Prison Overcrowding

Prison overcrowding is a very interesting topic to me.  There is a definite increase in gangs in our area. Every time I turn on the news is see more and more acts of violence.  The more acts of violence that occur, the more room we need to house the criminals.  When prisons run out of room, they are sometimes forced to reduce prisoners sentences to free up room for incoming convicts.  Since my husband is a police officer, I worry about what happens when these prisoners are released before their sentences are served, and how that will effect his safety on the streets.

The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world.  We have 2.3 million people behind bars, which is 1 out of every 100 adults.  What has caused this increase?  Prison overcrowding is caused by a variety of issues, such as not enough room in prisons, fluctuating crime rates, changes to laws and improvements to law enforcement tactics. There are also harsher penalties for criminal activities, changes to laws that make new actions illegal, high incidences of repeat offender rates and improvements to the penal system itself.

I found this article on the internet.  It discusses the causes of prison overcrowding and the dangers that the overcrowding can cause.  Not only can it pose health and safety risks for the inmates, but it can cause safety risks for the corrections officers as well.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/14/prison-overcrowding-report_n_1883919.html


These are some eye opening images of prison overcrowding I found.....

This is a great video on the causes of prison overcrowding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-lq1zAuCK2U

This is a very informative website on prison overcrowding.

http://www.jailovercrowding.com/index/the-problem

I included this link on how we can improve overcrowding conditions.

http://www.pfi.org/cjr/downloads/ten-keys-to-improving-conditions-in-overcrowded-prisons


I love this quote by Nelson Mandella...

“It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.”

REFERENCES:

Prison Overcrowding is a Concern in the U.S. (n.d.) Retrieved from
http://online.ccj.pdx.edu/ccj-careers-resources/criminal-justice-resources/news/prison-overcrowding-is-a-growing-concern-in-the-u-s-800675443/