There are solutions to deal with prison overcrowding that have been proven to work. These come in the form of “reduction programs”. Most prison population reduction programs are founded on the principles of releasing prisoners as appropriately as possible to make space for new inmates. Furthermore, as quoted from Pitts, Griffin, and Johnson on reduction programs:
“Generally referred to as backdoor strategies, prison population reduction usually entails providing early release incentives to inmates who qualify for such programs. Parole, parole reforms, home confinement/house arrest, work release, and good time credits all could be classified as means of directly reducing prison populations (Clear et al., 2011; Feinstein, 2011; Harris, 1991; …show more content…
(131)”. In other words, these reduction programs quickly create more space for new admissions into prisons. These programs are important not only because they let people out of prisons to continue their lives, but they also create much needed space to house the extremely violent/ deadly offenders that deserve the long sentences. Allowing parole for some prisoners immediately releases them, house arrest forces them to stay in their homes, and work release, meaning one is let out and forced to work, create the space needed to help conquer overcrowding. However, there are problems with these programs. Mauer expresses that the issue with early release programs is that human behavior is unpredictable and mistakes can happen. She is speaking of recidivism. Recidivism can be caused by …show more content…
Shorter and alternative sentences free up more space, and in a shorter amount of time. The building of more prisons only prolongs the problem until it needs to be addressed again. Building more prisons will waste taxpayer’s money whereas it could be spent to educate prisoners, create more reduction or alternative sentencing programs to directly reduce the population of inmates in United States prisons. Overcrowding has been occurring for many years, and if more prisons were built like in the past, the issue will continue to be one left unsolved. The controversial topic of prison overcrowding and what should be done to end it is a topic that needs to be addressed more by the government and the people. People that are imprisoned deserve to be punished, but the sentences for some are too severe. These severe sentences take up much needed space in the prison system that could be used for those of which are violent and require a long sentence. The overcrowding of the prisons in the United States is an issue that if not dealt with, will continue to get worse. The growing population of U.S. prisoners and the overcrowding followed by it effects not only the prisoners themselves, but the taxpayers and politicians as
“Generally referred to as backdoor strategies, prison population reduction usually entails providing early release incentives to inmates who qualify for such programs. Parole, parole reforms, home confinement/house arrest, work release, and good time credits all could be classified as means of directly reducing prison populations (Clear et al., 2011; Feinstein, 2011; Harris, 1991; …show more content…
(131)”. In other words, these reduction programs quickly create more space for new admissions into prisons. These programs are important not only because they let people out of prisons to continue their lives, but they also create much needed space to house the extremely violent/ deadly offenders that deserve the long sentences. Allowing parole for some prisoners immediately releases them, house arrest forces them to stay in their homes, and work release, meaning one is let out and forced to work, create the space needed to help conquer overcrowding. However, there are problems with these programs. Mauer expresses that the issue with early release programs is that human behavior is unpredictable and mistakes can happen. She is speaking of recidivism. Recidivism can be caused by …show more content…
Shorter and alternative sentences free up more space, and in a shorter amount of time. The building of more prisons only prolongs the problem until it needs to be addressed again. Building more prisons will waste taxpayer’s money whereas it could be spent to educate prisoners, create more reduction or alternative sentencing programs to directly reduce the population of inmates in United States prisons. Overcrowding has been occurring for many years, and if more prisons were built like in the past, the issue will continue to be one left unsolved. The controversial topic of prison overcrowding and what should be done to end it is a topic that needs to be addressed more by the government and the people. People that are imprisoned deserve to be punished, but the sentences for some are too severe. These severe sentences take up much needed space in the prison system that could be used for those of which are violent and require a long sentence. The overcrowding of the prisons in the United States is an issue that if not dealt with, will continue to get worse. The growing population of U.S. prisoners and the overcrowding followed by it effects not only the prisoners themselves, but the taxpayers and politicians as