Prison overcrowding in the United States

Last updated

Prison overcrowding in the United States is a social phenomenon occurring when the demand for space in a U.S. prison exceeds the capacity for prisoners. [1] The issues associated with prison overcrowding are not new, and have been brewing for many years. During the United States' War on Drugs, the states were left responsible for solving the prison overcrowding issue with a limited amount of money. [2] Moreover, federal prison populations may increase if states adhere to federal policies, such as mandatory minimum sentences. [2] On the other hand, the Justice Department provides billions of dollars a year for state and local law enforcement to ensure they follow the policies set forth by the federal government concerning U.S. prisons. [2] Prison overcrowding has affected some states more than others, but overall, the risks of overcrowding are substantial and there are solutions to this problem.

Contents

Prison history

The prison system started in Europe in the 16th century. The main focus of imprisonment at this time was for temporary holding before trials. Despite the crime committed, all assumed criminals were confined in cells with one another, even children. There were many deaths within the prison system in the 16th century due to the lack of prisoner care and the mass spread of sickness. It was the 17th century when the Bridewell was created and had the main focus on inmate training and education. All within this time, the prisons introduced staffing to create a steadier system. As the 18th century approached, prisoners were forced into hard and manual labor that lasted from morning to dawn. [3] English philosopher Jeremey Bentham introduced a utilitarianism theory to help create more of a moral standard for the treatment and rehabilitation of inmates. His idea was to bring the understanding that inmates were rehabilitable. He wanted to introduce ethical thinking and proper decision-making into the inmate's life's in hopes they could rejoin society. [4]

As the Great Depression hit, the crime rates increased due to individuals having to commit crimes for survival. Although there were still rising numbers of incarcerations from 1929–to 1970, the prison population increased dramatically when Nixon's War on Drugs [5] called for mandatory sentencing. Around the time Nixon's act was introduced, another act was put in place allowing an individual to have two convictions with a serious felony, then placed in prison for life. Within the Three Strike Law, there was a 28 increase percent between 1977 and 1997, peaking at 758 offenses per 100,000 residents in 1991 and 1992 [6]

Comparative statistics

It was estimated in 2018 that there were a total of 2.3 million inmates incarcerated. [7] Around 1.3 million of those inmates were incarcerated within the State Prison systems. [8] The U.S. incarceration rate is twice that of China, and is at 103.9% of capacity. In comparison, Haiti is the most overcrowded at 454.4%. [9]

States

Colorado

Colorado is one of the many states dealing with the prison overcrowding issue. According to the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice (2019), “The Colorado prison population is expected to increase by 20.5% between fiscal years 2018 and 2025, from an actual year-end inmate population of 20,136 to a projected population of 24,261” (p. 5). [10] Overcrowding in prisons is often due to recidivism. One contributing factor to prison overcrowding is parolees who re-offend by violating their parole supervision. Colorado saw an increase of 8% from the fiscal year 2017 to the fiscal year 2018 for parolees who returned to prison for technical parole violations (Colorado Division of Criminal Justice, 2019, p. 15). [11] A possible solution for, “What would it take to reduce overcrowding in Colorado Prisons?”, is the implementation of technological systems. Technological systems involve the use of electronic monitoring bracelets.

Causes

Although offenders are being released, most have not received proper rehabilitation tactics to keep them from committing another crime. This often leads reoccurring offenders back into the prison system. There has been an increase in waitlisted or lack of specialized programs (drug, alcohol, intoxicated driving courses) that allow inmates to have the proper rehabilitation. Some crimes are just simply not given the option for parole, which holds inmates in the system for an extended time or even life. [12]

Risks

The rise of overcrowding has resulted in many issues such as: [13]

Prison overcrowding could create a range of consequences that have become prevalent in the world today. First, prison overcrowding could affect resources per prisoner. [14] The more inmates that are admitted, the fewer resources there are to distribute. Due to the lack of resources, inmates may be forced to spend large amounts of time doing nothing rather than becoming engaged in an activity. The amount of resources continues to reduce as more prisoners are admitted, and social support services become more limited. With a small amount of space and resources within the prisons, prisoners progress more slowly through the steps to release, and their numbers accumulate more quickly. [14] The combination of those two factors could lead to the prison system slowing down, and prisoners' progress would also begin to move slowly. If the prisoners' progress is slowed, then their exit is slowed as well. This will heavily increase overcrowding and results in a facility reaching maximum capacity at a faster rate.

Prison overcrowding comes with an opportunity cost. The amount of money spent on mass incarceration annually could be allocated to other areas of need, such as public safety or the reduction of crime. [15] Every year, $182 billion is spent on mass incarceration. Within that total, approximately $81 billion is spent on public corrections agencies and about $63 billion on policing. [15] Much of this money is given to the staff to supervise large numbers of inmates for long periods of time. For example, in the state of Alabama, it's possible to witness a correctional officer supervising up to 250–⁠300 high-risk offenders for an extended period of time. [16] These circumstances can result in the increase of prisoner violence. In 2011, there was an approximately 40% increase from the prior year in inmate violence that lead to some serious injuries. [16]

In addition to Alabama, Delaware, and California are also great examples of shown consequences due to prison overcrowding. In February 2017, a group of inmates from the James T. Vaughn correctional center in Delaware were involved in the hostage of four correctional officers. [2] This resulted in the murder of Lt. Steven Floyd and the injury of many others. Vaughn is Delaware's largest prison, and has been under much scrutiny for years; however, nothing has been done about the overcrowding problems within the state's corrections department. After the death of Floyd, more than 100 officers retired early or quit because of the increased dangers of working at Vaughn, thus leading to low staffing levels. [2] Furthermore, by the end of 2010, California's prison facilities contained on average 175 percent over the required capacity, leading to the triple-bunking of prisoners. [2] During the 2011 U.S. Supreme Court decision Brown v. Plata , the California prison system held about 156,000 inmates, which was twice as many as the requirement of approximately 85,000 maximum capacity. [17] In a ruling of Brown v. Plata, the Supreme Court concluded that California's correctional facilities violated prisoners' Eighth Amendment rights. [17] Overcrowding in those prisons caused inmates to receive poor medical and mental health care, not including the inhumane conditions due to lack of resources and space.

Amnesty International reported on 25 January 2021 the abuse of prisoners in Egypt not only by physical/mental torture, cruelty, or inhumanity but also by overcrowding of the prison cells with the arrested activists and rights defenders, despite the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the concerned Amnesty spokesperson, Philip Luther, the Egyptian prison authorities showed no regard to the wellbeing or lives of the prisoners and crammed them all into the country’s already overcrowded prisons, ignoring their health requirements. According to the report “What do I care if you die? Negligence and denial of health care in the Egyptian prisons”, despite overcrowding, the prisoners received no medication or toiletries from the prison authorities and had to rely on their visiting family members for the same. [18] [19]

Solutions

One way to manage populations within the prison system would be to prevent new crimes from being committed. Some alternatives include: [20]

Findings resulting from the research conducted suggest that technological systems are a viable solution for prison overcrowding:

Despite its risks and consequences, prison overcrowding can be solved in many different ways. First, the use of diversion programs can aid in prisoners avoiding prison entry. [23] Diversion programs are programs that divert, or turn prisoners away from prison time. This could also free up much space within the prisons and prevent faster maximum capacity. More programs that take on rehabilitative and restorative approaches are also needed to divert offenders from prison admission. [23] Restorative justice is when the interaction between the offender and the victim aids in the healing of the victim and the community. This, along with other therapeutic approaches would be more effective than retribution. [23] Other diversion programs consist of intermediate sanctions, such as fines, probation, restitution, and corrections. [23]

Another alternative to prison overcrowding is the use of early release incentives. [23] These are ways to encourage the reduction of prison populations, while motivating the prisoners who are eligible for early release programs. Some early release incentives may include: parole, house arrest, or good behavior, which are also referred to as "backdoor strategies" in that it strives to release prisoners earlier than their sentence expiration. [23] In addition, the construction strategy is a good alternative to prison overcrowding. This comprises building more prisons for more prison admissions. [23] Furthermore, more space would equal better conditions for inmates because there would be more resources left to distribute within the inmates. These alternatives would save tax dollar money and lessen conflicts within the criminal justice system. [23]

One solution the state of Alabama used to alleviate its prison overcrowding issues was the use of leased beds in 2008. [16] Inmates were housed inside of leased facilities that had a strict capacity requirement under federal court order, which helped to reduce overcrowding within the main correctional facilities. [16] In addition, Alabama expanded alternative sentencing options that consisted of community and rehabilitative programs primarily for nonviolent offenders who have drug/substance abuse addictions. [16] On the other hand, California initiated the transfer of approximately 33,000 nonviolent offenders from state to county jails in 2011, leading to an increase in early releases. [2] The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has also made the efforts of reallocating parolees and inmates safely to other areas to maintain the mandatory population levels within the facilities. [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parole</span> Provisional release of a prisoner who agrees to certain conditions

Parole is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or else they may be rearrested and returned to prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Incarceration in the United States</span> Form of punishment in United States law

Incarceration in the United States is one of the primary means of punishment for crime in the United States. In 2021, over five million people were under supervision by the criminal justice system, with nearly two million people incarcerated in state or federal prisons and local jails. The United States has the largest known prison population in the world. It has 5% of the world’s population while having 20% of the world’s incarcerated persons. China, with four times more inhabitants, has fewer persons in prison. Prison populations grew dramatically beginning in the 1970s, but began a decline around 2009, dropping 25% by year-end 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recidivism</span> Person repeating an undesirable behavior following punishment

Recidivism is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have experienced negative consequences of that behavior, or have been trained to extinguish it. Recidivism is also used to refer to the percentage of former prisoners who are rearrested for a similar offense.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Correctional Service of Canada</span> Government agency

The Correctional Service of Canada, also known as Correctional Service Canada or Corrections Canada, is the Canadian federal government agency responsible for the incarceration and rehabilitation of convicted criminal offenders sentenced to two years or more. The agency has its headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation</span> Law enforcement agency in California, USA

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is the penal law enforcement agency of the government of California responsible for the operation of the California state prison and parole systems. Its headquarters are in Sacramento.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Medical Facility</span> Prison medical facility in Vacaville, California

California Medical Facility (CMF) is a male-only state prison medical facility located in the city of Vacaville, Solano County, California. It is older than California State Prison, Solano, the other state prison in Vacaville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prisons in California</span>

The California State Prison System is a system of prisons, fire camps, contract beds, reentry programs, and other special programs administered by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) Division of Adult Institutions to incarcerate approximately 117,000 people as of April 2020. CDCR owns and operates 34 prisons throughout the state and operates 1 prison leased from a private company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prison</span> Institution in which people are legally physically confined

A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, remand center, or slammer is a facility where people are imprisoned against their will and denied their liberty under the authority of the state, generally as punishment for various crimes. Authorities most commonly use prisons within a criminal-justice system: people charged with crimes may be imprisoned until their trial; those who have pled or been found guilty of crimes at trial may be sentenced to a specified period of imprisonment.

Since 1960, the U.S. state of Ohio has seen a wide variation in the amount of violent crimes reported. In 2014, there were 33,030 violent crimes reported - the lowest rate the state has seen since 1973. In 2012 there were 405,262 crimes reported in Ohio, including 478 murders. In 2014 there were 357,558 crimes reported, including 464 murders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Incarceration of women</span> Imprisonment of women

As of 2013, across the world, 625,000 women and children were being incarcerated in correctional facilities, and the female prison population was increasing in all continents. The list of countries by incarceration rate includes a main table with a column for the historical and current percentage of prisoners who are female.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alternatives to imprisonment</span> Types of punishment or treatment other than time in prison

The alternatives to imprisonment are types of punishment or treatment other than time in prison that can be given to a person who is convicted of committing a crime. Some of these are also known as alternative sanctions. Alternatives can take the form of fines, restorative justice, transformative justice or no punishment at all. Capital punishment, corporal punishment and electronic monitoring are also alternatives to imprisonment, but are not promoted by modern prison reform movements for decarceration due to them being carceral in nature.

California's Public Safety Realignment initiative, officially known as "Realignment", was a combination of two bills passed by the state of California, with the ultimate goal of reducing its state prison population by shifting much of that population to county jails. It was the result of a court-order in response to shortfalls in medical and mental health care for the state's prison population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Incarceration of women in the United States</span> Topic page on incarceration of women

The incarceration of women in the United States refers to the imprisonment of women in both prisons and jails in the United States. There are approximately 219,000 incarcerated women in the US according to a November 2018 report by the Prison Policy Initiative, and the rate of incarceration of women in the United States is at a historic and global high, with 133 women in correctional facilities per every 100,000 female citizens. The United States is home to just 4% of the world's female population, yet the US is responsible for 33% of the entire world's incarcerated female population. The steep rise in the population of incarcerated women in the US is linked to the complex history of the war on drugs and the US's prison–industrial complex, which lead to mass incarceration among many demographics, but had particularly dramatic impacts on women and especially women of color. However, women made up only 10.4% of the US prison and jail population, as of 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Incarceration prevention in the United States</span> Methods to reduce prison populations in America

Incarceration prevention refers to a variety of methods aimed at reducing prison populations and costs while fostering enhanced social structures. Due to the nature of incarceration in the United States today caused by issues leading to increased incarceration rates, there are methods aimed at preventing the incarceration of at-risk populations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Department of Corrections (Thailand)</span>

The Department of Corrections is an agency of the Thai Ministry of Justice. Its mission is to keep prisoners in custody and rehabilitate them. Its headquarters is in Suanyai Sub-district, Mueang Nonthaburi District, Nonthaburi Province. As of 2020, Police Colonel Suchart Wongananchai is director-general of the department. Its FY2019 budget was 13,430 million baht.

Prisoner reentry is the process by which prisoners who have been released return to the community. Many types of programs have been implemented with the goal of reducing recidivism and have been found to be effective for this purpose. Consideration for the conditions of the communities formerly incarcerated individuals are re-entering, which are often disadvantaged, is a fundamental part of successful re-entry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Incarceration in Norway</span> Overview of incarceration in Norway

Norway's criminal justice system focuses on the principles of restorative justice and the rehabilitation of prisoners. Correctional facilities in Norway focus on maintaining custody of the offender and attempting to make them functioning members of society. Norway's prison system is renowned as one of the most effective and humane in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Decarceration in the United States</span> Overview article

Decarceration in the United States involves government policies and community campaigns aimed at reducing the number of people held in custody or custodial supervision. Decarceration, the opposite of incarceration, also entails reducing the rate of imprisonment at the federal, state and municipal level. As of 2019, the US was home to 5% of the global population but 25% of its prisoners. Until the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. possessed the world's highest incarceration rate: 655 inmates for every 100,000 people, enough inmates to equal the populations of Philadelphia or Houston. The COVID-19 pandemic has reinvigorated the discussion surrounding decarceration as the spread of the virus poses a threat to the health of those incarcerated in prisons and detention centers where the ability to properly socially distance is limited. As a result of the push for decarceration in the wake of the pandemic, as of 2022, the incarceration rate in the United States declined to 505 per 100,000, resulting in the United States no longer having the highest incarceration rate in the world, but still remaining in the top five.

The Uniform Determinate Sentencing Act of 1976 was a bill signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown to changes sentencing requirements in the California Penal Code. The act converted most sentences from an "indeterminate" sentence length at the discretion of the parole board to a "determinate" sentence length specified by the state legislature. The act was one of the largest drivers in a ninefold increase in California's prison population in the two decades after the act passed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Incarceration in California</span> Overview of incarceration in the U.S. state of California

Incarceration in California spans federal, state, county, and city governance, with approximately 200,000 people in confinement at any given time. An additional 55,000 people are on parole.

References

  1. ↑ Hough, Mike; Allen, Rob; Solomon, Enver (28 August 2007). Tackling Prison Overcrowding: Build More Prisons? Sentence Fewer Offenders? - Google Books. Policy Press. ISBN   9781847421104 . Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Galvin, Gaby (26 July 2017). "Underfunded, Overcrowded State Prisons Struggle With Reform". US News. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  3. ↑ "History of Corrections & its Impact on Modern Concepts - Video & Lesson Transcript". Study.com. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  4. ↑ "Jeremy Bentham (1748—1832)".
  5. ↑ "A Brief History of the Drug War". Drug Policy Alliance. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  6. ↑ Chen, Elsa (March 6, 2001). Impact of Three Strikes and Truth in Sentencing on the Volume and Composition of Correctional Populations (PDF). U.S. Department of Justice. p. 1.
  7. ↑ Peter Wagner; Wendy Sawyer. "Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2018". www.prisonpolicy.org. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  8. ↑ Peter Wagner; Wendy Sawyer. "Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2018". www.prisonpolicy.org. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  9. ↑ "Infographic: The World's Most Overcrowded Prison Systems". Statista Infographics. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  10. ↑ Colorado Division of Criminal Justice. (2019). Adult and juvenile correctional populations forecasts. Retrieved from https://cdpsdocs.state.co.us/ors/data/PPP/2019_PPP.pdf
  11. ↑ Colorado Division of Criminal Justice. (2019a, b). Adult and juvenile correctional populations forecasts. Retrieved from https://cdpsdocs.state.co.us/ors/data/PPP/2019_PPP.pdf
  12. ↑ Pitts, James M. A.; Griffin, III, O. Hayden; Johnson, W. Wesley (2013). "Contemporary prison overcrowding: short-term fixes to a perpetual problem". Contemporary Justice Review. 17: 124–139. doi:10.1080/10282580.2014.883844. S2CID   145136375.
  13. ↑ "Prison conditions: key facts". Penal Reform International. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  14. 1 2 Clements, Carl B. (January 1982). "The Relationship of Offender Classification to the Problems of Prison Overcrowding". Crime & Delinquency. 28 (1): 72–81. doi:10.1177/001112878202800105. ISSN   0011-1287. S2CID   144911740.
  15. 1 2 Peter Wagner; Bernadette Rabuy. "Following the Money of Mass Incarceration". www.prisonpolicy.org. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 Spencer, Larry Edward (23 July 2012). "A State of Emergency in Alabama: Prison Overcrowding". SAGE Open. 2 (3): 215824401246069. doi: 10.1177/2158244012460695 . ISSN   2158-2440.
  17. 1 2 3 Newman, William J, and Charles L Scott. "Brown v. Plata: Prison Overcrowding in California." The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 40.4 (2012): 547-552. Web.
  18. ↑ "Egypt: Abused and denied health care, prisoners' lives at risk". Amnesty International. 25 January 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  19. ↑ "Egypt: "What do I care if you die?": Negligence and denial of health care in Egyptian prisons". Amnesty International. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  20. ↑ "Alternatives to Incarceration: Programs & Treatment". Study.com. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  21. ↑ Federal Register. (2018). The daily journal of the United States government. Retrieved from https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/04/30/2018-09062/annual-determination-of-average-cost-of-incarceration
  22. 1 2 Bagaric, M., Hunter, D., & Wolf, G. (2018). Technological incarceration and the end of the prison crisis. Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, 108(1), 73-135.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pitts, James M.A.; Griffin, O. Hayden; Johnson, W. Wesley (2 January 2014). "Contemporary prison overcrowding: short-term fixes to a perpetual problem". Contemporary Justice Review. 17 (1): 124–139. doi:10.1080/10282580.2014.883844. ISSN   1028-2580. S2CID   145136375.

Carson, A.E.. (30 September 2014). Prisoners in 2013 - Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved 20 February 2018, from http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p13.pdf

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.