Prison overcrowding in the United States - Essay Example

? s School Prison Overcrowding in the U.S Various s in the U.S are struggling with the issue of prison overcrowding owingto which these states are trying to pass legislations aimed at resolving the issue. Even in states where the legislations have been passed, the law enforcement institutions have restricted will and power to implement the decisions aimed at resolving the issue of prison overcrowding in the U.S. To be more precise, Prison Overcrowding tends to refer to a situation where the demand for space in prisons keeps increasing at a high pace, while the jurisdiction fails to exceed the capacity of these prisons owing to legislation or other reasons (Prison Reform trust 1993). The capacity of the jails, though apparently seem to be the most legitimate reason to justify the prison overcrowding, however many other factors are also involved. One justification which is often posed by many is that prison overcrowding occurs when the intake of prisoners in the jails exceed the rate by which other prisoners die or are discharged out of the jail. However, research indicates that there are several other factors leading towards prison overcrowding in the U.S including major offenses for minor crimes, and the lack of will on part of the legislatures (Braswell 1985). There are various risks involved in prison overcrowding which can`t be ignored including stress, violence, anxiety, health issues and deterrence in rehabilitation processes amongst the prisoners. Possible solutions, thus, include incorporating community service or restitution etc as possible alternatives to sending minor offenders into jail (Tip 1994). This paper aims at discussing these causes, risks as well as the solutions in detail with regard to the prison overcrowding in the U.S. Also, as a reference one such ruling will also be discussed to make a sound conclusion regarding the issue at hand. Starting off with the causes relevant to the prison crowding in the U.S, the first and the most apparent reason relates to the quantitative issues when it comes to the number of jails in the U.S. With time, as population amongst the prisons keeps increasing, the government should ensure that the capacity for keeping prisoners is also expanding accordingly. However, this is not the only factor associated with it. In fact, one of the biggest reasons for prison overcrowding in the U.S as pointed out by the researchers is acclaimed as the increase in the number of recidivists along with the drug offenders (Clark 1994). Since issues like Drug Abuse are becoming more common especially amongst the youth of America, such offenders are being jailed at a higher rate. Instead of incorporating the practices of rehabilitation for such offenders, they are being sent to prisons which directly imply that they are taking up space in the prisons. United States has long been targeted for charging the minor offenders for major crimes i.e. allocating a severe punitive action for even the minor offenders (Penal Affairs Consortium 1995). The system of the U.S law enforcement has become such that owing to legislation as well as the long years of practice being followed, the judges have a very limited scope of sentencing the offenders to the crime of their own choice. In fact, a list of punitive actions has already been assigned to the jury which limits their scope of action to a great extent. Thus, the flaw lies in treating criminal law more like common law however there is a difference when dealing with these two. The judges can be given the powers with regard to sentencing when it comes to specific problems so that this problem can be dealt with. After having pointed out the essential causes for prison overcrowding in the U.S, it is crucial to identify the necessary risks involved with the issue at hand, as it is only these issues which tend to justify the significance of overcrowding i.e. why should the issue be addressed on a priority basis. Firstly, when the number of prisoners is higher than the capacity, there will essentially be a stress factor naturally inflicted upon the prisoners as they would have to adjust to the limited resources and space. This can then distort their mental system, and instead of being rehabilitated they will rather become victims of anxiety. Similarly, the staff will also be limited as assigned to a particular jail in general, and with the number of prisoners increasing, it will be difficult for the staff members to manage them accordingly. Moreover, when there will be anxiety and lack of violence, along with the lack of necessary arrangements, violence is bound to be inflicted upon by these prisoners. Similarly when more people would be occupying less space, direct or indirect contact may lead towards the spread of various diseases. Also with more people occupying less space, hygiene issues will also emerge leading towards different diseases. After having identified the risks involved as well, the solutions must also be recommended to deal the issue at hand. Firstly, the prison capacity must be increased as in any case the population in prison will keep increasing to a great extent in the future. This is a fact which must not be ignored and brought to the notice of the authorities. Secondly, for those offenders who have committed non-violent or other minor crimes, a separate legislation must be enacted as their punishment in no way must be same as that of serious violators (Hough 2008). They can be sentenced to actions like probation where they must be kept under supervision for a specified period of time. Similarly, other minor offenders maybe charged with hours of community service to deal with the issue. House arrest may also be an alternative as the offenders may oversee a transformation in such a case. Another solution to all these problems lies in the hands of the law enforcement agencies as they can tackle the problem from the grass root level. The Eighth Amendment in the Bill of Rights constitutes certain rights of well being even for the offenders and prisoners, and thus a case was filed in context of the Amendment, i.e. Coleman v. Schwarzenegger which alleges mental health care and rehabilitation to the offenders aiming at reducing the prison population (Smith 2007). However, to seek clarity and undergo action in such a case more legislations need to be passed in order to allow the judges to take action while varying their options in an attempt to reduce the prison population. The legislation clearly denotes that the problem of overcrowding in the prisons should be dealt with carefully as the prisoners also have a right to stay well. In regard to the problems mentioned above, overcrowding in the prisons can cause serious harm to the health of the prisoners and hence a solution to it becomes necessary for the relevant authorities. Thus, conclusively, overcrowding in the U.S prisons is caused by the lack of space in the prisons, and more importantly, by charging minor offenders with imprisonment. The issue must not be considered as a minor one, as the risks involved are quite serious ranging from management issues to violence amongst the prisoners. Thus, it`s high time that not only the capacity of these jails is expanded but also the prisoners are charged with felonies other than imprisonment, especially those who have committed minor and non-violent crimes. U.S jails are heavily being filled with drug abusers, however, they should rather be sent to rehabs where positive results can be reaped. Thus, in any case, the U.S government, its law enforcement agencies and the legislatures alike should take this issue rather seriously and tend to put forth some serious steps to control the situation before it becomes uncontrollable. References: Braswell, M., Dillingham, S., & Montgomery, R. H. (1985). Prison violence in America. Cincinnati, Ohio: Anderson Pub. Co. Clark, C. S. (1994). Prison overcrowding. Washington, D.C: CQ Press. Hough, J. M., Allen, R., & Solomon, E. (2008). Tackling prison overcrowding: Build more prisons? Sentence fewer offenders?. Bristol: Policy Press. Penal Affairs Consortium. (1995). Prison overcrowding. London: The Consortium. Prison Reform Trust (Great Britain). (1993). Prison overcrowding. London: Prison Reform Trust. Smith, R. (2007). Prison conditions: Overcrowding disease, violence, and abuse. Philadelphia: Mason Crest Publishers. Tipp, S. L. (1991). America's prisons: Opposing viewpoints. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press. Read More