Overcrowding in Our Prisons
Dollie Wagner
Informative Essay
EN100-740 (WEB)
28 October 2017
Federal Overcrowding in the U.S.
The justice system faces many challenges today, and the biggest challenge of all is the overcrowding in our federal prisons. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Statistics ; show the United States as having 146,850 inmates- my Aunt Lisa being one of these inmates. This population is more than any other country's inmate population. How can this problem of overcrowding be solved? In order to solve any problem, you; must first get down to the root of it.
My Aunt Lisa is in her early forties; and serving eight years at the Vandalia Women's Prison. When she stole for the first time, the adrenaline rush left her wanting to do it again. Now, my aunt can only write letters, or call certain times of the day. So many events have occurred while shes been locked up such as, marriages, births, and deaths. When one person is locked up it affects the whole family.
A Study of the Juvenile System and its Effect on Prison Overcrowding in the State of Missouri states " crimes such as loitering and murder leave two million youths incarcerated each year" (2.) Federal Bureau of Prisons( BOP) statistics show juveniles, or individuals under the age of 18, and adults aging from 18 to 21 only account for 1.2% of this prison population. Adults ages 36-40 ; account for 18.7% of the prison population, having 34,665 inmates. Fifty-seven inmates are on death row, while the other 25.3% are serving 5 to 10 years. Drug offenses, are the most notorious crime in federal prisons.
BOP Statistics, show there are currently 12,703 female inmates and 172,804 male inmates. Caucasians make up the largest percentage of inmates, with 58.4% in prison. In high security prisons, there are 21,524 inmates and the lower security prisons contain 69,437 inmates.
Based on the above statistics, we learn that the prisions with the lowest security levels have the most prisoners. Therefore, these inmates are not a threat to society. My Aunt Lisa, told me the prison she is in isn't what you think a prison would be. This population being in a low security facility makes you wonder if every alternative was tried before prison.
. A Study of the Juvenile System and its Effect on Prison Overcrowding in the State of Missouri states "In 1994, 5.1 million adults were being supervised by a probation officer. Three- quarters of the population were on probation, or parole during this time. At the end of 1994, federal facilities contained 992,000 men and women. By this point, every prison was subject to overcrowding. In Fulton, Missouri, the Reception Diagnostic Center housed inmates in tents to deal with the overcrowding" (1.)
The National Institute of Justice mentioned a Rehabilitation era. In the Rehabilitation era, parole authorities were given the upper hand. Options such as the "front-door" approach, the "back-door" approach, and "emergency release" laws were put into place to handle the overcrowding in our prisons. The "front-door" approach looked for ways to keep an offender out of prison, such as; probation, community work, and restitution. On the other hand, the "back-door" approach let inmates serve the least amount of time. "Emergency release" laws would speed up release dates for inmates once prisons reached their capacity.
My Aunt Lisa was on probation before she went to prison this last time. She then violated her probation, and was sentenced to prison. Now, she has to ask permission on everything she does. My Aunt works knitting hats for premature babies, and that is how she makes money to survive on. However, she works for a lesser wage than she would make out of prison.
When an individual commits a crime, no doubt they should be punished. However, unsafe prison conditions, such as overcrowding, can be dangerous. By having more inmates, the activity areas are being turned into sleeping areas. The more inmates there are, the more difficult it is to manage the prison.