Forces That Generated Mass Incarceration - Essay Example

MASS INCARCERATION Forces that have generated mass incarceration There are many factors that have led to the current state of mass incarceration in America. It’s mainly caused by the racial and economic forces, political decisions, and lack of effective rehabilitation and education programs. In the political front the leaders have passed and implemented new policies that have caused an increase in the number of prisoners. An example of this is the policy on drugs where the offenders are locked in for very long periods. The rehabilitation and education programs are ineffective and as a result they can’t lower or control the recidivism rates or reform the criminals into law abiding citizens. This makes the criminals to return to jail as soon as they finish their jail sentences because the jail did not help them rehabilitate and so they go back to crime as soon as they are released. The law also mainly targets the coloured people and the low class people. An example of this is a person found in possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine gets five years in jail while an offender found with five hundred grams of powdered cocaine gets a sentence of the same thresh hold (Huling 206). This policy disproportionately affects the blacks because most of the defendants of crack are black. Crack cocaine is much cheaper than the powder cocaine. Jailing offenders with possession of small amounts of crack cocaine and not powder proves that the law is targeting the low lass and the poor people at the expense of people who are well off. The law has specified on the small offenses and giving long jail periods. This is another factor that has led to the mass incarceration. Recent research shows that thirty six percent of the drug inmates are people who are low level offenders and they have minimal criminal histories but they are mostly sentenced for more than six years in prison. In America the number of prisoners is more than the number of farmers! Most prisons are located in the rural areas because prisons because they are regarded to have economic advantage. Communities which face decline in, mining, farming, manufacturing and timberwork are opting for the building of prisons in their back yards because of the economic gains that are attached to the prison. The building of prison as a strategy for economic in depressed communities in rural areas growth has become wide spread trend in America. The towns have become dependent on the prison industry which is in turn dependent on the enhancement of crime- producing condition. This depicts that the government is counting on the prisoners for economic gains. This strategy has caused to construction of many prisons and as a result resulting to mass incarceration. The rural prisons have approximately two hundred and thirty five prisoners each and employ 75000 worker by the end of a decade. This shows that for every 100 prisoners there are 30 employees (Huling 206). Because of this prisons are herald by politicians and economic professionals as supportive economic engines in the depressed rural areas economy. The governments should spend the money being used to build correctional facilities in educating people and prevent them from committing crime. This will help in reducing the rate of incarceration. The government should use its resources in creating employment opportunities through other ventures rather than prisons. The mass incarceration is in the rise because of the rise in the poverty levels and the constant increasing living standards. This makes people to turn to criminal activity and they end up in jail. Impacts of Imprinsonment. Majority of people who are jailed are people from the low class of society. This means that when the go to prison they leave their families in more difficult economic conditions. The burden of looking for food and paying the bills is left to those left behind who are mainly women and children. This causes many children to remain at home since they cannot afford to pay school fees. Imprisonment causes families to disintegrate and the children are forced to be raised by single parents (Purser 406). The children left behind lack the care of both parents hence they miss out on many issues. The children usually have a likelihood of going to jail at an earlier age because they are more likely to get into criminal activity. The children who are raised by single parents are less supervised because the mother has to look more jobs in order to get enough capital to sustain the family by her own. In most cases they get two jobs during the day and night leaving them with little time to monitor the children progress. This cause’s emotional distress to the people left behind. The children have to grow up on the crime ridden neighbourhoods on their own without sufficient parental advice and guide. This increases their chances of getting into crime. When a member of a family gets arrested the family loses the person’s income and at the same time the family acquires additional expenses which are involved in keeping in contact with the jailed person. The prison conditions cause behavioural changes to the subjects. It undermines the social life of the prisoners by exacerbating criminality and it also impairs the capacity for social interaction (Huling 201). Because of the harsh conditions in prisons the men have to develop gangster character in order to cope and survive in the prisons. Some end up becoming violent and unfriendly. They lose their trust to people and this makes them to become different people when they get out of jail. The racial disparity they experience in prison exposes them to political subordination and through destroying the positive connection they had with the society. The parents who are jailed find it hard to cope with the fact that they have been separated with their children. This emotional torture distorts their attitudes and character. Some have a difficult time in finding a place to take their children when they are facing their jail terms. This causes them to have stress as they spend most time thinking how the children are coping without their presence. The many thoughts and worries causes the parents to develop mental problems and it also affects their general health (Huling 198). The parents also being in prison causes adverse psychological effects on children. The children whose parents are in jail usually have difficult time growing up. They end up being violent to other children and also generally their behaviour is influenced negatively. Many prisons are located in the rural remote areas and this makes it hard for the incarcerated parents to see their children and vice versa. Incarceration changes a person’s character and makes it difficult for him or her to conform with the society when they are released. It makes the people feel like outcasts when they are released. People who are released from jail find it hard to fit in the society and as a result they are more likely to commit crime and go back to jail. Many find the transition process difficult because they have no money so they become a burden to their families (Purser 403). The main challenge for the released prisoners is attaining employment. Many organizations don’t employ ex-convicts. This means that they have to start their own businesses or stay jobless. Some parents who were sentenced when their children are so young return to find that their children do not recognise them and it takes time before the children accept them back. Incarceration diminishes relationships in the family and it creates social isolation. It distorts the family structure where one parent is left behind. This situation encourages the people to find new partners and this leads to dissolution of many families. Works Cited Huling, Tracy. "Building a prison economy in rural america." Invisible Punishment: The Collateral Consequences of Mass Imprisonment (2002): 198-207. Purser, Gretchen. "“STILL DOIN’ TIME:” CLAMORING FOR WORK IN THE DAY LABOR INDUSTRY." The Journal of Labour and Society (2012): 397-415. Read More