...Prison Overcrowding in the US Name: Institutional Affiliation: Prison Overcrowding in the US Introduction Prison overcrowding in the US is a serious problem that has remained elusive for many decades. The problem of prison overcrowding emerged since the invention of prison as correctional facilities in the 19th century and until now; it is still troubling the authorities. Overcrowding in modern prisons is multidimensional problem. Various reasons are blamed for the challenge but they significantly differ from one nation to the other. Causes of prison overcrowding are not limited to the bounds of criminal justice but stretch to other facets of authorities including social welfare plans, availability and ease of access to health services, formal education and job opportunities. Debates on how to handle this issue on political platforms is an enough illustration of the problems political leaders undergo in looking for a lasting solution challenged by increased pressure from court orders and rigorous financial crisis. It is therefore evident that it is much easier to have overcrowded prisons than it is to develop and implement effective and efficient ways to manage overcrowding in prisons. Overcrowding in prisons is a broad problem that is centered on issues of policies and crime research. These issues involve criminal sentencing, the role of correctional facilities and sentences, accommodation of prisoners with access to health care and rehabilitation services and causes of crimes...
Words: 2427 - Pages: 10
...Introduction “More than eighteen states and the Federal Bureau of Prisons operated their prison facilities at more than 100 percent capacity at the end of 2014.” This proves the increasing number of inmates enrolled in prisons is a growing issue. Overcrowding in prisons is caused by extended jail sentences, severe sentencing for drug related offenses, and imprisonment of the mentally ill, which generates inhumane living conditions for inmates. Solutions are relocating drug related offenses and allowing shorter sentences for nonviolent prisoners. Description of Problem Overcrowding in prisons has become a major growing issue in the United States recently. “From 2006 to 2011, prison population grew at 9.5 percent, outpacing the 7 percent growth...
Words: 1160 - Pages: 5
...imprisonment and suicide. Prison is not an environment which promotes positive mental states. The lack of freedom and repetitiveness takes its toll on inmates, and it's not uncommon for prisoners to experience delusions or hallucinations as a result. More common effects in terms of mental health however are increased risk of anxiety and depression. Of course, a decent proportion of offenders had pre-existing psychological disorders before their incarceration, but it's likely that the conditions within prison have both increased depression and triggered it in a significant number of cases. It has been suggested that recent overcrowding in prisons is a major influence on suicide rates in prisons. This is likely as prisoners are more crowded in a confined space, meaning interactions with fellow prisoners are more likely. Such interactions could increase the stress levels of prisoners as they may grow uncertain about the intentions of other prisoners and it may affect their own intentions. In a study conducted by Dooley, the suicide rates of prisoners in England and Wales were reviewed. It was found that out of 442 unnatural deaths that had occurred, 300 had been given a verdict of suicide. Dooley attributed the factor of overcrowding in prisons to the suicide rates, concluding prisoners’ stress levels are increased and therefore become depressed and are more likely to have suicidal thoughts. This study shows a correlation link between overcrowding in prisons and the suicide rates of...
Words: 720 - Pages: 3
...The Prison System CJS/200 October 24, 2010 Monty Mathis The Prison System History of the prison system Prisons back in the 16th and 17th centuries were used to punish people who could not pay their taxes, and rent among other things they were called Debtor’s prison these were a form of a work house. A public display of punishment for a convicted criminal such as stock’s even branding. In the 18th century this is when the public started opposing the death penalty except for serious crimes such as murder. From the mid 18th century to be imprisoned meant hard labor for those who committed petty crimes. By 1777 John Howard (namesake of the Howard League) chastises the prison system as being filthy, barbaric, and disorganized. (Howard League, 2006) The Great Penitentiary Rivalry involved the state of Pennsylvania and the state of New York. And, each state believed that the system they had in place was the best system to address the constant issue of overcrowding. Pennsylvania constructed two new prisons; the Western Penitentiary and the Eastern Penitentiary. Their system was based on the concept of silence as a virtue (Gaines & Miller, 2009). In Pennsylvania the inmates were kept separate from one another and the only contact they had was with clergyman and staff. New York’s Newgate Prison, built in 1791, was operated the same as those in Pennsylvania except they were able to eat together – in silence. Although there are different types of systems in place today, both...
Words: 1059 - Pages: 5
...In the UK prisoners can get out of prison early without serving their full sentence in prison. According to the Sentencing Council, the judge in the hearing will decide the sentence and also how long the defendant will spend in prison. Although offenders usually spend only half their sentence inside prison and the other half of their sentence is spent on license. However if the offender breaks the conditions applied to their license they will be sent back to prison to carry out the remainder of their sentence. Judges and Magistrates have no control over the half in prison and half on license sentence this was implemented by the UK Parliament (Sentencing Council). Where is the justice to be seen, for the victims in these cases? Victims are often considered the forgotten party within the justice system. As statistics taken from Justice.Gov (2013) showed that between April 2010 and March 2011 it was estimated that “550’000 adult offenders were cautioned, convicted or released from custody”. Around 25 per cent of those were shown to have reoffended in this study. With these statistics it’s clearly not very reassuring for any victims in these cases that the punishment for the crime has (Justice.Gov, 2013). According to Open Justice (2012) when the offender has reached that half point in their sentence, an independent body such as the Parole Board has the decision to deem if it is safe to release the offender under license. If the Parole Board decides it is safe they will set...
Words: 1104 - Pages: 5
...All prisons in the United States are overcrowded and understaffed. There is little emphasizes placed on rehabilitation. The jail and prison increase happen to be storage sitting room for criminals. Many who are repeat offenders or drug addicts? The way the criminals are let out of jail and allowed back into the general public can lead to many of them habitual to a life of crime and therefore, becoming an individual of the many repeat offenders. In many cases the offender is released without any directions. One of the main reasons that prisons have become overcrowded is that crime control strategies and legislative changes have fought and won to have longer sentences. These approaches have incarcerated people for longer periods of time with almost no chance or possibility for early release. The exact cost is not associated with the overcrowding; we can look at present costs incurred in prison and anticipate their increase as the system takes on more and additional inmates. When looking at the cost of overcrowding, we not only have to look at the cost to taxpayers per inmate but also construction cost needed to build the new prisons to relieve the overcrowding. The operating cost for a prison over its life span cost about fifteen to twenty times the original construction cost. Overcrowding causes serious deprivation in the quality of life for everyone in a correctional institution. Overcrowding also causes litigation's that force the federal and state prisons to build new...
Words: 701 - Pages: 3
...Issues Janet Peralta, Latisha Smith, Michael Winters, Sarah Berry, Trent Neffendorf CJA/394 November 24, 2014 Becky Killian-Willis Correctional Issues Introduction The issues of mandatory sentencing have been affecting the prison forecasts, tax revenue, over-crowding in prisons, as well as flooding the court systems and backlogging cases. Mandatory prison sentences take the discretion away from prosecutors, as well as judges. An Inmate who is sentenced under a mandatory sentence does not qualify for early release, good time while in prison, and in most cases, the offender is not required to complete any supervision after release, due to the fact that he or she has fulfilled the obligations of his or her sentence. Several states, including the State of Oregon, have introduced legislation to reform their mandatory minimum sentences. With budgetary constraints in the volatile economy, the government cannot afford to continue to incarcerate individuals without the ability to modify sentences, supervision, etc. How courts are affected by mandatory minimum sentences Congress, as well as some of the state legislations introduced mandatory sentences in the 1970s and 1980s. These mandatory sentences forced the court system to hand down fixed prison sentences to those convicted of certain criminal acts. The lawmakers felt by enacting these sentences then it would help in the battle against the drug trade and hopefully prevent individuals from entering. However, while it did...
Words: 1878 - Pages: 8
...THE BUDGET COST AND EFFECTS OF PRISONS IN THE UNITED STATES Christina Adonia Turner June 15, 2013 Introduction to Public Administration TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Table Of Contents…………………………………………………………2 2. Executive Summary………………………………………………………..3 3. Scope and Statement of the Problem………………………………………4 4. Literature Review………………………………………………………….5 5. Methodology………………………………………………………………7 6. Analytical Results………………………………………………………....8 7. Discussion………………………………………………………………...10 8. Bibliography………………………………………………………………16 9. Appendix………………………………………………………………....17 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In summary, the cost of housing an incarcerated inmate does affect the budget of the United States. Whether, the inmate is sentenced to life imprisonment or the death penalty. The facts in this research paper leans heavily in favor of life imprisonment as a cheaper form of punishment verses an inmate being sentenced to death row. The judicial system and politicians have formed several alternatives to assist our country with the ability to lower the cost of housing an inmate in our prison system. For example, the United States detaining systems are concentrating more on issuing a fair sentence to nonviolent offenders, such as, substance abusers and prostitutes. They realize that the majority of the inmates are in need of drug rehabilitation and have a mental illness. Also, the research shows that women offenders are the most affected with drug addiction...
Words: 3383 - Pages: 14
...Prison Overcrowding Final Project Terence Ingram Professor Karina Arzumanova, Esq. March 17, 2013 Strayer University Prison Overcrowding Final Project Criminal Activity is on the rise. With prison populations growing at an all-time rate, the federal prison system has not been able to keep up. As a result, this is a serious problem which puts inmates and guards in danger and holds back efforts to rehabilitate convicts. (McLaughlin, 2012) Violence will be on the rise as more inmates are squeezed into small living quarters. Increased inmate misconduct is a direct result of prison overcrowding which negatively affects the safety and security of inmates and staff. If prisons don’t find a solution to this problem, it will create more tension and could potentially cause an inmate to snap and create a violent incident. With more prisoners confined in small spaces, prison officials are forced to cut back on inmate’s cafeteria time, time in the recreation yards, and television rooms. Multiple inmates are put in cells that were specifically created for one individual inmate. Common areas that were not meant to be used for inmates are being used for living arrangements even though it was not designed for that. Crowded cells and the loss of privacy increase the odds that inmates will lash out, threatening the guards keeping watch. ( McLaughlin, 2012) Policies have been put in place to make sure that inmates are not being violated. Some may say that overcrowding in prisons is inhumane...
Words: 3300 - Pages: 14
...Prison Overcrowding Prison overcrowding is a problem largely attributed to the increase of drug convictions. Decades of tough-on-crime laws coupled with minimal financing for treatment programs have left prisons overcrowded and under funded. With the advent of crack cocaine and the response of a scared nation President Ronald Reagan declared a war on drugs in 1982 (Clear, Cole, & Reisig, 2009). In 1987 congress implemented mandatory minimum sentencing effectively increasing the time served for drug offenses. The war on drugs has succeeded in increasing the amount of drug offenders incarcerated. In 1985 the average state drug offense sentence was 13 months, in 2002 that number jumped to 48 months. The government’s efforts to succeed have come at a high cost. State budgets and prison populations have exceeded their respective maximums, although crime rates and drug abuse numbers have dropped, the number of inmates incarcerated continues to rise. A possible solution to the overcrowding issue within prison is to insist a mandatory minimum law reform. This solution would be aimed at not only reducing the amount of time spent in the corrections system but also increasing the amount of drugs needed to qualify for the offense. Currently in the state of Kentucky if you sell a half a gram of cocaine you could get a possible sentence of 5-10 years for a class C felony; a possible alternative to this sentence is currently being considered. Under the possible new policy...
Words: 804 - Pages: 4
...An Overview of Federal Prisons Stephen Hayden CRJ 101: Intro to Criminal Justice Post University 4/19/15 Abstract Federal Prisons in the United States have evolved since 1930. The United States Federal Prisons range in security levels to house inmates that have been incarcerated on a federal level. Based upon the security level in a facility, inmates are given more freedom and have lower staff to inmate ratios. Inmates are required to work so long as their health is cleared, and some prisons offer inmate labor that can contribute to them returning to society. Prisoners are required to have their basic needs met while housed in a federal correction facility, which includes education, health care, and religious demeanor. While federal prisons are trying to maintain standards they face issues such as overcrowding, which can largely effect how the facilities are ran. Recommendations to overcome overcrowding and better facilitate a prisoners release to society will be provided. History of Prisons in the United States “Pursuant to Pub. L. No. 71-218, 46 Stat. 325 (1930), the Bureau of Prisons was established within the Department of Justice and charged with the "management and regulation of all Federal penal and correctional institutions." This responsibility covered the administration of the 11 Federal prisons in operation at the time.” (Federal Bureau of Prisons, n.d.). Since correctional facilities were mandated they have grown and evolved to this current day, and still...
Words: 1850 - Pages: 8
...Community Sentencing and Intermediate sanctions, it still maintains a single identity. It is a form of punishment for offenders as an alternative to incarceration. This program applies to offenders chosen at the judge’s discretion and is based upon the offenders compliance, the nature of the infraction, and the burden on the system. Involved is a period of time where the offender is confined to his home under the supervision of a probation officer and some form of electronic monitoring. These monitoring options include the random call method (RC), an ankle monitor using radio frequency (RF) or GPS technology, or a combination thereof (Burell & Gable, 2008). Electronic monitoring is touted as an ideal means of reducing overcrowding in jails and prisons, but how effect is electronic monitoring and house arrest really? More than 30 years after its integration, there are several issues that have developed, or that have yet to be resolved. To demonstrate this lets us look at one example that occurred in the year 2000. Gerald A. Jones, a young, 18 year old man, was convicted of a robbery after sticking a gun into a woman’s face and stealing her watch. As a result, he was placed under house arrest with an electronic monitoring device. Yet, unbeknown to his probation officer, the equipment failed within days of the beginning of his sentence. As the sentence carried on, the failure continued to go unnoticed until one night when Mr. Jones left his house to attend a party to...
Words: 5158 - Pages: 21
...Violence In Prisons A large percentage of male inmates have a lengthy history of violence. At the end of 2005, 53 percent of adults sentenced to state prisons were committed for violent offenses.[8] With such a large proportion of inmates previously involved in violent acts, it is not surprising, therefore, that violent behavior is a way of life within prisons. Many inmates just resort to violence as their normal reaction to frustration, disagreements, or lack of power. Those who are not prone to violence are constantly watchful to avoid situations that could lead to violent confrontations. A 2008 study of inmate-on-inmate violence in thirty prisons confirmed what is called the “importation” theory, or that violent inmates bring their violent ways into prison with them. The Bureau of Justice Statistics indicate that the Federal Bureau of Prisons and 19 states are over capacity, with 20 additional states also close to maximum prison capacity. A case in point: Chino Men's Prison in California, was built to hold 3,000 inmates; it currently holds 5,900 prisoners. In 2009, Chino, California prison inmates staged a riot which resulted in the injury of at least 175 prisoners. Overcrowding increases stress under the best of conditions, let alone in situations when individuals have limited coping skills, such as prisons. The Chino riot raged for 11 hours and injured 175 inmates. Men suffered vicious stab and head wounds as prisoners attacked each other with makeshift weapons, including...
Words: 662 - Pages: 3
...Criminal Justice Trends Paper Dwight Blackshire September 9, 2013 CJA/484 Mr. James Herring Criminal Justice Trends Paper New philosophies to aid in the future progress of corrections are being developed as a result of past and current trends. The issues and concerns surrounding the corrections component of the criminal justice system are overcrowded prisons and their decreasing budget. If these issues and concerns are not address, they will continue to affect the effectiveness and future operations of corrections. Restorative and community justice programs are options being considered for the future of corrections as administrators, legislators, and activists debate philosophies to address these issues and concerns resulting from past and current trends. In the past, the national political climate favored the “get tough” approach against crime. It was believed that treatment programs could not reduce recidivism. Furthermore, it was also believed to keep the national crime rate low and protect the public, offenders of crime must be punished to deter crime. As a result, reforms such as truth-in-sentencing and three-strike legislation were implemented into the law. These...
Words: 1573 - Pages: 7
...Discuss institutional explanations of aggression (24 marks) Since prison aggression has been on the rise psychologists have tried to explain why aggression occurs in institutions. Two models have been developed: importation and deprivation. They focus on whether aggression is due to the persons characteristics or the situation they are in. Zimbardos prison experiment has also helped to contribute to research into this. The importation model claims that those who engage in institutional violence are likely to have particular values/attitudes/experiences and that violence is a result of personal characteristics rather than the prison itself. It is also thought that because younger inmates have a harder time adjusting to the surroundings therefore are more likely to confront other inmates and staff with violence because they deem it an appropriate response. Other research has also shown that black people are more associated with institutional aggression because they ‘import’ cultural norms e.g. violence, from impoverished societies, into the prison therefore affecting other inmates and staff. Harer and Steffenmeiser found that although white inmates had a higher level of alcohol and drugs misconduct, black inmates did display higher rates of violent behaviour. This supports the model because it shows that the racial differences and different characteristics that come with that are ‘imported’ into the prison. It was also found by Keller and Wang that high security inmates were...
Words: 836 - Pages: 4
