Crime in the New Millennium - Law Essay Sample

It is some years since the United States started using the incarceration as its capital form of punishment for any offenses that went against the laws of the land. However, incarceration as a form of punishment has not all been smooth sailing for the criminal justice system. The kind of punishment for criminals has resulted in the gradual overcrowding of correctional facilities, and it stands out as one of the most ubiquitous problems that inmates are forced to deal with. The criminal justice system has experienced significant litigation forcing the system to adjust its operations. Despite its efforts, the correctional facilities continue to be overwhelmed by the number of people being incarcerated for various crimes and thus continues to experience overcrowding. Numerous adverse consequences result from overcrowding in jails and prisons including the rise in costs for the stakeholders involved especially the states, security of the inmates and that of the officers that work in the correction facilities. Therefore, the paper looks at overcrowding in correction facilities around the United States and its effects on security.

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Overcrowding is an issue that continues to rise in the criminal justice system in the United States. Researchers identify various causes of overcrowding in the prisons and jails and one of the major issues is harsher penalties for criminal activities which mean that those who used to be exempted because of lenient laws will be incarcerated if they commit certain crimes. It also means that crimes that were exempted from punishment through incarceration now experience the same sentence. Overcrowding in prisons could also mean that there is an increase in the crime rates which result in high numbers of people getting arrested. Wagner and Leah in their study identify that While the data dont give us a complete answer, we do know that its 237,000 people in state prison, 95,000 in federal prison and 5,000 in juvenile facilities. Plus, some unknowable portion of the population confined in military prisons, territorial prisons and local jails (1). The figures are indications of people who get arrested for dealing drugs. It is a representation of a small sample population of those found in correction facilities. It means that there are numerous more with numbers that could go higher than those of inmates who deal in drugs. More stringent laws also indicate that more criminal activities will be classified as viable for incarceration. Many youths in the American society and across the world will engage in various crimes that will warrant their arrest and confinement in the different correction facilities. Recidivism is also another cause of overcrowding in correction facilities around the United States. Lack of the appropriate rehabilitation into society for inmates especially after release will result in higher chances of these individuals reoffending and being arrested again. Many of those who are arrested for the first time will have a greater chance of being rearrested than those who never get arrested.

Overcrowding in any space often creates a certain tension among those interacting in the given space. Correctional facilities are often barred off from the rest of the world using high fences ensuring that no one sees in or out of the facility. The space in the institution is often limited and therefore will require a certain number of inmates. An excess of what is necessary will mean chaos for those trying to survive in the limited space of the prison or jail. In a study carried out by Wolff et al. prisoners in overcrowded correctional facilities were susceptible to self-harm. The limited space will lead to competition for resources to ensure that one survives. To get these resources may mean that the inmate will expose him or herself to fights with the rest. The study continued to associate self-strangulation or hanging to the overcrowded states of correction facilities. Harsh conditions as a result of overcrowding push inmates to levels where they would rather kill themselves that continue living in the unfavorable conditions. Despite that they have committed various crimes they remain human and are therefore entitled to rights that apply to people. However, these rights may not be observed among the incarcerated especially when the correction facilities are overcrowded. It means that inmates will remain insecure in overcrowded facilities especially their vulnerability to suicide and the imminent danger that other inmates will hurt them.

Evidence indicates that inmates in state prisons and jails exceed the normal population of the incarcerated in American correction facilities. Some researchers believe that the issue of overcrowding is as a result of policies in the criminal justice system and not necessarily other problem that includes the rise of crime. Overcrowding will have adverse effects on how these facilities meet the basic human needs including food, clothing, and shelter for the inmates (Pitts, Hayden, and Wesley). It will also affect the provision of healthcare for those in prisons and jails thus compromising the effectiveness of the programs the criminal justice system provides including rehabilitation, vocational, educational and recreation programs.

The criminal justice system will lock offenders up for the safety of the rest of the public in mind. On average a single inmate in the United States will cost the taxpayers up to thirty-one thousand two hundred and eighty-six shillings every year. However, the number of those who get arrested and locked up in state prisons and jails continues to increase which means that the cost of incarceration to taxpayers continues to rise. As Wagner and Leah state more than 2.4 million people in 1,719 state prisons, 102 federal prisons, 2,259 juvenile correctional facilities, 3,283 local jails and 79 Indian Country jails as well as in military prisons, immigration detention facilities, civil commitment centers and prisons in U.S. territories. The statistic represents the number of the incarcerated as per the 2014 statistics. Three years later these numbers have increased significantly thus indicating that what taxpayers have to pay is also at an all-time high. Therefore, other than providing the public with security overcrowding in the correction facilities does nothing more than result in more costs on the American community to pay taxes for these individuals. The correction system will lock up people viewed to be violent and a threat to the safety of the public. However, with stringent measures in place, people with petty offenses find themselves behind bars and serve a term that may seem too much. In such instances, the public suffers more than when the overly violent individuals end up behind bars.

Overcrowding in correction facilities possesses a security risk to the officers who are in charge of the facilities and work in direct contact with the inmates (Pitts, Hayden, and Wesley). The institutions will experience numerous instances of violence especially during riots. In such cases, it is expected that the correction officers will intervene to deal with the violence and quell it down. They will get caught up in these fights and will get injured or even killed during the fights. There are instances that inmates will turn against the officers in the correction facilities and start a riot only to attack them. Their high numbers in the correction facility will eventually overpower the officers and risk their lives and their health. Such instances will also lead to the destruction of property within the prisons and jails while risking the lives of the inmates.

Conclusion

It is evident that American prisons are overflowing with inmates which exceed the number of expected incarceration in the correction facilities. Resources are significantly reduced forcing the incarcerated to find other options that will help them survive in the correction facilities. Overcrowding significantly affects the security statuses of the public, the correction officers and that of the inmates. Many of the inmates will resort to suicide or hang themselves to avoid the overcrowded environments of correction facilities. The public will face economic difficulties because they have to pay for these inmates in their taxes. The amount they pay per year is often high and affects their economic development. Correction officers are also not spared, and the overcrowded facilities pose a risk to their safety. They will get involved in violent events that occur within the facilities, and some will get hurt or even die in the process. It is evident that overcrowding in prisons is an issue that adversely affects various individuals in the correction system thus warranting immediate action on the issue.

Works cited

Pitts, James MA, Hayden Griffin III, and Wesley Johnson. "Contemporary prison overcrowding: short-term fixes to a perpetual problem." Contemporary Justice Review 17.1 (2014): 124-139.

Wagner, Peter, and Leah Sakala. "Mass incarceration: the whole pie." Northampton, MA: Prison Policy Initiative (2014).

Wolff, Hans, et al. "Self-harm and overcrowding among prisoners in Geneva, Switzerland." International journal of prisoner health 12.1 (2016): 39-44.