Overcrowding in Prisons

Running head: OVERCROWDING IN PRISONS

Overcrowding in Prisons

Abstract

Overcrowding in prisons throughout the United States has become an issue that needs to be more of a responsibility to the justice system. If we focused on more of the solution then the problem, we may be able to eliminate some of the overcrowding issues. We need to be asking ourselves how we can fix the overcrowding issues within the United States prison system.

Drugs are a crucial issue along with the strict laws on first time nonviolent drug offenders. We are leaving these people in jail for a way to long. Instead of overcrowding prisons with first time drug and nonviolent offenders, we should be sentencing these men and women to rehabilitation centers and counseling. This should be the first option for the justice system to be considering instead of just locking these men and women up for two to five years and overcrowding the prisons. These first timers need more help to improve their situation, and throwing them behind bars is just giving them more criminal incidents to learn than they did on the outside.

The justice system should consider nonviolent criminals with mental illness more seriously. Instead of just locking them up and throwing the key away , there should be a lot more extreme evaluations going on with mental illness with in these men and women. This could solve a lot of the overcrowding, if we could just take the time to put these men and women where they genuinely want to continue to get some help. This may be better than throwing them in prison where the violence and terror is even worse than on the outside for them. These mental ill people with minor nonviolent offences can be dealt with in a much better way to help these individuals and the overcrowding issues.

Another way to fix overcrowding prisons is to educate parolees before being released back into society. Having better resources available to them and help with counseling programs, and job assistance for them to be able to acquire. Instead of just releasing and expecting those to do better, and hope they will not return to prison are not working. This problem will never be fixed, and parolees will continue to deteriorate if no system is in place for them to succeed. Taking some more time and investing in better programs for released prisoners may help the overcrowding throughout prisons.

The rate of incarceration in the United States is out of control. The more benefits that are put into place for the first time offenders,