011).  In spite of the controversy these laws remain popular, many considers them necessary for offenders who could not be rehabilitated.

 References

Dvoskin, J. A., Skeem, J. L., & Novaco, R. W. (Eds.). (2011). Using social science to reduce        violent offending. Oxford University Press

MacKenzie, D. L. (2006) What Works in Corrections: Reducing the Criminal Activities of
Offenders and Delinquents.

Zimring, F. E., & Hawkins, G. (1995). Incapacitation: Penal confinement and the restraint of
crime. New York: Oxford University Press.

Zimring,  F. E., Hawkins, G., & Kamin, S. (2001). Punishment and democracy:Three strikes
and you're out in California. Oxford   University Press.