Prison Overcrowding And Its Effects - 934 Words

The purpose of this assignment is to take a look at an existing issue within the American criminal justice system which is prison overcrowding and its effects. Imprisonment is the primary means of punishment in American society for crimes (Ross, 2010; Verro, 2010). In fact, the incarceration rate in America surpasses several other developed nations, due to having over two million inmates presently serving time in prison (Brazell, Crayton, Mukamal, Solomon, and Lindahl, 2009; Vacca, 2004). The American criminal justice system was developed on the foundation of providing both positive and negative objectives in dealing with the criminal population. From history, it is known that previous concepts and procedures were based on English styles. However, with the rapid construction of penitentiaries and other facilities, it was soon discovered that the approach practiced in England was proven to be ineffective in dealing overcrowding and other issues in America. Presently, correctional faci lities are still being overused. As mentioned previously, history has shown that this has always been a concern due to the increase in American population and the inexperience of knowing what to do with the criminals. Currently, our nation’s incarceration rate began to intensify during the 1980’s and the 1990’s when our nation was experiencing an escalation in crime occurrences. These crime occurrences included a growth in drug abuse, burglary, thefts and other crimes to name a few. ThisShow MoreRelatedEffects Of Prison Overcrowding1345 Words   |  6 Pagesproblems and a few of the effects that prison overcrowding causes towards the inmates and the guards. I will first address the issue of violence that prison overcrowding causes. My next point will be the health of the inmates discussing both their physical and mental while in overcrowded prisons. Lastly I will discuss the physical and mental health of the correctional officers and how the job could lead to c orrectional officers having issues in their private life. Prison Overcrowding has become a majorRead MoreEffects Of Prison Overcrowding907 Words   |  4 PagesAnother effect is that prisoners must spend more time inside due to the lack of officers to watch them in the outside areas. This results in less time outside in the fresh air and sunshine for the prisoners which lead to their dissatisfaction; unhappy prisoners are harder to control and more fighting is the result. There is also the problem of watching the inmates so that they have to remain inside their small cells for more time during the day. (Prison overcrowding is a growing concern in the URead MoreOvercrowding Of Prisons And Its Effects On Inmates1389 Words   |  6 PagesOvercrowding in Prisons In the United States, the increasing population within prisons contribute to the stress regarding the security of correctional facilities’ and the negative effects on inmates. Overcrowding can be defined as a space with a concentrated number of objects or people in a space beyond comfort. According to Verne Cox, PhD, â€Å"as a group of prison researchers summarized, in the 1980s [...] crowding in prisons is a major source of administrative problems and adversely affects inmateRead MoreThe Negative Effects Of Prison Overcrowding1524 Words   |  7 PagesPrison Overcrowding is a topic that isn’t brought up much in the media. However, it’s one that should be addressed more than it is. Overcrowding puts Correctional Officer’s safety at risk as well as the safety of inmates. There must be a way to reduce the number of inmates or possibly build additional prisons. Prison overcrowding has many negative effects ranging from sickness, to even death. The first article I want to discuss is â€Å"Underfunded, Overcrowded State Prisons Struggle With Reform†. OnRead MoreThe Negative Effects Of Prison Overcrowding1361 Words   |  6 Pagesmany prison in the United States, but all the prison are being overcrowded by inmates. What is prison overcrowding? Prison overcrowding is exceeding the numbers of inmates and not having enough beds and space for the inmates (Stohr Walsh, 122). When prison is overcrowded, this means there are less officers in the prisons to take care of the inmates, which becomes a safety concern. Many prisons are over capacity but yet they are still taking in inmates and making the situation worse. Prison overcrowdingRead MorePrison Overcrowding And Its Effects On The United States Essay1605 Words   |  7 PagesPer Derek Gilna’s report on Increase in Federal Prison Population, Overcrowding, prisons have become overpopulated throughout a five-year span from 2006 to 2011 (Gilna, page 48). Prison o vercrowding has become a plague in the United States for some time now. The US Bureau of Justice Statistics shows more than two-million adults are incarcerated in US federal and state prisons. There are many reasons that prisons are becoming overpopulated but not such a certain cause. To fix the problem, attentionRead MorePrison Overcrowding : A Negative Effect On The Inmates920 Words   |  4 PagesWhen a prison becomes overcrowded its intended mission and goal becomes more difficult for the administration to achieve. It can have adverse effects on the lives of inmates, correctional staff, and even cause those released from prison to fall victim to recidivism after release. The objective of this paper is to critically analyze and research this issue in order to come to some conclusions about this issue, and the credibility of the resources used. Overcrowding in prisons has a negative effectRead MoreThe Effects Of Prison Overcrowding On The United States Essay1713 Words   |  7 Pagesaccounts little relationship between the wrongdoing rate and the imprisonment rate (Clear et al., 2013). One of the causes of prison overcrowding comes about because of the expansion rate of arrest and more noteworthy utilization of detainment. The criminal justice system is detaining more individuals to prison for a more drawn out period than the prison limit permits. The prison populace relies on upon the quantity of admissions and the quantity of release in a watched period. As indicated by admissionRead MoreOvercrowding And Its Effects On The United States Prison System1178 Words   |  5 Pages Overcrowding prisons are an issue that has been influencing the United States prison population for decades, however what is the true significance of overcrowding. As indicated by Jeff Bleich (1989) â€Å"the term overcrowding is repetitive, since crowding already refers to a higher level of social density than is desired†. An overcrowded prison is a shocking condition that causes outrage and dissatisfaction among detainees (Haney, 2014). This condition is so undesirable that one can consider it as unconstitutionalRead MoreAnnotated Bib1556 Words   |  7 PagesInstitutional Conditions and Prison Suicide: Conditional Effects of Deprivation and Overcrowding. The Prison Journal, 85(4), 490-515.doi:10.1177/0032885505282258. Sage Publications. The article studies the correlation between violence, mainly suicide, and the effects of prison overcrowding as it relates to prisoners, the economy and communities outside of prison. The author uses national data on prisons in the U.S in order to show the consequences such as suicide that prison overcrowding causes. The author