...Overcrowding of our nation's prisons is one of the biggest challenges tackling our criminal justice system today. During the 1980s, the public's disappointment over an apparent failure of the nation's prison system to rehabilitate prisoners and an unwillingness to provide more money for correctional institutions. One proposed solution that emerged was the privatizing of prisons and jails by contracting out, in part or in whole, their operations. In 1987, the number of inmates incarcerated in privately operated correctional facilities worldwide was 3,100; by 1998 the number had risen to 132,000 (Assistance, 2001). In the United States today there is a total of 158 private correctional facilities. Proponents of privatization have suggested that allowing the facilities to be operated by the private sector could result in cost reductions of 20 percent (Assistance, 2001). Since 1984, the U.S. prison population has more than tripled, according to U.S. Department of Justice data (Gad, 2009). The ultimate amount a government pays to a private company to run a prison can be less than if the government were to run the prison itself. Factors such as lower labor costs affect that. Public service employees usually make more in overall wages -- salary plus benefits -- than private employees do. These wages add up to more than half the operating expenses of a prison. Private firms still pay similar salaries as governments do, but payments for overtime, health care and workers' compensation...
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...Overcrowding in prisons American Intercontinental University English Composition ENGL107 Abstract Overcrowding in prisons throughout the United States has become an issue that needs to be more of a concern to our justice system. If we focused on more of the solution then the problem we may be able to eliminate some of the overcrowding issues. We need to be asking ourselves how we can fix the overcrowding issues within the United States prison system. Overcrowding in our prisons Drugs are a major issue along with the strict laws on first time nonviolent drug offenders. We are leaving these people in prison for way to long. Instead of overcrowding our prisons with first time drug and nonviolent offenders, we should be sentencing these men and women to rehabilitation centers and counseling. This should be the first option for the justice system to be considering instead of just locking these men and women up for two to five years and overcrowding the prisons. These first timers need more help to improve their life, and throwing them behind bars is just giving them more criminal activity to learn then they did on the outside. The justice system should be taking severe nonviolent criminals with mental illness more seriously. Instead of just locking them up and throwing away the key, there should be a lot more intense evaluations going on with mental illness with in these men and women. This could solve a lot of the overcrowding if we could just...
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...Prison Overcrowding Les Heflin Bryant & Stratton College CRJU150: Corrections Mrs. Anderson November 22, 2011 Prison Overcrowding The United States is considered the most punitive country in the world, has the world’s highest incarceration rate holding more than 2.3 million people and overcrowding has become a major problem for the prison system (Parole Reform, 2010, ¶ 2). There are 748 people inmates per 100,000 population and rising (Parole Reform, 2010, ¶ 10). There are reasons such as the three strike law, the economy, and the war on drugs. We are going to glance at these reasons and the problems that raise concern for overcrowded prisons. The three strike law that many states have adopted affects the prison population, giving repetitive offenders mandatory minimum sentences of 25 years to life for the third conviction of a felony offense. The three strike law that holds this harsh penalty will continue to cause prison overcrowding in years to come. There are some states prisons are operating at almost twice their designed capacity rate. The belief behind the law was that getting career criminals off the streets was good public policy, but many in many cases we may argue that this is cruel and unusual punishment. The downward spiral of the economy also affects the prison population. There are limited jobs to people in society, especially to people that have been convicted with serious crimes. People that have been incarcerated for various offences...
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...Running Head: OVERCROWDING OF PRISONS 1 Overcrowding of Prisons Don Bailey SOC 305 Crime & Society Ekaterina Gorislavsky 25 May, 2015 - 1 - [no notes on this page] Running Head: OVERCROWDING OF PRISONS 2 Abstract The correctional institutions are established to correct the behaviors by law breakers. Society believes that once an individual comes out of the correctional facility, he is a reformed person. In addition, these facilities are always expected to warn the law abiding citizens to deter them from committing a crime for fear of being in the correctional cells. However, the population in the correction facilities especially prisons is contrary to this expectation. Over time, there is increased number of offenders. This comprises of the new offenders and the repeat offenders. This causes overcrowding in the correctional facilities which is a challenge to the society. The focus of this problem is the social effect of overcrowding to the judicial system and ways of addressing the challenge. Overcrowding in correctional institutions Crime is punishable for three reasons namely retribution, prevention and deterrence. The main purpose of incarcerating offenders is to stop them from repeating previous crimes they committed. Appraising the current American system using these standards, the deterrence category has failed miserably, insufficient in prevention and providing unsatisfactory retribution through detention. Attempts to deter released criminals...
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...not changed dramatically and that movements up and down in the incarceration rate have not correlated with crime rate changes. (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HSP/is_1_3/ai_66678533/) Criminal activities among Americans are on a constant rise compared to other parts of the world, leading to overcrowding in prisons. The contributing factor to this notion could be strict punishments for minor crimes, some pertaining to racial profiling. According to Hernandez (March-April 2009), African Americans represent nearly half of the prison population. The “war on drugs” has made a significant impact on the prison population, particularly within the African American communities. The war on drugs is aimed at reducing the supply and demand for drugs within the United States. The program focuses on stricter punishments for those who deal drugs and for those who use them. According to research conducted by Shaw (2000), African-Americans account for about 14 percent of the nation's drug users, yet they make up 35 percent of those arrested for drug possession, 55 percent of those convicted for drug possession, and 74 percent of those sentenced to serve time. To prevent overcrowding in prison, non violent...
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...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...
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...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...
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...Prison Overcrowding is a Financial Burden John Doe AIU Online Abstract This paper explores the causes of why not enough inmates are getting the rehabilitation needed to succeed outside prison walls. It may be a lot cheaper to provide them with programs than to house them for minor offences. Lastly, this paper will look at the cost effects of housing these prisoners and what kind of programs are offered while prisoners are serving their time. Without the proper rehabilitation, the result will be that our jails will stay overcrowded and cause a financial burden on all of America. Prison Overcrowding is a Financial Burden Something needs to be done about prison overcrowding and the lack of rehabilitation programs. Without proper rehabilitation, prisoners become repeat offenders. This means we have to build new faculties just to keep up with the overcrowding. The current cost to our nation to incarcerate inmates is $30 billion per year, which is expected to quadruple in the next decade (Crawford, 2003). The result is that prison overcrowding is a serious financial burden for Americans. Rehabilitation First, prison overcrowding is a financial burden because prisoners are not getting enough rehabilitation to transition back to society. The responsibility of the Bureau of Prisons is to safely confine its prisoner population. However, another mission of the Bureau is to rehabilitate: to provide inmates with skills...
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...Overcrowding in Prisons By Wendy Michaud PRES111 ~ Unit 2 IP American InterContinental University April 1, 2012 Abstract I think we are somewhat aware of the overcrowding in jails and prisons. There are more people incarcerated than we have room for in the United States. Although some states are far worse off than others this is a serious problem none the less. There are plans to fix this problem but not at the speed people would like. Topic: Overcrowded prisons are a problem for many different reasons. Most people are already aware of this problem, either they read it in a newspaper or saw it somewhere on the television. This is not just a local problem, it is almost everywhere. Are there reasons why this continues to happen, and has this situation improved through out the years? Are there things us as a society can do to change overcrowding in prisons? These are questions we should ask ourselves considering tax payers are the people that pay the most for food, shelter, and medical care for all the prisoners that are incarcerated. In the United States prisons the recidivism rate is amazingly high. In 1994, the biggest study of prisoner recidivism that has been ever been completed in the United States proved that, of nearly 300,000 adult prisoners who were released in 15 different states, 67.5 percent were arrested again within...
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...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 there...
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...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 of crimes, the United States has been facing a difficult issue of overcrowding in our prisons. Overcrowding in prisons is linked...
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...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...
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...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...
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...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...
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...Emergency Room (ER) overcrowding has become a big issue within the healthcare industry. Many people had high expectations that the Obama Affordable Care Act would help reduce the high volume of patients seen in the Emergency Departments. Instead, ER visits have increased. Although Obama Care has increased healthcare services within the medically uninsured and underserved populations through Medicaid and Medicare programs, this community of people tends to utilize the emergency department as a form of primary medical care, and most of these visits are not actual emergencies. In fact, ER visits are costlier compared to routine primary care visits, and the high cost of ER visits affects hospitals tremendously, a hospital cannot turn away patients....
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