Essay On Longer Prison Sentencing

Longer Prison Sentences for Career Criminals The United States criminal justice system should adopt harsher penalties and longer prison sentences on career criminals who have plagued our country time after time by committing crimes. According to the National Institute of Justice recidivism is “a person’s relapse into criminal behavior, often after the person receives sanctions or undergoes interventions for a previous crime.” Longer prison sentences would incarcerate these offenders, thus eliminating them from robbing, stealing, raping, and murdering innocent Americans as they have continued to do year after year. A staggering number of released inmates return to society only to be arrested again shortly thereafter, some committing even more egregious acts than what they were originally sentenced for. A tougher sentencing guideline would keep career offenders off the streets of America and allow law-abiding citizens to …show more content…
I have found that those who commit property crimes are often suffering from substance abuse problems. Prisons across the country have notoriously had issues concerning the introduction and use of drugs by inmates. Implementing programs to address the substance abuse issues with property crimes offenders would address the reason for them stealing, which is often to gain money or property to sell or trade for drugs. While longer prison sentences would keep the criminals incarcerated, and thus prevent them from committing crimes, it also costs Americans a large amount to house them in prisons. A sentence of prison time and early release only after a series of random drug testing would encourage the inmates to break away from their addictions. After the release of property crimes offenders extended terms of probation which incorporate random drug screening would ensure that they not relapse due to the consequence of returning to prison for using