Preview

Prison Overcrowding Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
476 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Prison Overcrowding Essay
Recommendations

A potential resolution to the issue of jail overcrowding is the end of mandatory sentencing for minor offenses. Despite the fact that the alternative requires a great deal of influence to convince Congress to eliminate this law; the termination of mandatory sentencing will majorly affect prison overcrowding. Indeed, even those these wrongdoers have carried out an unlawful activity, imprisonment may not generally be the best choice. Alternative programs that encourage the wrongdoers to perform community benefit, and also emotional, mental health facilities can alleviate overcrowding by diverting people who perform petty wrongdoings from the jails framework and into program personalized to their individual needs. On the off chance
…show more content…
There are endless things that ought to be done to solve this overcrowding prison. There are countless things that need be completed to resolve this overcrowding concern. Notwithstanding, the essential approach to manage jail congestion would be a change of our correctional facilities. As examined before in the literature review area, our correctional facilities are not intended to hold the present jail populace, which is the essential motivation behind why it makes many negative impacts the wrongdoers. As formerly discussed in the alternative section, in order to reduce overcrowded prisons, the termination of mandatory sentencing ought to be viewed as top priority. Overcrowding prison creates conditions of an unhealthy environment for both inmates and prison staff. With this condition, infectious diseases have become a major concern because the prison population is vulnerable to diseases through exposure to blood and other bodily fluids. As concurred by Sven Todts, “infectious diseases are an important problem in prisons, interacting dynamically with other problems of prisoners such as mental illness, addiction or homelessness”. With all the added problems that these overcrowded prisons cause such as safety issues and health problems for both inmates and prisoners, the termination of mandatory sentencing ought to be the first line of

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    America land of the free and home of the great, But in all reality is America as great is…

    • 835 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    This one problem has led to additional problems both inside correctional facilities and outside in society. For example, when overcrowding occurs and is capped at the state level, prisoners sentenced to the department of corrections remain in the county jail until a bed becomes available but in most cases the county jails are full. In many instances, the jails are under a court order capping jail population, and pressure is brought to bear on the court system to reduce the flow of offenders sentenced to incarceration. As a result, more serious offenders with fewer convictions or career criminals who manage the system effectively are given probation, and first offenders and less serious offenders with longer records are incarcerated (Muraskin & Roberts, Pg.…

    • 1193 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although criminals should pay the consequence for their behavior, it should not mean that they should live in overcrowded prisons. An example of an overcrowded prison is shown in Angola, where the max occupancy was for 800 prisoners, yet they had 1,750 prisoners (Stern, 2006). When this happens, the lack of resources, space, and training from needed officers increases. Therefore, conditions become hazardous and prisoners and officers are at higher risk for diseases such as HIV and Tuberculosis (Stern, 2006). Although society feels safe with criminals locked up, they have to realize that a main purpose for prisons is to help reduce crime by showing prisoners that breaking the law will cause them the loss of freedom. Ultimately, leading those criminals who are able to get out, to come out with a sense of a change behavior. However, the system that puts these women, men, and young people in overcrowded prisons are not even worried about the criminal. Instead, they keep increasing the definition of “crime”, which increase the number of criminals in an ineffective prison…

    • 1526 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The rising cost of overcrowded corrections and potential solutions are discussed. Alternatives to incarcerations such as probation, house arrest and fines are just a few of the topics explored. Understanding the problems with the system will help to alleviate the cost along with the correct level of justice associated with crime.…

    • 2183 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The purpose of this paper is to seek incarceration in society by addressing who what how when and where, on the subject of matter. My argument of the United States population being sheltering in warehouse of society known as the penitentiary system is wrong. United States’ prison population are the worst despite economy and structure systems. I will research supporting arguments from articles I found from scholarly sources and popular sources from the internet for you to challenge my argument and hopefully agree with me and if not then go on to more discussion on other topics to argue against…

    • 1053 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Supermax Prison Essay

    • 552 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The topic of the discussion throughout this paper will be about the supermax prison, outlining issues that these facilities face, as well as issues that the staff face that work in these types of prisons. Examine how contraband and riots become issues for the facility, and lastly discuss whether this style of incarceration is favorable or non-favorable.…

    • 552 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the United States, racism is a problem that is rooted in a struggle for power amongst people groups, and as the struggle has progressed, it has permeated almost every aspect of the American life. In the early years of the nation, the presence of slavery made it easy to point out the evils of racism, and even in after emancipation, Jim Crow and segregation laws made it evident that the issue continued to pervade society. However, following the Civil Rights era, inherent acts of racism began to dwindle. Today, racism has been institutionalized and can be seen in issues like mass incarceration, which targets African American populations. Sociologist Max Weber would have believed the issue of racism and mass incarceration to be directly related to the efforts that white Americans took to maintain the power they possessed through their class, status, and parties.…

    • 966 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    From the mid-1980s drug offenses increased primarily due to the pressure put on by the war on drugs (Neubauer & Fradella, 2014). This has contributed to overcrowding of prisons across America. In order to ease the overcrowding in prisons, rehabilitation through court sentenced drug treatment programs is a practical and economical alternative. Assigning offenders to applicable drug treatment programs would decrease overcrowding caused by drug offenses, lower recidivism rates, and provide savings for the criminal justice system.…

    • 337 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Michelle Alexander described the history of race in the United States as one that created and then sustained a “caste system” through the present in the form of “mass incarceration.” Race is social construct that leads to the oppression of groups. The history of race is not pleasant. In fact, it is horrible and should not exist, as race should not be something that divides the human race. Of course race can be something that is celebrated for its diversity, but it should not be something that causes strife to a particular group of people.…

    • 1082 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Wymondham Gaol was opened by Sir Thomas Beever in 1785. This jail was the first to be opened in Norfolk, England. This was near the end of the Age of Elightenment, when the Western World began to look inward and outward (Oakes, 2011). Looking outward, Western civilization could see barbaric tribes across the entire world (Oakes, 2011). Looking inward, the Western world believed itself more civilized and reformations began to touch every aspect of life, including dealings with criminals (Oakes, 2011). Belief in the scientific method drove society to find more humane ways of dealing with the lawless while perhaps transforming these into law-abiding, productive citizens (Foster, 2006). Five years later,…

    • 1294 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Incarceration

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Within America’s prison system there lies many issues. Although we know prisons have become a permanent part of America’s justice system and are needed to maintain a healthy functioning society. The big picture is this incarceration,in the manner in which the American system is managing it may be causing more harm than rehabilitation. As of today the incarcerated population is at least four and a half times larger than back in 1980. At a population of approximately 2.2 million people in the United States behind bars the need for change becomes apparent due to the high costs of keeping all of these individuals in prison and also having an incarceration rate higher than any other country in the world.…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    United States of America has the largest prison population in the world, what is wrong with our prison system. Many prisoners are repeat offenders in America. Also many criminals are in prison for nonviolent crimes, plentiful have a large prison sentence. Why does America have so many problems in their prison system and how can it be resolved? Problems such as, why are so many prisoners repeat offenders, why do people with a mental disability or drug addicts don’t receive help, how come that there is so many prisoner incarcerated for nonviolent crimes and are giving harsh crimes, why does America spend so much money on their prisons instead of trying to find better methods, and why is the prison population so high and is there a way to decrease it.…

    • 1550 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Prison overcrowding has become a major problem in the United States. As per, Issues and Controversies, “The United States has only 5 percent of the world’s population, but holds 25 percent of the world’s prisoners”. (“Mandatory Minimum”) Housing the growing prison population is putting a strain on the federal government’s budget, costing roughly $80 billion a year. (“Mandatory Minimum”) Crime rates are down, but prison populations are a growing concern. In light of these facts, lawmakers need to explore ways of reducing crime that does not involve incarceration, but still protects society. What alternatives to incarceration should be considered and why?…

    • 1702 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    It has become a growing concern for many Americans, as well as a political platform for many public figures in the past years. Evidence supports the fact that prisons in America are severely overcrowded. This evidence establishes a need for prison inmate rate reduction through the reduction of long prison sentences and the increase of rehabilitative options in the criminal justice system. Through the process of reducing prison sentences and offering more rehabilitative programs, there would be a significantly lower rate of incarceration in the United States. This would lower the current cost of managing prisons as well as increase the quality of living within the prisons. Without as many inmates, prisons could put the money towards probational programs and the inmates currently residing in prisons and jails would receive better attention, more living space, and a better chance at getting into prison programs meant to aid prisoners in getting out and staying…

    • 1843 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After analyzing and evaluating all three alternatives, it presented some optimistic and undesirable outcomes. In regards obtaining the most positive outcome financial feasibility should be considering top priority. As stated by Schmitt et al. (2010), “the financial costs of our corrections policies are staggering”. The following alternatives focuses on ways of reducing overcrowding in prisons system. Given the advantages and disadvantages of these alternatives, this plan to assist policymakers and practitioners to tackle overcrowding in a systematic and affordable way. The results should help to ensure that incarceration is only used when proportionate to the offence committed and where there are no other appropriate options.…

    • 1114 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays