Addressing the issue of overpopulation is critical in improving the quality of life within correctional institutions
Introduction
According to a 2018 report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, there are over 2.3 million people incarcerated in the United States[1]. The prison population in the country has grown 700%[2] in the last five decades, surpassing the rise in population and crime rates. This has resulted in a pertinent issue – overcrowding in the U.S. prison system. Existing correctional institutions are unable to handle the massive growth in prisoners in recent years and are far beyond their capacity. Prisoners sleep on the hallways, in gyms, and in triple – even quadruple – bunkers in some prisons. The rights of prisoners have always been a source of contention. These are individuals who have been accused and found guilty of heinous and destructive crimes. Many are, however, there for petty and non-violent offenses. At the end of the day, every individual incarcerated is a human being. They deserve to live in dignity – or as much pride as can be found in prison. Addressing the issue of overpopulation is critical in improving the quality of life within correctional institutions by reducing the risks of poor health outcomes, increased violence and gang activity, and overburdened staff.
Literature Review
Prison populations in the country took a drastic rise in 1970 when President Nixon launched his War on Drugs project. What was meant to be an initiative to get drugs off the street changed America’s prison population drastically. The drug war was devastating to minority communities, particularly the African American and Hispanic communities, and paved way for decades of biased law enforcement and a prejudiced justice system[3]. Nixon’s predecessor, President Regan, reinforced the efforts, leading to tighter drug policies that resulted in a 500 percent increase in incarceration3. This increase affected minorities and poor people disproportionately, and today, the demographics of America’s prison population reveal the extent to which policing and prosecuting in the country has been and continues to be, skewed. The excessive incarceration of poor people and minorities commonly referred to as mass incarceration[4], is a significant factor in prison overpopulation. African Americans are more likely to be arrested and face more serious charges than Caucasians engaging in the same illegal activities and with the same criminal history3. Thousands of poor people are imprisoned today for failing to post bail for misdemeanor[5].
As prison populations rose exponentially in the country after 1970, the government failed to expand its prison system to adequately meet this demand, resulting in widespread overcrowding. The issue is so bad in certain areas that prisoners are let out early to make space for incoming prisoners[6]. As overcrowding increases, so do crime rates in prisons, as prisoners resort to desperate measures to survive in harsh and competitive environments where resources are stretched thin. This has a significant impact on their mental and physical health. Prisoners have used a number of tactics to voice their concerns over the state of life in prisons, including hunger strikes, violence, and misconduct[7]. Prison staff bears most of the burden of prisoners’ unruliness, and their lives are often in danger. Prison overcrowding is not only detrimental to the physical and mental health of prisoners, but it also takes a toll on corrections officers and wardens who have to adopt new tactics to deal with growing unrest in overcrowded facilities. Hundreds of prison staff have been injured or kill by inmates as a direct result of working in overcrowded prisons7.
High recidivism rates also play a role in prison overcrowding. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) reports that 65 percent of inmates in the state return to prison within three years of their release7. Prison is intended to be a rehabilitation program, but high rates of recidivism reveal that the rehabilitation tactics designed to keep prisoners from reoffending are failing. The relationship between recidivism and overpopulation is a vicious cycle. Overcrowding overwhelms the prison system and hinders the effective rehabilitation of prisoners. In turn, these prisoners re-offend and return to prison, contributing to overpopulation[8]. Social support services intended to re-educate and retrain prisoners to enable them to reintegrate into society upon release become limited with growing numbers[9]. As a result, many inmates spend their time in prison idle, rather than engage in constructive activities. This creates an opportunity for the growth of gang culture, which is counterintuitive to the rehabilitation process. Overpopulation means that the prison system is merely holding individuals, rather than providing them with treatment.
Research Questions and Search Terms
The following research questions shall be asked:
- Why does prison overcrowding affect individual states more than others?
- How have countries with a larger population than the U.S. kept incarceration rates low?
- What are the proper rehabilitation strategies to reduce recidivism?
- Will building more prisons lead to higher rates of sentencing?
- Is decriminalizing marijuana an effective solution to reducing prison populations?
- How is society helping former inmates reenter society and stay out of prison?
- Is the bail bond system designed to keep poor people in prison?
- How does the high cost of running criminal justice affect American citizens?
- Is the War on Drugs solely to blame for mass incarceration?
The following search terms shall be used:
- War on Drugs and incarceration rates
- Mass incarceration
- Bail and bond system and incarceration rates
- Three strike law
- Racial disparities in prison populations
- Consequences of prison overcrowding
- Prison overcrowding and opportunity cost
- Effective rehabilitation strategies
- Countries with the lowest incarceration rates
Timeline
After submitting this research proposal, the next step will be to create an outline for my research project. I will start conducting research in mid-March and will dedicate two weeks to this process. In April, I shall begin working on my first draft, which should be complete by the first week of the month. I will attend writing and research workshops during the month of April to sharpen my skills. At the beginning of May, I will revise my first draft, based on the information I shall have gathered from the workshops. I will write my final paper and edit it throughout May. I intended to submit my final research project at the end of May.
Significance & Projection Solutions
Overcrowding in prisons is a social, financial, and public health issue with far-reaching impacts. The issue of prison overpopulation is not new, and many states and correctional facilities have been left to tackle overcrowding with limited resources and money. As it stands, overpopulation presents a great risk to inmates and correction officers alike. Moreover, it has the potential to create a range of consequences that negatively affect society. Fixing the issue of overpopulation means addressing why incarceration and recidivism rates are so high in the country, and why the government has been slow to build facilities to support this growth in prison populations. Additionally, offering alternative rehabilitation programs, increasing cases of parole, and releasing inmates whose crimes have been decriminalized can help address overpopulation in prisons.
Danielle Kaeble and Mary Cowhig, ‘Correctional Populations In The United States, 2016’ (Bureau of Justice Statistics 2018) <https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cpus16.pdf> accessed 2 March 2020.[1]
American Civil Liberties Union, ‘Overcrowding And Overuse Of Imprisonment In The United States’ (American Civil Liberties Union 2015) <https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/RuleOfLaw/OverIncarceration/ACLU.pdf> accessed 2 March 2020.[2]
Lauren Carroll, ‘How The War On Drugs Affected Incarceration Rates’ (Politifact, 2016) <https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2016/jul/10/cory-booker/how-war-drugs-affected-incarceration-rates/> accessed 2 March 2020.[3]
American Civil Liberties Union, ‘Overcrowding And Overuse Of Imprisonment In The United States’ (American Civil Liberties Union 2015) <https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/RuleOfLaw/OverIncarceration/ACLU.pdf> accessed 2 March 2020.[4]
Drew Kann, ‘The U.S. Still Incarcerates More People Than Any Other Country’ (CNN, 2019) <https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/28/us/mass-incarceration-five-key-facts/index.html> accessed 2 March 2020.[5]
Quentin Ikuta, ‘Government Should Build More Prisons To Alleviate Overcrowding’ (The Pony Express, 2014) <https://sahsponyexpress.com/7177/opinion-3/government-should-build-more-prisons-to-alleviate-overcrowding/> accessed 2 March 2020.[6]
Quentin Ikuta, ‘Government Should Build More Prisons To Alleviate Overcrowding’ (The Pony Express, 2014) <https://sahsponyexpress.com/7177/opinion-3/government-should-build-more-prisons-to-alleviate-overcrowding/> accessed 2 March 2020 [7]
Drew Kann, ‘The U.S. Still Incarcerates More People Than Any Other Country’ (CNN, 2019) <https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/28/us/mass-incarceration-five-key-facts/index.html> accessed 2 March 2020.[8]
- Marit Rehavi and Sonja B. Starr, ‘Racial Disparity In Federal Criminal Charging And Its Sentencing Consequences’ [2012] U of Michigan Law & Econ, Empirical Legal Studies Center Paper.[9]