American Versus Canadian Prison System

The American and Canadian prison systems have various similarities and differences not only evident in the past but also present in the current state. This paper compares and contrasts prison systems between the two countries.
While Canada has a fair share of incarceration incidences, America ranks first with the highest prison population around the world. A report by Travis, Western and Redburn indicate that the U.S. penal had a populace of 2.2 million adults, a figure considered highest in the world (33). America emphasizes on incarceration as punishment, which explains the country’s high imprisonment rates compared to other states. Conversely, Canada puts more emphasis on reformation, rehabilitation and reintegration of criminals into societies (Public Safety Canada n.p). Both countries, however, employ incarceration as one of the primary types of recovery and retribution for crime commission. Additionally, the two nations base their sentences on the intensity of offense committed. The U.S. and Canadian differ on the responsibility of governmental agencies in federal and local level prison systems. For instance, the Canadian correctional facilities have two levels including provincial and federal (Public Safety Canada n.p). In contrast, the U.S. system has many levels including state, cities, federal and counties (Freedom House n.p). Additionally, the America’s 50 countries, their respective counties, and towns design their individual rules and regulations that guide how they run their prisons (Freedom House n.

p). Canadian provincial government is responsible for overseeing all local jails and temporary lock-up facilities, and the country’s federal government controls all Federal, States, and prisoners on parole (Public Safety Canada n.p). Both countries’ federal government controls their respective medium, maximum and minimum security detention centers.
In conclusion, Canada and America use imprisonment as a primary punishment or rehabilitation of criminal actions. While Canada’s prison system include only the local and federal levels, American system involve state, county city and state all of which make their policies regarding incarceration. Both Canada and America make sentences based on the crime’s intensity and their federal governments control the maximum, medium, and minimum security correctional facilities of their respective countries.
Works Cited
Freedom House. “Rule Of Law: Criminal Justice And Property Rights- Full Chapter.” Retrieved
from https://freedomhouse.org/report/todays-american-how-free/rule-law-criminal-justice-and-property-rights-full-chapterPublic Safety Canada. “About Canada’s Correctional system.” Government of Canada. Retrieved
from https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/cntrng-crm/crrctns/bt-crrctnl-sstm-en.aspxTravis, Jeremy, Western, Bruce and Redburn, Steve. “The Growth of Incarceration in the United
States.” National Academy of Sciences. 2014. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com.contentproxy.phoenix.edu/lib/apollolib/reader.action?docID=3379314