Increased Population of Prisons Essay - 1606 Words

Overcrowded prisons and improper punishment systems are enormous social issues for our government. The United States has seen steady growth in its prisons. A projected increment in seen due to â€Å"get-tough† policies that locks up offenders for longer sentences (Ohlemacher, 2007, para. 1). The correction system had been through various phases of transformation, and the government had been tough on crime; this approach had resulted in rising prison populations. There are many factors that cause overcrowding prisons in the United States. As a result, prisoners, physically and mentally, suffer the negative effects of it, and growing prison punishments that led to congested prisons and jails have shown that tax payers, as well as the government,†¦show more content†¦I believe that rehabilitation, not imprisonment, is the key to reduce the crime rate. Rehabilitation is the initiative of healing criminal of his or her criminal inclinations. It tries to change their outloo k, their habits, and possibly even personality, to forgo their tendencies to commit crimes in the future. The country has a responsibility to help those who fall short of the standards of behaviour government has set, is the rehabilitative ideal. The offenders are usually folks with the greatest social disadvantages that have forced them to a life of crime in the first place. If the policies ignore these realities, it will foster hardships that will descend disproportionately and primarily on the already disadvantaged, and intensify the anger that many prisoners find difficult to restrain upon their release back into such a society, which will lead to re-offend by these prisoners. The fundamental idea is to prevent a person from committing the crime again by removing the needs to offend. This methodology is remarkably different from the idea of ‘deterrence’, which is the idea of making criminal frightened to offend, though he may yet wish to, and the idea of ‘inca pacitation’, which isolates the criminal and eradicating his physical power to offend, though he may still desires to. Prison punishments are not always the answer. A prisoner’s life can be simply depicted and directly related to theShow MoreRelatedThe Increased Prison Population and Improper Punishment System1083 Words   |  5 Pagessociety is facing. Overcrowded prisons and improper punishment systems are immense social issues for many nations’ governments. Growing prison punishment has led to congested prison and jails which also costs heavily to tax payers as well as government. Moreover, in many developed nations prison system exerts control against the poor, minorities and immigrants; they are mistreated and anguished by authorities. The United States has seen continuous growth in its prison. A projected increment in seenRead MoreIt Is Often Stated That Prison Does Not Work Because of the High Recidivism Rates. Why Do You Think the Prison Population Has Increased so Much in the Last Ten Years?1740 Words   |  7 Pagesthat the penal system need to decide whether the system is effective in doing its job, or reforms are needed to improve the way it conducts itself. What causes Recidivism? Recidivism is caused by criminals who have been through the courts and prison system and still refuse to turn away from crime; the causes of repeat crime may involve many social factors, such as society, the economic climate, or family issues that may affect the criminal in a negative manner. Perhaps the need for more governmentRead MoreThe Incarceration Of Drug Offenders894 Words   |  4 PagesOffenders Another major subset in the overall prison population in the U.S. is the growing rise in incarceration rates of drug offenders. Professor Blumstein notes that when considering the growth of incarceration rates by specific type of crime, such as murder, robbery, assault, burglary, drugs, and sex offenses during the two decades from 1980 to 2001, the single most important result was that the prison rate for drug offenders increased by a factor of 10; moreover, these drug offenders currentlyRead MoreThe Key Drivers Of Growth Behind Our Prison Population939 Words   |  4 PagesThe primary purpose of prison is to protect the community and rehabilitate the offender (Smart Justice, 2015). Research has indicated that prison fails to do this and instead can increase the rate of reoffending (Smart Justice, 2015). Prison does not address the causes of the person’s criminal offending. Imprisonment is designed to be a sentence of last resort, yet we are building more prisons at an ever increasing rate (Smart Justice, 2015). In Victoria, annually, the prison system cost more thanRead MoreIncarceration Within The Federal Bureau Of Prisons1195 Words   |  5 PagesOver the past forty years the increased of mass incarceration within the Federal Bureau of Prisons has increased more than 700 percent since the 1970’s, between the different type of ethnicity. Billions of dollars have spent to house offenders and to maintain their everyday life from rehabilitation programs, academic education, vocational training, substance abuse programs and medical care. The cost of incarceration climbs according to the level of security based on violent and non-violent crimesRead MoreThe American Court System And Criminal Justice System1750 Words   |  7 Pageswhose lives will never be the same. Men and women are on death row for decades, only to be exonerated after their execution. Where is the justice in that? Prisons are also overcrowded and according to political sci entist David Hudson, America holds five percent of the world s population, but twenty-five percent of the world s prison population (Hudson). This is partially derived from the overwhelming amount of cases that the justice system takes on, but also because of the harsh sentences. AboutRead MoreSolving The Problem Of An Aging Prison Population1250 Words   |  5 Pages Solving the Problem of an Aging Prison Population Joshua N. Handy American Military University Abstract The American correctional system is facing many emerging issues. One of these issues is the exponential increase in aging offenders. In the past few decades, the number of geriatric offenders incarcerated has multiplied at an increasing rate. This essay addresses the issue of aging offenders in the correctional system; the problems that these offenders create and the underlying issuesRead MoreEffects Of Prison Overcrowding907 Words   |  4 Pagestheir small cells for more time during the day. (Prison overcrowding is a growing concern in the U.S.) With a huge population of prisoners to manage, it is also difficult for that many prisoners to shower properly (McLoughlin). Another problem is that there is less time to eat per prisoner. The cafeteria must feed a huge population and must limit the time that each prisoner has to eat in order to move more people through the line efficiently. (Prison overcrowding is a growing concern in the U.S.)Read MoreEffect of the Police on the Prison Population Essays1357 Words   |  6 PagesEffect of the Police on the Prison Population Because of the increase in crime in America, the public has demanded an increase in the amount of protection received from police. This increase in police protection has increased the incarceration level by numerous amounts within the last ten years. The number of inmates incarcerated in America is a direct cause of the policing that is going on in the streets of American cities. The method of policing has a tremendous impact on the outcome of theRead MoreEssay on Prison Growth In American From 1970-20081674 Words   |  7 Pagesthe prison industry in America since the 1970s? Since the 1970s there has been a steady increase in the prison population where statistics now show from the BJS that more than one in every 100 adults are now imprisoned. Statistics from the PEW state that one in 30 men between the ages of 20-34 are behind bars; however just because there is an increase in the numbers it does not mean its due to an increase in crime. To further emphasize just how significant the growth is, the population in