Should non-violent offenders be given an alternative punishment to prison?
The prison population in increasing at a dramatic rate and this raises the question of what can be done to reduce it. One answer given to this is to offer alternatives to incarceration for non-violent offenders. An alternative to incarceration is any kind of punishment other than time in prison or jail that can be given to a person who commits a crime. Punishments other than prison or jail time place serious demands on offenders and provide them with intensive court and community supervision. Just because a certain punishment does not involve time in prison or jail does not mean it is soft on crime. Alternatives to incarceration can repair harms suffered by victims, …show more content…
Since 1998, Congress has cut funding for state and local law enforcement by 76 percent while increasing the federal prison budget by 45 percent over this same time. The federal prison system consumes over 25 percent of the entire Department of Justice budget. Prison costs are eating up money that could be spent on police and protecting the public from violent offenders. State spending on corrections has grown 324% in the last 33 years. This is triple the rate spending on education has increased. It costs over $28,000 to keep one person in federal prison for one year. Alternatives to prison cost way less. Each offender and crime is unique, and prison or jail time may not always be the most effective response. If courts have options other than incarceration, they can better tailor a cost-effective sentence that fits the offender and the crime, protects the public, and provides rehabilitation. American taxpayers spend over $50 billion annually for state prisons. 87% agreed that “Prisons are a government program, and just like any other government program they need to be put to the cost-benefit test to make sure taxpayers are getting the best bang for their
The prison population in increasing at a dramatic rate and this raises the question of what can be done to reduce it. One answer given to this is to offer alternatives to incarceration for non-violent offenders. An alternative to incarceration is any kind of punishment other than time in prison or jail that can be given to a person who commits a crime. Punishments other than prison or jail time place serious demands on offenders and provide them with intensive court and community supervision. Just because a certain punishment does not involve time in prison or jail does not mean it is soft on crime. Alternatives to incarceration can repair harms suffered by victims, …show more content…
Since 1998, Congress has cut funding for state and local law enforcement by 76 percent while increasing the federal prison budget by 45 percent over this same time. The federal prison system consumes over 25 percent of the entire Department of Justice budget. Prison costs are eating up money that could be spent on police and protecting the public from violent offenders. State spending on corrections has grown 324% in the last 33 years. This is triple the rate spending on education has increased. It costs over $28,000 to keep one person in federal prison for one year. Alternatives to prison cost way less. Each offender and crime is unique, and prison or jail time may not always be the most effective response. If courts have options other than incarceration, they can better tailor a cost-effective sentence that fits the offender and the crime, protects the public, and provides rehabilitation. American taxpayers spend over $50 billion annually for state prisons. 87% agreed that “Prisons are a government program, and just like any other government program they need to be put to the cost-benefit test to make sure taxpayers are getting the best bang for their