Overcrowding In The United States Prison

Prison overcrowding is rapidly becoming a controversial financial and political problem in the United States. While jail conditions have worsened considerably. The current correctional system is nevertheless struggling to deal with the troubles that the United States has experienced in the past. State and Federal prison overcrowding has damaged the United States correctional system due to the growing inmate population and the demand to decrease penal costs. These two factors have resulted in a worsening shortage of space for prisoners. Many correctional employees are working with hazardous conditions, such as trying to manage an inmate body beyond maximum capacity.

Overcrowding in prisons and inmate to inmate violence are intimately linked, as poor living conditions and high density serve as fuel for the violent fire. Many of the troubles in prisons seem to be unconstitutional but are not often talked about.

Physical violence, sexual assault, poor health, the proliferation of illnesses among inmates, and wildly over capacity cells are a few of the potentially unconstitutional troubles going on in prisons today.

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Overcrowding is a serious problem as many can see, but there are many contributing factors for overcrowding. As well-meaning many of the factors were, many of those in power are either indifferent or are trying to manipulate this dilemma for their own reasons. Whether some want to agree with it or not, overcrowding is a serious problem that we all have to look at because it is our cash that is being used to help a failing jail system. 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.

For instance, struggle builds and they begin competing for confined sources because there may be a threat they would possibly get denied access to a program that only gives a positive amount of open space. With extra people in prison, there is a greater risk any person will no longer get the probability to participate in self-improvement application or a rehabilitation program. There are typically three unique types of programs; vocational, academic, and employment. These applications are paid via our taxpayers to help build up an inmate so when they are launched they have work experience and education as excessive as a G.E.D. Most of the human beings going thru the machine are young males between the ages of twenty and thirty, uneducated and majority minorities. Unfortunately, competing is now not the worst element that takes place in an overcrowded prison. From the outdoor searching in jail simply looks like a place where people remain incarcerated and do their time till they are released. From the indoors, it simply looks like black Friday in a mall with big sales.

Prison overcrowding has a negative effect not only on the general population,violence and on the economy but also on the prison system itself. “Overcrowding, as well as related problems such as lack of privacy, can also cause or exacerbate mental health problems, and increase rates of violence, self-harm, and suicide.” (“Giertz, J. F., & Nardulli, P. F., 46). As my research for jail staff, there had been also girl prisoners having intellectual health troubles who have been at the hazard of abuse and at worst stage of intellectual illness. The ladies who don't have any intellectual troubles can develop it through the environment given from the institutes which are very bad in condition, overcrowded, no security and safety and a group of workers which had been having to etiquettes to deal with the females. In overcrowded prisons, it's not only hard for criminals to be cramped up in a space that feels like a prison but now it feels like black Friday prison. It doesn't just affect the criminals and space but it also affects the security guards too. prison overcrowding is the effect it has on prison organizational stability. The more prisoners and people put in jail have made it harder for prison guards and staff to monitor and control them. The big reason why the violence will burst out is that it will be understaffed.

Everyone appears to recognize any person that is in jail these days, whether or not the man or woman has committed a serious, violent crime, or just received caught up in the wrong place at the incorrect time, they nevertheless stop up in some type of jail facility. In truth, the U.S.’s charge of incarceration is 455 human beings per and 100,000 people (Smolowe, 1994). To put that in perspective, it is the perfect fee of incarceration in contrast to any other u. s . a . in the world. two Even South Africa, our close second, solely imprisons 311 human beings 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 problem of overcrowding in our prisons. Overcrowding in prisons is linked to quite a few extraordinary cases, but the standard ignition of the overcrowding hyperlinks especially to the “War on Drugs” that started in the 1970s (“What Causes Overcrowding,” 2011). Overcrowding in prisons has some very negative consequences no longer solely for the prisoners, however additionally for many people living on the outside. two Overcrowding in prisons is expensive and extremely dangerous to the well-being of our prisoners. It influences essentially each state in the U.S., particularly Illinois, the place 25 out of the 28 total prisons in Illinois are working over capacity (Yeagle, 2010). To remedy this epidemic, the United States, and Illinois in particular, have to begin reforming our prison system; Also, we ought to now not have obligatory jail time for lesser crimes.

As we seem to be at the bad problems of jail overcrowding we must also suppose about the solutions to these problems. We seem at the awful effects of this and strive to make it into a nice outcome.

As stated earlier, the “War on Drugs” was the essential event that definitely sparked the overcrowding of prisons. two Before this warfare used to be initiated, the populace of the United State’s prisons used to be about a quarter of the cutting-edge populations we see nowadays (“What Causes Overcrowding,” 2011). It has been proven that about 70-75% of the prisoners put in jail today are in prison due to the fact of the changes made to the law from the “War on Drugs” (“What Causes Overcrowding,” 2011). This skill that the majority of our jail area is being crammed with the aid of drug users. two It would show up that as an alternative to putting these humans in prison, there should be a device figured out in which these humans are helped with rehabilitation in hopes that they will overcome their addiction. This way, the space of our prisons can be saved for violent criminals who deserve to be punished, instead than drug addicts who sincerely want help. Without the initiation of the “War on Drugs,” drug users may additionally be appeared at as harmless people, who absolutely want help overcoming an addiction, alternatively of dangerous, wrong-doing criminals.

Second, we can put criminals in the penal complex for greater serious crimes and the criminals with minor crimes can get out earlier, or perhaps we can make them pay a great and make them do neighborhood services. Finally, we can supply a offerings to the offenders and criminals in the prison with the aid of giving them an appropriate danger to cross two lower back to their place but with a precise mindset (good mindset and behavior) and with a secure environment.

Clearly, overcrowding in prisons is a big situation that ought to be addressed quickly. two Of course there are many greater solutions to fixing the overcrowding problem, some of them have just now not been thinking of quite yet. One thing is for sure, the most important reform of the whole incarceration system needs to be made. With the development of our time, we additionally need to improve how we deal with criminals. Without making a big reform, matters are simply going to get worse. The prisons will continue to overcrowd and if we continue building greater prisons to aid this, we will definitely be draining the American taxpayer of their genuinely-earned money, simply to house criminals. If we are to take the first steps into reforming our prisons, with any luck an on the spot response is viewed and we can hope to begin seeing a constant limit in crime rates, and a greater effect, cost-friendly way to punish human beings for their wrongdoings.