What is this issue about? Mass incarceration rates continue to rise. There are spaces in the prisons and jails where there are situations such as no beds available. So what do we do with the individuals going to jail, or prison? The United States is not only tripling beds in the different pods, but also are quadrupling beds in the pods. In this case, it continues to get overcrowded, and with that being said, more fights/riots are occurring. Prisoners are being put at risk …show more content…
Some people need prison/jail , as where others don’t. Preferably, we might want to restore them, and have them in controlled and directed situations and stable living conditions. Individuals trust that by isolating them from society for a specific time frame will protect society. However, jails wind up being exclusively distribution centers rather than spots for individuals to end up restored. Rehabilitation occurs when an individuals (after being incarcerated) CHOOSES to change. Everyone wants to live in a safe society. People don’t want to be scared while walking their dog down the street that there is a criminal behind them. Isolating criminals from the society can either do two things. 1. Understanding their consequences and caring and 2. They will continue to not care and become more violent while they are in prison. For some people, mass incarceration never existed to them. “I think most Americans have no idea of the scale and scope of mass incarceration in the United States. Unless you’re directly impacted by the system, unless you have a loved one who’s behind bars, unless you’ve done time yourself, unless you have a family member who’s been branded a criminal and felon and can’t get work, can’t find housing, denied even food stamps to survive, unless the system directly touches you, it’s hard to even imagine that something of this scope and scale could even exist.” (Alexander …show more content…
I have studied a lot about mass incarceration because my concentration is criminology which allows to me focus and take courses on crime. I have also read the books, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, Punished: Policing The Lives of Black and Latino Boys by Victor Rios, and Between Good and Ghetto by Nikki Jones. I recommend reading these books to develop a better understanding on mass incarceration. “From a larger social perspective, this issue should not be the responsibility of corrections administrators. No one believes that jails are the best place for providing mental health services. Several recent efforts are demonstrating alternatives.” (Lobuglio and Piehl 2015) There is a lot wrong with our juvenile justice system and people to be able to understand the bigger picture. There are more than 54,000 children sleeping behind bars and most of the kids go to prison, for yet again, nonviolent offenses. Some examples are kids getting arrested for skipping school, or not coming home by curfew, and even running away from home. Being placed in prison for that? What is that teaching them? They are going to prison for nonviolent offenses and if they were an adult, they wouldn’t be charged with these kinds of crimes. Guess how much it costs locking kids per year? It costs 8 billion dollars per