Why is overcrowding in prisons becoming such a huge problem? The overcrowding of prisons became problematic starting in the early 1980’s as the federal and state laws over sentencing policies shifted into having stricter punishments for criminal activities (BOOK, pg. #). The increase in the length of sentencing for prisoners are causing prisons to become dramatically overcrowded as prisoners are forced into remain in the prison system for a long period of time even though there are new prisoners continuing to enter through the system (article What can we do about prison overcrowding). The prison population as whole has rapidly increased to forty-one percent since 2000, even though the rate of correctional officers within the prison has only
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The overcrowding causes prisons to be in poorer conditions and causes its prisoners to be in poorer health and less safer in the prison. The basic needs of the prisoners in overcrowded prisons becomes challenged as food portions have now decreased, health care needs are reduced to allocate for more prisoners, and the housing situation of the prisoners becomes overburdened and tighter in availability and comfort. Overcrowding can also cause increases in rates of violence, self-harm, suicide, and rape as prisoners become more agitated and restless due to space being overtaken with strangers and their needs being overlooked and reduced. Prisoners tend to become physical and emotional unstable as their sleep behaviors become radically altered and limited, as in overcrowded prisons the prisoners have to sleep within a rigid schedule which they would alternate throughout different times of the day. More so, some prisons have even been forced to have bunkbeds for prisoners, possibly even share beds, or they would have to sleep while standing up (www.penalreform.org) The reduction act of 2009, working to get non violent offenders to do community based programs, that would help rehabilitating, and be less expensive than paying in prison …show more content…
If a resolution cannot be found relatively soon, taxpayers will be forced to spend more and more money to support the increasing prison facilities (www.thejha.org/overcrowding). One major option to reduce rates of overcrowding is to evaluate the length in sentencing for criminal acts, especially when it relates to non-violent drug offenses. This approach of limiting sentencing and the reducing criminal sanctions against minor crimes, such as drug usage, would drastically decrease the amount of prisoners forced into prisons. A report estimated that a reduction in the number of people entering prisons from drugs offenses by 20 percent would save 1.3 billion in the next 10 years, and reducing the drug sentencing length by 20 percent would save 1.1 billion in next 10 years (CITE). The other major consideration to reduce rates of overcrowding is to evaluate the readiness of prisoners so that they can become a part of society earlier within their sentencing timeframe. By decreasing the minimum amount of time prisoners are required to serve for their criminal acts and providing them with the opportunity to earlier release granted good effort on their part than the rate of overcrowding would be limited.
The overcrowding causes prisons to be in poorer conditions and causes its prisoners to be in poorer health and less safer in the prison. The basic needs of the prisoners in overcrowded prisons becomes challenged as food portions have now decreased, health care needs are reduced to allocate for more prisoners, and the housing situation of the prisoners becomes overburdened and tighter in availability and comfort. Overcrowding can also cause increases in rates of violence, self-harm, suicide, and rape as prisoners become more agitated and restless due to space being overtaken with strangers and their needs being overlooked and reduced. Prisoners tend to become physical and emotional unstable as their sleep behaviors become radically altered and limited, as in overcrowded prisons the prisoners have to sleep within a rigid schedule which they would alternate throughout different times of the day. More so, some prisons have even been forced to have bunkbeds for prisoners, possibly even share beds, or they would have to sleep while standing up (www.penalreform.org) The reduction act of 2009, working to get non violent offenders to do community based programs, that would help rehabilitating, and be less expensive than paying in prison …show more content…
If a resolution cannot be found relatively soon, taxpayers will be forced to spend more and more money to support the increasing prison facilities (www.thejha.org/overcrowding). One major option to reduce rates of overcrowding is to evaluate the length in sentencing for criminal acts, especially when it relates to non-violent drug offenses. This approach of limiting sentencing and the reducing criminal sanctions against minor crimes, such as drug usage, would drastically decrease the amount of prisoners forced into prisons. A report estimated that a reduction in the number of people entering prisons from drugs offenses by 20 percent would save 1.3 billion in the next 10 years, and reducing the drug sentencing length by 20 percent would save 1.1 billion in next 10 years (CITE). The other major consideration to reduce rates of overcrowding is to evaluate the readiness of prisoners so that they can become a part of society earlier within their sentencing timeframe. By decreasing the minimum amount of time prisoners are required to serve for their criminal acts and providing them with the opportunity to earlier release granted good effort on their part than the rate of overcrowding would be limited.