US and Canada Incarceration Rate and the Costs - Research Paper Example

America Versus Canada’s Mass Incarceration Rate College: America Versus Canada’s Mass Incarceration Rate The high rate of mass incarceration rate is US is a matter of concern for the nation. Statistics indicate that the US has the highest mass incarceration rate in the world as compared to other nations. Among the most incarcerated people include young men and Black Americans. Most researchers indicate that incarceration is expensive as high costs are linked to the arrest and imprisonment of the public. While this is a security measure, the US government should consider reducing the rate of incarceration to save on the economy and reduce the poverty level that is rising due to unemployment. This essay compares US and Canada incarceration rate and the costs, in an attempt to provide viable recommendation on how the government should conduct its incarceration. Incarceration refers to the arrest of suspected criminals before their conviction and to confine them from the public. Incarceration in US was started as a security measure that aimed at safeguarding the public from potential criminals. The US imprisons many types of criminals including drug offenders and non-violent offenders. This situation is different in Canada as the government imprisons only those with high risk of violence. Statistics shows that the US has five times higher the rate of incarceration as compared to Canada. Approximately, the US incarcerates about 750 people per every 100 thousand which is much than the rate Canada which about 117 people per every 100 thousand individuals. In total, there are about 1.6 million prisoners in America. 90% of the prisoners in the US comprise young males at the age bracket of 20 to 30 years. In Canada, 70% of males of young age are in prison, and the rest is composed of women. By race, the percentage of blacks and Latinos in prison is much higher than that of the whites. Per every 100 thousand people in US, 3,074 blacks, 1258 Latinos are imprisoned while only 459 whites are victims (Cox, 2012). This is different in Canada where the ratio of whites to blacks in prison is fairly balanced. From the statistics, it is clear that the incarceration rate is much higher in US and more biased than the case in Canada. The Problem of High Incarceration Rates in US Evidently, the US spends a lot in maintaining their prisons as compared to Canada. Many scholars have come up to criticize the hefty spending of the US in maintaining prisons. The average cost of maintaining a prisoner is between $20 thousand and $30 thousand each year. Canada prisoner maintenance cost is much lower by 30%, which ensure that the nation spends little on incarceration. This shows that the US spends over $32 billion in maintaining their prison each year, which is 4 times higher than the cost of maintaining prisons in Canada. As compared to its economic spending on Education, US spend 2.5 more times in prison maintenance (Martensen, 2012). Although Canada also spends more on prison than on education, it is much lower. The cost of maintenance of the prisoners is higher due to a number of reasons. First, the US imprisons even those with minor crimes such as non-violent potential criminals and drug-offenders. In addition, the US imprisons for longer periods, which maintains the population of the prisons high all-round the year (Brewer et al., 2014). Resultantly, the US spends heavily on a high population of prisoners throughout the year. The problem with this kind of national spending is that the poverty rate in America is alarming and especially when it comes to the minority groups. The idea of researchers is that the US government should reduce its expenditure on incarceration and divert this kind of resource to the war against poverty among minority groups. In Canada, the government has shown a great effort in the war against poverty among the poor. Unlike the US government that funds only 50% of its tax revenue on public health, Canada funds about 70% of its health services to ensure that there the health services are accessible for every citizen (Martensen, 2012). The high rate of poverty in the US can be linked to the government’s heavy spending on incarceration. While this may be a security measure, it is clear that it may as well be a misdirected fight against crime. A country that does not fight poverty is likely to face increased level of crime. Discussion From the statistics of the above population, it is clear that the incarceration rate in America is much higher than any other country. Resultantly, a good percentage of the government revenue is spent on maintenance of prisons. The idea of the government to confine criminals is a good idea that seems to reduce the risk of crime in the nation. It is a wise idea for the government to focus on preventive measures in the war against crime. However, it is clear that there are arrests that do not warrant confinement. For instance, the there is no good reason to spend heavily on drug offenders and non-violent suspects as these have no potential harm to the public. Since this forms the largest percentage of the people in prison, it is clear that the government can avoid this high population in jail by arresting only those potential criminals who are likely to conduct serious criminal activities (Saddichha et al., 2014). The racial imbalance in the US prisons is an issue of great concern for many nations. Most researchers have used research as a vessel to reveal the reason behind high proportion of minority groups within the US prisons. The question that arises is whether the government is biased against minority groups such as Blacks and Latinos, or these categories of individual form the large proportion of criminals. From a close observation, there is a big relationship between poverty level and the level of crime. Children brought up from poor families are more likely to become future offenders rather than those from well-up families. Since the minority groups are much poorer than the natives, it is possible that they are likely to indulge in crime than the whites. Therefore, the high number of suspects of non-natives in the US prisons is a reflection of the high poverty levels among these groups (Erlanger, 2009). This raises the question if it is possible for the government to fight crime, not by arresting suspects but by using these resources in fighting poverty. The government over-expenditure of resources on incarceration is misdirected idea. It is more worthwhile that the government uses these resources on educating the poor in the nation. This would promote public dependence and reduce the instances of crime within the government. The US government spends 2.5 higher on incarceration than on the education system. This is another issue that may have led to the rise in crime in this nation. If the government spends more on education, it would be possible to reduce the poverty rate and reduce its prison maintenance cost (Cloud, Parsons, & Delany-Brumsey, 2014). In Canada, the government focus on education and provision services is the reason why poverty rate and crime rate are reducing simultaneously. The Canadian government spends more on education and provides higher national health system funding, which is crucial in the war against poverty. The US should consider this option if their have to win on the war against crime. Comparison of Scholars views and Personal Views From a critical point of view, I agree with the idea that the US expenditure of incarceration is wrong strategy to curb security. While it is crucial for the government to focus on public security, it should be a priority to regulate these costs and reduce them as much as possible. Scholars agree that focusing on poverty eradication among the poor in the nation, especially the minority groups, would reduce the level of crime in US. Canada has fewer cases of crime and low population of prisoners due to their focus on education and provision of state funded health system. This idea agrees with the idea of Kayla (2012) that the US government should find beneficial ways of fighting crime to ensure to avoid spending its tax revenue on incarceration. The concept of racial bias is controversial issue whose answer is yet to be found. While other authors agree that it is racial discrimination that leads to victimization of blacks and the Latinos, others argue that it is due to the fact that these groups are uneducated and majority wail in poverty. In my analysis, I agree that it is the government neglection for the minority races that underpins their high population in prison. The US government has the responsibility to provide adequate education and health care for minority group as part of the manifestation of commitment to diversity management. Neglection of this group of individuals leads to an increase in the level of crime (Milloy, Wood, Tyndall, Lai, Montaner, & Kerr, 2009). On this note, the US government can divert its attention to social development rather than incarceration. Conclusion In conclusion, it is clear that the US government spends most of its tax revenue on incarceration rather than in developing the society. As compared to Canada, the US has higher populations of prisoners and spends more on maintenance. The government spends more on incarceration than in education and health sector. Clearly, the minority groups fall victim of incarceration more than the white people. The key learning is that there is some relationship between poverty and the level of crime. The government should focus on the social status of the people to prevent crime within the nation. Education the poor and providing them with free health services can reduce crime, rather than use the incarceration approach in preventing crime. References Brewer, R. A., Magnus, M., Kuo, I., Lei, W., Ting-Yuan, L., & Mayer, K. H. (2014). The High Prevalence of Incarceration History Among Black Men Who Have Sex With Men in the United States: Associations and Implications. American Journal Of Public Health, 104(3), 448-454. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2013.301786 Bonds, A. (2009). Discipline and Devolution: Constructions of Poverty, Race, and Criminality in the Politics of Rural Prison Development. Antipode, 41(3), 416-438. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8330.2009.00681.x Cloud, D. H., Parsons, J., & Delany-Brumsey, A. (2014, March). Addressing Mass Incarceration: A Clarion Call for Public Health. American Journal of Public Health. pp. 389-391. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2013.301741. Cox, R. (2012). The Impact of Mass Incarceration on the Lives of African American Women. Review Of Black Political Economy, 39(2), 203-212. doi:10.1007/s12114-011-9114-2 Erlanger, B. S. (2009). Criminal Punishment, Labor Market Outcomes, and Economic Inequality: Devah Pagers Marked: Race, Crime, and Finding Work in an Era of Mass Incarceration. Law And Social Inquiry, 341039. Martensen, K. (2012). The price that US minority communities pay: mass incarceration and the ideologies that fuel them. Contemporary Justice Review, 15(2), 211-222. doi:10.1080/10282580.2012.681165 Milloy, M. J., Wood, E. E., Tyndall, M. M., Lai, C. C., Montaner, J. J., & Kerr, T. T. (2009). Recent incarceration and use of a supervised injection facility in Vancouver, Canada. Addiction Research & Theory, 17(5), 538-545. doi:10.1080/16066350802023065 Saddichha, S., Fliers, J., Frankish, J., Somers, J., Schuetz, C., & Krausz, M. (2014). Homeless and incarcerated: An epidemiological study from Canada. The International Journal Of Social Psychiatry, Read More