Correctional Systems and Overcrowding
This is an excerpt from the paper...
One of the most pressing problems currently facing the correctional system in American society is overcrowding. In 2000, the number of imprisoned American adults reached 1.86 million, making U.S. the top country in the world with the highest number of incarcerated individuals. Many prisons are stretched past their limits. For example, the Lancaster State Prison in California that is designed to house 2,200 prisoners holds over 4,000 in the minimum- and maximum-security sections. Overcrowding has triggered riots and violence among prisoners (Dungan, 2001, p. 2). Furthermore, the quantity and quality of services for prisoners have also declined with excessive numbers of prisoners (Green in Wilson, 1996, p. 2). More importantly, the stressful conditions of squeezing people into limited space have also resulted in cases of misconduct by correctional officers including illicit sexual activity with prisoners (Dungan, 2001, p. 2). The problem of overcrowding has resulted from numerous causes. Because of the widely perceived failure of many poorly implemented rehabilitation problems during the 1960s and 1970s, many policymakers decided to adopt a hardened stance on crime starting from the 1980s (Miller, 1989, pp. 1-5; Robison, 2001, p. 2). In 1984, Congress passed the Sentencing Reform Act that eliminated federal parole and established the Sentencing Commission to create firm sentencing guidelines for federal crimes. Two years later, Congress also determined that drug offenders sh
. . .
ces of recidivist behavior would be significantly reduced.
This program is premised on the belief that nonviolent criminals should be rehabilitated. By punishing nonviolent offenders in the harsh and dangerous environment of prisons with their prison subculture, the criminal justice system will end up releasing hardened criminals who are likely to inflict more harm on society than when they first entered the prison. With these rehabilitative housing alternatives, prisoners are given the opportunities to deal with their problems and develop life skills that will enable them to succeed in mainstream society. These facilities will enable the offenders to transition gradually from a restricted environment to the real world with its challenges.
Although it offers many potential benefits, a rehabilitative program or policy is likely to meet with considerable political opposition from politicians. Many politicians have become disillusioned with the failures of many rehabilitative problems over 30 years ago. However, it is important to note that these rehabilitative programs failed to produce positive effects because they did not provide adequate services. For example, in the 30-year "Cambridge-Somerville" study that began in the
. . .
Some common words found in the essay are:
Sentencing Commission, Green Wilson, Prison California, , References Dungan, Post Online, Journal Online, Press Online, Miller JG, Statewide Online, 2002 january, 2001 2, 2002 january 3, january 3, dungan 2001, success program, dungan 2001 2, prison overcrowding, nonviolent criminals, miller 1989, robison 2001, 1-4 available, online 1-4 available, provide quality service, robison 2001 2,
Approximate Word count = 1274
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)
More Essays on Correctional Systems and Overcrowding
|
Customer Service
to Over
32,000 Professionally Written Papers!!!
