Overcrowding in Prison

Overcrowding in Prison

The prison population in the U.S has more than doubled in the last 20 years. According to Dignan & Cavadino (2007), the nation’s prison population would increase to more than 2.5 million in 2015 (p. 234). Indeed, the number of prisoners in the U.S is intriguing. America incarcerates more people than any other country in the world. Although many prisons have been built I the last few years, prison overcrowding is a reality in many states in America. A prison is a federal or state correctional facility that is used to confine crime offenders who have been found guilty and sentenced for a period of one year or more based on jurisdictions. Rehabilitation is important in modifying the behavior of inmates. It is the reason why former inmates are reformed and do not return to the prisons, they also have changes in their personality. Although prisons are set to reform criminal, the current state of these correctional facilities is worrying. Indeed, the facilities and methods that are used to handle the inmates range from good to worse. In addition, the facilities are overcrowded, raising the question whether they are fulfilling their mandate properly (Dignan & Cavadino, 2007). Indeed, governments should take urgent measures to institute reforms in the prisons department. This paper will address overcrowding in the U.S prisons. The cause of the overcrowding will be addressed as well as the possible solutions to this problem

Over the last 30 years, the prison population has tremendously changed. There has been an increase in number of prison population from 1.9 million inmates in 2000 to 2.6 million in 2012 (Hough, Allen & Allen, 2008, p. 148). Because of the increased number of offenders facing a jail term, the prison population has put pressure on existing facilities because of overcrowding. For instance, the Alabama prison was built to house an estimated 14,000 prisoners (Hough, Allen & Allen, 2008, p. 147). However, currently it has over 28,000, which means that the prison population has doubled.

Causes of Overcrowding in Prisons

The difference in population size is because of tough crime policies that have been set by United States government, which has led to an increase in underclass of ex-prisoners who the law had barred from re-entering the society and being productive (Dignan & Cavadino, 2007). A law was set that restrict ex-prisoners from applying for things like driving license, receiving federal aid for food and education, adopting a child, and voting (Hough, Allen & Allen, 2008).

The ex-prisoners are always forced to go back into crime to be able to survive in the society because of the tough laws set on them (Dignan & Cavadino, 2007). This means that they normally find themselves back in prison, which leads to an increase in the prison population. In addition, prisons have been used to punish and to detain the lawbreakers, but not to correct their behaviors (Zilney & Zilney, 2009). In some cases, the punishments have been severe and have received a lot of condemnation from human rights groups and civil rights advocates, for example, the castration of sex offenders in U.S. In 2008, the Louisiana Governor signed a bill into law allowing judges to sentence sex offenders to chemical castration (Zilney & Zilney, 2009, p. 97). The prisoner might find this action unjustified and might resort to other criminal activities as an escape mechanism or as a way of punishing society. In this way, the offender will find himself or herself back into the prison.

Another reason why there is a big difference in the size of prison population over the last 30years is due to the long sentence length. Crime victims are mainly sentenced for more than one year yet the number of crimes taking place especially in poverty stricken areas increase every day. The criminals spend more time on the prison while the government adds more prisoners every day leading to an increase in prison population.

Possible Risks of Overcrowding in Prisons

These demographic changes have affected corrections in many ways for example it has led to overcrowding with poor health conditions, leading to increased cases of diseases such as cholera (Dignan & Cavadino, 2007). In addition, many resources are committed for the prisons department, thus denying society of money for use in other development initiatives (Hough, Allen & Allen, 2008). Moreover, the pressure on resources has forced prisons to cut back on rehabilitation programs for substance abuse. This is because the population in prisons takes up most of the budget allocations leaving little for these useful programs.

The living environment in prisons is also worrying. According to Dignan & Cavadino (2007), the conditions of the prisons and correction facilities are unsafe for humans for example inmates have been forced to spend the entire night sleeping on the concrete floors due to shortage of beds and beddings, thus increasing stress among the inmates.

Overcrowding also leads to more violence among the inmates as they compete for the little resources available for them. For instance, in 2007, about 49% of inmates in state prisons were committed for violent crimes (Dignan & Cavadino, 2007, p. 189). In addition, cases of riots among the inmates are common in state prisons because of dissatisfaction among the prisoners.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the number of inmates in the U.S. correctional facilities has increased tremendously in the last 20 years. This has put a lot of pressure on the government as well as the prisoners themselves. The government is spending million of dollars annually to take care of the welfare of the inmates. On the other hand, the prisoners are also having trouble in these crowded facilities. Diseases, violence, and stress are some the problems they have to content with in jail. The United States government should do whatever they can to ensure that there is a reduction in the prison population since overcrowding of the correction centers has negative impact on the prisoners and society as well. The following two set of recommendations are critical in addressing the problem of overcrowding in prisons.

Recommendations

The problem of overcrowding in prisons has posed a big challenge to governments across the world. The solution to overcoming this problem lies in two core activities. The first one is to build more prison facilities. The construction of new facilities will create more space for prisoners. In addition, free space within existing facilities can be converted to create rooms to house more inmates. The second option is to try to keep as many offenders as possible out of prison. People who commit less violent crimes can be given alternative forms of punishment such as community service. It is estimated that about half of the prisons in the U.S. house people who have committed less violent crimes. Depending on the degree of crime, it is possible to reduce overcrowding in prisons by almost half.

 

References

Dignan, M. & Cavadino, J. (2007). The Penal System: an introduction. New York: Cengage Learning.

Hough, J.M., Allen, R. & Allen, R. (2008). Tackling Prison Overcrowding: build more prisons? Sentence fewer offenders? London: The Policy Press.

Zilney, J. L. & Zilney, A.L. (2009). Perverts and Predators: the making of sexual offending laws. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

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