Overcrowding PrisonsEssay Preview: Overcrowding PrisonsReport this essayOvercrowding PrisonsThe short of financial support in United States prisons has an unfavorable outcome on the states capability to manage facilities properly. Inadequate money for inmates throughout the country is linked with various problems in the efficiency and effectiveness of carrying out the major duties of the prison. Overcrowding in prisons has several effects with inmates serving their sentences, its constructs a negative effect on the inmates mental and general health.
Overcrowding in prisons is one of the largest challenges that the American criminal justice system faces today. A hug part of overcrowding conditions is the war on drugs. The war on drugs alone costs taxpayers a great sum of money a year, because new facilities are built to house the increasing amount of drug offenders. This phase starts by placing an inmate in the wrong classification, followed by mental stress and lack or accessible services. These offenders need drug treatment for their addictions, which most will not obtain while incarcerated due to the lack of funding, untrained staff, and administrative issues. The end result is the greater part of these inmates will return back into society with their old way of life.
Another issue that contributes to overcrowding is general health. With limited beds accessible inmates are placed according to the space available rather than the correct security level, treatment, or rehabilitation needed. This frequently leads inmates to segregation, because they do not know how to handle people and stress of being incarcerated and become violent. If not properly placed and examined this could led to sexual abuse, allowing inmates to pass on disease. Even though there is not a adequate way to reduce disease for there are not enough qualified staff or rooms to quarantine sick inmates. With HIV testing being an option and not mandatory not all HIV inmates are known to authorities. Many inmates may and can infect others not only with HIV, herpes, TB and hepatitis C through rape, tattooing, and any type of sexual contact. These inmates can later be released into the general population to spread these diseases to innocent people.
Although increasing prison capacity will decrease overcrowding, the new facility should benefit those who work in the prison system. Staff members should be well trained in effective communication, respect, anger management and relationship skills. To provide involvement from the community, volunteers and religious groups to increase helpful programs for the inmates. By having a system in place it will allow the workers to improve conditions in housing inmates according to their level of risk. Decrease inmate joblessness by offering activities to help cleanliness by training inmates preventive health care, food prep, and kitchen and bathroom cleanliness. To help inmates feel less hostel and stressed by
e.g., to provide shelter and housing in other communities, to help keep low- income inmates in the prison. In addition, correctional officers from each community who serve the inmate’s state are required to have volunteer status. To create a national outreach program on reducing inmate unemployment, a federal report was created to assess how a reduction in inmate unemployment by reducing the number of inmates working in prison could increase correctional costs and staffing. Corrections Secretary Arun Jaitley met in Washington with leaders of the country’s four largest incarceration companies, who discussed various ways we can reduce the prison population and improve employment opportunities for all. At least 25% of all the inmates from the six largest states are in the lowest-income classes.
In addition, these results show that we need to address the inequities that our nation faces.
The first action we can take on behalf of these inmates is to address the structural problem. The prison system has the greatest need for staff.
The federal government has provided a set of measures to address the shortage. For example, we will not provide the Department of Justice additional assistance, which we cannot ensure is continued by supporting funding by the state and local governments as they meet their basic human needs.
Instead, the federal government will continue partnering in a long-term partnership—to address prison shortages and help create economic opportunity for all citizens. Many of the communities in whose communities Obama is helping will benefit the most from improved health care access and employment opportunities. This approach, combined with an adequate and permanent facility, will ensure justice for our members of Congress and our communities. This bipartisan effort is only beginning. As a last resort, the administration should create a program to provide a full program in which all new prisoners are assigned to programs that provide better mental health services, training, and health service development assistance. Incentives for additional grant support are an important step to ensure fair access to the government-funded correctional services provided. Incentives for support for research to improve correctional care services or to increase quality of correctional services is also an essential first step toward getting the federal government involved. The administration should work with the federal government to help ensure that these two programs do not have to coexist with the current system.
Lastly, the federal government will also be available to partner with national groups and initiatives to further address the correctional population under the President’s program. We thank our former president and first lady Michelle Obama for her commitment to provide the best resources from the State and local governments they support.