Prison systems across the country are attempting to deal with an issue never dealt with in the U.S.’s history. Overcrowding of prison systems is a trend which began in the 1970’s when the country decided the criminal justice system was too soft on crime. Crime rates were souring yet incarceration rates remained relatively stable. Thus, began the current crime control era leading to 2008 incarceration rates of 506 per 100,000 compared to only 96 per 100,000 in 1973.
There are several contributing factors to current prison overcrowding. One cause being the “war on drugs,” starting in the 1980s, which has added to the population immensely. So much so that drug offenders currently make up over half of the prison population. Additionally, …show more content…
Although mass incarceration is a trend not likely to go away in the near future, overcrowding in prisons is an issue that many states are attempting to tackle. Some states, California for example, are being forced to reduce their population by the supreme court. Although this issue is beginning to be addressed, with population dropping a couple percentage points is the last few years, much still needs to be done. For this paper, I propose a multitude of changes to the current prison system that would, in total, decrease the Ohio prison population by 20%. This is a situation similar to what the state of California was in a few years ago. However, if this were to occur in Ohio, the prison population would still be above capacity. Still, a decrease of this size would be a fantastic start to getting the population back to an appropriate …show more content…
Secondly, mental health professionals as well as corrections professionals must observe how the individual adjusts with proper medication and treatment while still in a secure environment and can determine what services will be necessary. Moreover, individuals who have committed highly violent offences should be considered with more caution; possibly spending more time in a prison institution for more observation and also to appease the publics want for proper punishment. Thirdly, it is often difficult to get public support for community corrections, and the public may be more satisfied if they feel the offender did serve a punishment. Finally, this also serves as a deterrent for people wanting these services who may commit crimes purposefully to qualify for the community programming. I propose that in most cases, the offender only serves as much time in prison as is needed to get proper observations and to be stabilized enough to move back into the
There are several contributing factors to current prison overcrowding. One cause being the “war on drugs,” starting in the 1980s, which has added to the population immensely. So much so that drug offenders currently make up over half of the prison population. Additionally, …show more content…
Although mass incarceration is a trend not likely to go away in the near future, overcrowding in prisons is an issue that many states are attempting to tackle. Some states, California for example, are being forced to reduce their population by the supreme court. Although this issue is beginning to be addressed, with population dropping a couple percentage points is the last few years, much still needs to be done. For this paper, I propose a multitude of changes to the current prison system that would, in total, decrease the Ohio prison population by 20%. This is a situation similar to what the state of California was in a few years ago. However, if this were to occur in Ohio, the prison population would still be above capacity. Still, a decrease of this size would be a fantastic start to getting the population back to an appropriate …show more content…
Secondly, mental health professionals as well as corrections professionals must observe how the individual adjusts with proper medication and treatment while still in a secure environment and can determine what services will be necessary. Moreover, individuals who have committed highly violent offences should be considered with more caution; possibly spending more time in a prison institution for more observation and also to appease the publics want for proper punishment. Thirdly, it is often difficult to get public support for community corrections, and the public may be more satisfied if they feel the offender did serve a punishment. Finally, this also serves as a deterrent for people wanting these services who may commit crimes purposefully to qualify for the community programming. I propose that in most cases, the offender only serves as much time in prison as is needed to get proper observations and to be stabilized enough to move back into the