...Benefits of Reducing Prison Overcrowding Laura Macella AIU Online Abstract This paper is going to discuss the benefits of why reducing the overcrowding of prisons with help the inmates, employees, as well as the citizens of the state. It will show that crime within the prison walls will go down, the stress of the inmates and employees will reduce, as well as showing that we can save taxpayers millions of dollars a year. Lastly, this paper will look at programs that the inmates can be sentenced to for minor petty crimes that they are incarcerated for. As a result of all of this the overcrowding of prisons may come to a halt and may not be as stressful as many people think. Benefits of Reducing Prison Overcrowding When thinking about prison overcrowding it kind of makes you want to cringe and hope you never have to be in that situation, however, in each state it is very common and is causing unbearable situations and long term effects for many people. Reducing prison overcrowding can help many employees of the prison, citizens, and inmates in many ways. At this point we can put a stop to the overcrowding and try to make the judges and court systems realize that it will be beneficial to all parties involved. First of all, by reducing overcrowding in prison it will help reduce crime and murder within the prison facilities. Prisons right now have caused more aggressive, antisocial behavior that is causing a lot of violence (“Effects of Prison Overcrowding”, 2012). Because...
Words: 1346 - Pages: 6
...Prison Overcrowding In today’s society, crime happens nearly every 5 seconds. Depending on the type of crime determines where an individual is placed either in jail or prison. This leads to an ongoing problem today, prison overcrowding. Prison overcrowding is when the demand for space in prisons in a jurisdiction exceeds the capacity for prisoners in the place. Prison Overcrowding has many dangers that can lead to major destruction to society and those captivated behind bars The dangers of overcrowded prison, is that it can become very toxic for both prisoners and guards. Overcrowded conditions contribute to stronger inmate misconduct, more competition for prison services such as educational or vocational training programs and a lack...
Words: 1158 - Pages: 5
...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
...many people that work in its field of correctional officers to be the most challenging and frustrating component of criminal justice. There is the challenge of managing the inmates daily as well as the frustrations of inevitable mismanagement at attempting to accomplish multiple goals. New challenges present themselves every day. In a very real sense, employees in a correctional system are doing time the same as the inmates are doing time. It's easy to conduct a trial and sentence somebody (Alighieri, 2004). What corrections find more difficult is what to do with these inmates after they have been sentenced for five, ten and life in prison. Much of corrections is completed is a big range because of its endless amount of prisoners that are sentenced to prison each day. An issue that also occurs in corrections is the cost of operating a correctional facility. To operate a prison each year it can cost approximately thirty billion dollars. This includes correctional officer workers, administrations that work in the correctional facility. Housing, feeding, and clothing an inmate can start from twenty thousand dollars a year and the number can grow to almost thirty thousand, all of the funds are provided from tax payers. Therefore with all of these numbers in place to pay workers and take care of the inmates, many correctional facilities continue to cut employment to save money, and with cutting money the job loads are extremely heavier on correctional workers because they must...
Words: 803 - Pages: 4
...that have years in prison when they should really be there for a couple of months but i guess thats how there money is made, by filling prison cells. The united States Currently incarcerates 1 in nearly 100 americans adults. Americans incarceration addiction grew during the late 1980s and early 1990s as state and local governments passed "tough-on-crime" legislations. 1. for example, California's "three strikes" law called for mandatory sentencing of repeat offenders, and New York adopted the "Broken Windows" strategy that called for the arrest and prosecution of all crimes large and small. 2. Prisons are becoming so over populated that there isnt enough prison guards to contain them. i feel this is a major problem and the state needs to worry less about petty crimes and crack down on the major things, why give a person years for petty crimes like 3-5 bags of marijuana or crack when you should be looking for the source of it and catch the main person. Prison overcrowding is quickly becoming a major financial and controversial problem in the United States. There are now more than two-thirds of a million people in our country in jail or in prison, and soon there will be half a million in prison alone. With that being said, two-thirds are confined in less than 60 square feet of floor space. While prison conditions have improved considerably in many ways, the present correctional system is still struggling to deal with the same problems that the United States has experienced in...
Words: 816 - Pages: 4
...Overcrowded prisons are a huge issue that have been plaguing the United States for quite a few years now. There is no certain cause for the overcrowding in our prisons, however there are many suspected reasons believed to be causing the overcrowding. In order to really begin fixing the problem, concern must be given to each and every one of these causes. Overcrowding in prisons is a serious issue because it affects millions of people in the U.S., not just prisoners, but taxpayers and prison staff as well. Illinois, in particular, is suffering from overcrowded prisons quite severely. Nearly every prison in the state is overcrowded. In order to solve this increasingly serious problem, many steps must be taken to begin prison reform and to begin living in a country in which the way we punish our criminals makes more sense and is more effective than how it is today. Everyone seems to know someone that is in prison these days, whether the person has committed a serious, violent crime, or just got caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time, they still end up in some sort of prison facility. In fact the U.S.’s rate of incarceration is 455 people per every 100,000 people (Smolowe, 1994). To put that in perspective, it is the highest rate of incarceration compared to any other country in the world. Even South Africa, our close second, only imprisons 311 people per ever 100,000 (Smolowe, 1994). Due to the harsh punishment of imprisonment for even the most minor...
Words: 4196 - Pages: 17
...Overcrowding in Prisons. Overcrowding in prisons is one of the biggest challenges facing the American criminal justice system today. The total population of prisons and jails in the United States neared the 2.1 million mark in June 2003, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported incarceration rates of state and federal prisoners continued to rise. At midyear 2003, the number of sentenced inmates was 480 per 100,000 U.S. residents, up from 476 per 100,000 on December 31, 2002. There were 238 jail inmates for every 100,000 on June 30, 2003. Overall, one out of every 140 U.S residents was incarcerated in prison or in jail. During the late 1980’s and early 1990’s state and local governments got tougher on crime by passing legislation calling for mandatory sentences for repeat offenders, such as California’s “three strikes you’re out” law and New York and other cities adopted the “Broken Windows” strategy that called for the arrest and prosecution of all crimes large and small. Because of these polices the number of violent crimes has dropped. Unfortunately, one unintended consequence of America’s new tough stance on crime is that our prison system has become dangerously overcrowded, forcing prison officials to release violent criminals after serving...
Words: 1201 - Pages: 5
...Prison overcrowding is quickly becoming a major financial and controversial problem in the United States. There are now more than two-thirds of a million people in our country in jail or in prison, and soon there will be half a million in prison alone. With that being said, two-thirds are confined in less than 60 square feet of floor space. While prison conditions have improved considerably in many ways, the present correctional system is still struggling to deal with the same problems that the United States has experienced in the past. State and Federal prison overcrowding has continued to hurt United States correctional facilities because of increasing inmate population and the demand for lower corrections costs. These two factors have resulted in a growing shortage of living space for prisoners. Many correctional facilities are operating under hazardous conditions, which include operating past the maximum capacity. Overcrowding in prisons and inmate to inmate violence appears to be closely related as well as intolerable living conditions, which contribute to many of the problems in prisons, which seem to be unconstitutional. Violence including sexual assault, poor health and the spread of diseases among inmates, and several inmates in a cell that holds fewer people, with every inch of space occupied by a bunk or a person are a few of the unconstitutional problems going on in prisons today. Overcrowding is a serious problem as many can see, but there are many reasons for overcrowding...
Words: 328 - Pages: 2
...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, also called "prison crowding," is a matter of great contention and concern in current criminal justice public policy debates in both Canada and the United States. Coming to public attention as a social problem most recently in the United States in the late 1970s, prison overcrowding has coincided with the unprecedented growth in the nation's prison population over the past several decades. Because of the "war on drugs" and mandatory sentencing, the United States has become the world's foremost jailer. With just 5 percent of the world's population, the United States has 25 percent of its prisoners, approximately 2.4 million, a number that steadily increases by about 3 percent each year. In 2006, federal prisons were operating at 37 percent above capacity. The criminal justice system responded to what some jurisdictions call the "crisis" of prison overcrowding through diversion strategies, relying more heavily on jails for the overflow of prisoners, doubling up prisoners in one cell (also called double bunking), hotly debated early release strategies, and an increasing reliance on private (for-profit) prisons, to name a few. However, policy focus on capacity issues sometimes detracts from the actual conditions of privacy, security, and manageability (including meeting basic needs for nutrition, health, and sanitation) within prisons. In 2006, the Vera Institute of Justice's Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's Prisons held public hearings, which...
Words: 933 - Pages: 4
...Not only do corrections refer to jails and prison systems but they also pertain to community-based programs, such as probation, parole, halfway houses, and treatment facilities. Past, present, and future trends in regard to the development and operation of institutional and community-based corrections vary between states but corrections have grown immensely since the early 1800s and have continued to expand over time. Corrections are adamant to continue to expand into the future because crime is not slowing down so there will remain a strong need for corrections throughout society. The subject of this paper pertains to research of past, present, and future trends in the development and operation of corrections. In some ways corrections are similar to the operation trends of two decades ago. In other ways the development of corrections has come far compared to corrections in the beginning. Other subjects of the paper include current and future issues for prisons and prison administrators and an explanation for why these issues overwhelm corrections. A last topic for discussion is the roles of alternate corrections as a developing trend. Conditions in the early era were inhumane because of prisoners starving, and trends of punishment were in the form of physical punishment. Examples of this were punishments, such as prisoners hanged, tortured, beheaded, or mutilated. This punishment was popular in England, but it had an effect on its American predecessors. Although the...
Words: 1552 - Pages: 7
...Policy Development Prison crowding is becoming more and more of an issue in the United States. Every day the problem continues to grow as each person who is arrested, taken into to custody and ultimately convicted joins the prison population. Concerns have been raised when it comes to the topic of prison and its population by everyone from the public to law makers. Over the years, the growth of prison capacity has been slightly behind that of the inmate population always resulting in an overcrowding issue. “There has been no consistent evidence that crowding is associated with mortality, morbidity, recidivism, violence, or other pathological behaviors, but rather due to changes to both federal and state sentencing policies. These changes have increased the proportion of the individuals who are charged with felonies and sentence to lengthy jail and prison sentences” (Van Ness, 2008). In addressing any problem area, one first must define the terms or operational definitions. “The United States Supreme Court on November 30, 2010, heard oral argument in Schwarzenegger v. Plata about whether a federal court in California properly ordered the release of 40,000 prisoners to relieve the severe overcrowding in the state's prisons that has led to inadequate medical and mental health care for prisoners” (“U.S. Supreme Court Reviews Prison Overcrowding And Horrendous Conditions Of Confinement,” 2010). “America’s prisons now hold more than 2.3 million people, and many of the...
Words: 1884 - Pages: 8
...Overcrowding and its effects on the criminal justice system Overcrowding and its effects on the criminal justice system Prison overcrowding is a growing issue in the criminal justice system. It puts a strain on prison resources, effects rehabilitative programs, This paper will cover the effects of overcrowding on the justice system. It will cover the different causes of overcrowding, and possible solutions. This paper will also cover some changes that were directed at improving overcrowding directly or indirectly. Lastly this paper will include the authors ideas for more changes to improve overcrowding. Prison overcrowding is caused by a variety of reasons. An examples of a contributing factor is a rise in crime rates. Some of the factors that influence crime rates are economy, demographics, and education. It is easy to fathom that in a less then affluent area where education may not have been the priority could play a part in the rise of crime. Other influence on the fluctuation of crime rates are demographics, economic and social conditions, prisons that run at or over capacity, resources and expenses, changing laws and new advancements to law enforcement strategies. All of these reasons help create a combination of obstacles for an efficient, effective justice system. Overcrowding in prison is also a key factor in ineffectual operations and poor prison conditions. According to Attorney General Eric Holder, "the U.S. prison population has grown by almost...
Words: 383 - Pages: 2
...Jail and Prisons Comparison Paper Marcus Alexander CJA/234 Introduction to Corrections June 23, 2014 Sherri Webster Jail and Prisons Comparison In the U.S. criminal justice system, when a person is arrested, the first place they are usually taken to is jail. From there, they see a judge and go through a court process. If further incarceration is needed, the individual is sentenced to serve time in either a county jail, state prison or federal prison. This paper will help discuss the history behind the jails and their use in addition to the history of state and federal prisons. While understanding the history of these three correctional facilities it will help to compare the different levels of security and how they work differently in each facility. A major problem in the United States, regarding the corrections system, is overcrowding. The effects of overcrowding are visible throughout the criminal justice system and there are different factors that influence the growth of jail/prison incarceration. The jails of the modern era can be traced back to the 1100’s in England. The first jail created was ordered built by King Henry II in 1166, and the English term gaol was used in place of the word jail (Seiter, 2011). Jails then were also used, as they are now, for the purpose of housing offenders that were waiting for trial, but also took in individuals who were homeless, poor or suffered from mental disabilities. Individuals that are incarcerated in...
Words: 1871 - Pages: 8
...Development Paper Donnita Cleveland CJA 464- October 14, 2015 Harry Kirk Policy Development Paper Prison overcrowding has been a major problem in this country for the last 20 years. This problem stemmed from many different causes or reasons. The fundamental breakdown of the correctional system as a whole has contributed to this problem. This has caused havoc within our system in many different ways especially from a financial standpoint. It cost a tremendous amount of money to house prisoners, and death row inmate’s cost of incarceration is astronomically high. As this paper goes along we will look at some of the reasons as to why our prisons are overcrowded, and how we might be able to remedy the situation. Prison overcrowding has become an issue in just about every state in the country, and especially in California, New York, and Texas. In 1980 there were states that a tougher outlook on crime which in turn resulted in several new policies that were adopted. California adopted, and enforced the three-strike policy, and New York implemented the broken window policy. According to Jerome Mullins,” the three strike law has significantly increased the overcrowding of prisons” (Mullins, 2005). This policy increases the prison sentence for those already serving time although it also prevents a person previously convicted from receiving any punishment other prison time. California had major impacts due to this law from the onset, and in less than a year major implications...
Words: 2415 - Pages: 10
