The Problem with Overcrowded Prisons

At the turn of the twenty- introductory century the line of work with the joined States vindicatory arrangement could no longer be ignored. in that respect is no essential to be incarcerated to to a dismantle placestand the suffering of both inmates and military group managing the prison house house house. Just imagining constricted spaces and forced fundamental interaction with an increased subjugate of pitifuls and or psychologically challenged people pre work be harmful to the supposed reclamation aspiration of fling time. hardly reducing the number of inmates or making bigger facilities is non deviation to be the simple asc extirpateent for this trouble. There be galore(postnominal) factors to consider and the dilemma is building up each year. A solution has to be reached before the worry can develop into a full-blown crisis that could upshot in total partitioning of the dust.This study takes a closer take in into the problem of overcrowded prisons . This includes finding pop out wherefore overcrowding has become a riddle for legion(predicate) officials. The research would also tackle the do of overcrowding. Moreover, the proponent would find out what ar the challenges faced by those who tried to invent an acceptable solution.Overcrowding the JointIn a nation where slavery is outlawed and where everyone has the opportunity to fool something out of heart, it is a puzzle wherefore umpteen still go to prison. In the training age where a person has doorway to more than(prenominal) than knowledge, it is a mystery why many argon none the wiser since they locate deeds that would progenyuate them behind bars.In the ledger well U.S. prisons, authors Clear, Cole, and Reisig form out that, In 2003, 22 lands and the federal prison system reported operating at or above capametropolis. The federal system was estimated to be operating at 39 percent, and boilers suit the state systems were operating at 14 percent ab ove capacity (2005, p. 467).Michael Jacobson the precedent Commissioner of the rude(a) York City Department of Correction, the greatheartedst city jail system in the U.S. provides excess figures that helps to clearly illustrate the crisis. And he remarked, The United States now works up a high percentage of its population than any landed estate in the world. The more than 2 jillion people who are incarcerated today get out up roughly eight time the number in 1975 (Jacobson, 2005, p. 8).Overcrowding is due to tougher laws that were ratify due to the belief that habitual offenders mustiness(prenominal) be punished longer. These laws also fa at that placed to put these types of criminals locked up for good that they may thumb the full force of the law. Joycelyn M. Pollock in her book assessing the authorized state of American prisons remarked why there ordain be an increasing number of men and women who testament be under lock and constitute for the rest of their l ivesEven as recently as 1968, 23 states had statutes that authorized life imprisonment for habitual offenders who had previously been convicted of original specified offenses these sensitive sentencing laws begin the authority to exacerbate already severely overcrowded prison conditions while simultaneously creating more problems for state and federal governments, criminal justness agencies, and prison administrators (1997, p. 62).Problem with OvercrowdingWhat is the big deal with overcrowding? Others may compensate dare speculate that it could add an oppositewise(prenominal) dimension to the punishing of criminals and thusly why throw away their stay more commodious?It is therefore helpful to see prison overcrowding from another perspective. And that is to translate the real purpose of incarceration. Mark Colvin in his study of the infamous New Mexico prison riot of 1980 insist that squeezing more and more inmates alike(p) sardines into a tin can was the result of a c hange in philosophy.It is therefore easy to argue that riots can be expected in prisons where the motifs of inmates are not met or when the prisoners feel that introductory human accountabilitys are not view due to the lack of resources. It is also not hard to imagine the stress levels see by shorthanded provide. When riots ensue, the safety of the prisoners and at the analogous time the staff responsible in managing utter facility will be in extreme jeopardy.Freeman elaborates on this unloose when he wrote that, It is difficult to maintain a close watch on problem inmates when overcrowding exists. This problem is especially acute when those problem inmates are prone to violence (1999).Colvin argued that polity makers should be reminded that the main purpose of prison is to rehabilitate offenders and not just survive as a place to lock them up. Colvin realized that this situation is did not emit overnight and he wrote, This current crisis emerged in the 1970s when the i deological commitment to rehabilitation declined sharply, along with our nations optimism about alleviating meagerness and a host of other social ills (1992, p. 1).SolutionA good start would be to again revisit the original aim of prison systems. As discussed earlier policies must be altered to minimize the punitive intent of incarceration and rather diversify regulations so that it will focus more on helping prisoners deal with the start gain of their crime.Overcrowding bring downs the efficacy of whatever rehabilitative impact prison can offer. This was highlighted by Clear, Cole and Reisig when they asserted that, Prison overcrowding promptly affects the ability of correctional officials to do their work, because it decreases the isotropy of offenders in programs, increases the potential for violence, and greatly strains staff morale (2005, p. 469).With regards to dealing with the main cause of crime, the discussion will then liberation to pr final resultive measures suc h as elevating poverty and providing for opportunities for marginalized members of hostel to cast off access to facts of life and other training to improve skills.Finally, a solution is right down under the noses of insurance policymakers but they are so in antithetical by other more sensationalistic and controversial issues that they miss it. An example of a simple adjustment in the system can mean hundreds of millions of dollars in savings each year and a of import decrease in the number of incarcerated delinquent. The solution calls for a serious assessment of the section of free officeholders within the criminal justice system.To better envision the structure altering role of discussion officers, Jacobson made a case for the consequence of neglecting the needs of said officersVirtually no one in government can spend funds like a parole officer who has no budget to control and may work in a fix and overcrowded office in a summing up building in a sum total par t of town. He or she may have little or no access to programs or treatment for parolees and may earn practically less than a correction or police officer (2005, p. 132).Looking at the insight of Jacobson it takes little to understand the domino effect of neglecting this countrys parole officers. Fortunately for those suffering in an inefficient criminal justice system, there is an insider in the person of Jacobson who truly understand how the system works.It is a wonder that single a few realized that when a parole officer gets overworked and when their morale are dangerously low they would not have the patience to help offenders walk the more difficult path of an ex-convict. A parole officer is like a propose counselor who has to work from the heart, giving more than expert advice. And to walk the extra mile to help those who do not merit help. But according to Jacobson the system is not helping them and he wrote, parole officers have no ability to compel parole agencies to sp end additional fund on less expensive parole go such as drug treatment, argumentation training programs, or additional officers to lower caseloads (2005, p. 132).If all else fails then a shadow is to improve infrastructure and to add knife edge equipment to solve the problem of increasing number of prisoners which significantly affect the inmate to staff ratio. In other words engineering science will be utilise to make prisons more safe and more manageable. The overbearing impact as well as the drawbacks were succinctly explained by who remarkedIn the USA, new generation design has even been used to reduce staff-inmate contact Too much reliance on technology to devolve danger and reinforce control can be perilous in the event of equipment failure, staff can feel virtually helpless. Technology should not be an end in itself, but an aid to officers own(prenominal) control and supervision(Fairweather & McConville, 2000, p.32).Another pat solution is the privatization of prisons. Pollock argued that with privatization comes efficiency managers and controls that will help shape up the current penal system. There are others who butt to privatization citing possible obstruction to due move since privatization means control not by the government but by sure people. But in the end Logan was right in saying that, in no area have I found any potential problem with unavowed prisons that is not at least matched by an identical or a closely corresponding problem among prisons that are motivate by the government (as cited in Pollock, 1997, p. 382).ChallengesThose who are knowledgeable about budget deficits and the need for more money to finance other programs plus those who are wise copious to understand the ill effects of cud incarceration are clamoring for reduction of the overcrowding in U.S. prison systems.Convincing a large part of the population will not going to be an easy task. The first challenge is changing the perception of the majority, whic h was firmly influenced by the media and the exposure to controversial crimes. as yet even without high profile crimes many are aware of the problem of buy out offenders and even committing crimes while still beingness on mental testing or on bail or on parole. This was expound by Karti Sieberg who studied the said criminal dilemma, and she remarked, According to the report made by the Council on abhorrence in America, in 1990, among those accused of violent crimes, 12% were awaiting trial for earlier offenses when they allegedly committed rape, murder, assault, or robbery (2001, p. 16).ConclusionThe solutions discuss above aims to reduce the number of people held behind bars. The proposed methods and policy changes that advocates of reducing overcrowding are increasingly careen towards a more lenient system. creation lenient can mean different things to many people but in the limited discussion made earlier, those espousing for leniency wished not to be misunderstood.Crimi nals must serve time but there are many that do not need to spend more time in prison. It will be for their benefit and the society also. Moreover, a focus on stay measures can significantly reduce this problem. But most importantly giving vastness to the role of parole officers can effectively change the direction of overcrowded prisons.Jacobson was right when he said that, parole officers decisions have had the effect of fueling U.S. incarceration boom by sending many parolees back to prison (2005, p. 132). If policymakers can start here they could make a lot of headway.Reference ListClear, T., G. Cole, & Reisig, M. (2005). American Corrections. Belmont CA Thomson HigherEducation.Colvin, M. (1992). The Penitentiary in Crisis From Accomodation to debauch in New Mexico. NewYork State University of New York Press.Fairweather, L. & McConville, S. (2000). Prison Architecture polity, Design, and Experience.MA Elsevier.Freeman, R.M. (1999). punitory Organization and Managemen t Public Policy Challenges,Behavior and Structure. MA Butterworth-Heinemann.Jacobson, M. (2005). Downsizing Prisons How to Reduce Crime and End Mass Incarceration.New York New York University Press.Pollock, J. (1997). Prisons nowadays and Tomorrow. Boston Jones and Bartlett Publishers.Sieberg, K. (2001). Criminal Dilemmas agreement and Preventing Crime. New YorkSpringer.