How to Make Up Your Mind About Prison Reform

The issue of prison reform is one that has affected the prison systems for years, but an increase in penalties for drug crimes and a lack of funding have made the goal of rehabilitation impossible. Many believe that the "warehousing" of violent and non-violent offenders poses a larger problem of releasing inmates into society that have not been rehabilitated. The extraordinarily high rate of recidivism among inmates poses a greater threat to the communities in which they are released, and has many calling for a reformation of the prison system.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Consider the numbers. The most recent Department of Justice statistics reveal that more than 2 million (2,320,359) individuals are incarcerated in the United States in federal, state, and local prisons. Of the number of incarcerated individuals, 1 million prisoners were convicted of non-violent crimes. America has 25 percent of the world's inmates while only having 5 percent of the world's population.

2. Review recidivism rates. Recidivism rates in terms of prison inmates refers to the frequency with which repeat offenders commit another crime and go back to prison. More than half of the individuals incarcerated in the U.S. will commit another crime and return to prison within 3 years. This number has increased substantially in the last two decades, and is blamed on poor funding and privatization.

3. Make up your mind about housing. Half of all prisoners incarcerated in the United States are non-violent offenders, but they share the same prison walls and even cells with violent offenders. First-time offenders can and do share cells with career criminals, increasing the opportunity to engage in illegal activities.

4. Consider the issue of race. In order to "maintain" control it is standard procedure in most prisons to segregate prisoners by race, which is ultimately by gang. These divisions have increased prison violence, with the number of prisons riots increasing and the number of prison guards stagnating. Dividing prisoners among racial lines gives inmates a false sense of control on which they often act either in retaliation or to preempt an attack.

5. Familiarize yourself with prison culture. The most dangers unwritten rule among prisoners is "If you don't fight to protect your race, you will be the next target." This rule means that non-violent offenders have 3 choices:
   1. Get killed by a mob of your own race.
   2. Get killed protecting your race.
   3. Receive increased sentence for laws broken inside prison walls.
   
   These rules make it impossible for non-violent offenders to refrain from violent behavior.

6. Research the issue of warehousing in American prisons. In many California prisons, inmates are housed in gyms with beds stacked 3 high. Prisoners sit around idle with the only recreation being watching television or fighting. Warehousing has been used by many prisons to avoid sending inmates to other, less crowded prisons in other states. Warehousing has become increasingly popular as more and more American prisons are privatized.

7. Form an opinion regarding the privatization of prisons. When prisons are privatized they become for profit entities, which means their goal is to make money at all costs; not rehabilitating prisoners. Inmates have less access to job training programs, education, mental health access and other programs that would better aid them in integrating back into society. When prison becomes about the bottom line, society as a whole suffers.

Resources

• Department of Justice statistics

[ruralwriter]

on 1/10/2008 Some excellent information