III. Literature Review Prison overcrowding has been a global issue for many years. We can all attest to the fact that incarceration is said to be the main deterrent for individuals who have committed a criminal offense. The sole purpose of this literature review is to identify prospective policies that may assist Ohio with the reduction of their overcrowded prison population. My aimed is to identify four best practices that other states like New York, New Jersey, California and Massachusetts have been using as alternatives to prison hence reducing prison overcrowding. The first best practice to consider to reduce Ohio’s prison population is the state of New York. In 1973, New York’s Governor, Nelson Rockefeller enacted the “Rockefeller Drug …show more content…
In 2009, California was ordered by a federal court to reduce their overcrowded prison population by 138 percent. The state had a massive incarceration rate during the “tough on crime” era (Alternative to Incarceration in California, 2015). In 1994, California had enacted a Three Strike Law. This law allows for offenders who have been convicted of a serious felony to be sentence to a prison term twice as long if they had a prior conviction. If they had two or more prior convictions then they would be mandated to a sentence of 25 years to life (California Courts, …show more content…
Office of Community Correction Centers (OCC) provides an alternative to probation through an intermediate intensive treatment program. This program is an enhancement to the traditional probation supervision. What this program does, it creates a more intensive correctional intervention. OCC has 18 network throughout the state that provides a thorough integrated services and sanctions such as substance abuse treatment, educational services, job development, life skills training and case management to participants. Participants had to report to treatment facilities several times for week for random drug testing, community services and programming. After completion of this intensive intermediate probation alternative, participant will then enter traditional probation supervision. (Massachusetts Court System, 2017). This has been helping the state save money, reducing the issue of prison overcrowding and have lowered the recidivism
This website covers the issue of prison overpopulation. This issue affects prisons all across the country. The first feature the website provides a list of each of the fifty states. Choosing a state will take you to a page that provides the number of incarcerated prisoners currently being held and the total cost to run the prison per day. The website also has a section that has articles explaining why prison overcrowding is a problem.
With all of the issues the government must worry about, prison overcrowding should not be one of them. The lazy and effortless attempts of the justice system that resulted in the outstanding number of people inside prisons is overbearing. There needs to be a change. Mandatory sentencing laws, lack of awareness and inhumane treatment of prisoners is unjust. For society to progress, new laws must be passed, recognition must happen, and action needs to take place.
The first step is for a better State and Federal Representation in the Government. The United States prison population changed after President Richard Nixon declared war on drugs in the 1970’s. The United States prisons around the whole country are overcrowded due to the War on Drugs and the 3x law. Many prisoners have been arrested for drug
Intensive Supervision Programs are ineffective at reducing prison overcrowding, reducing correctional spending, expanding the sanctions available for law violators, enhancing public safety, creating a less punitive environment than prison, and lastly promoting the rehabilitation of offenders. ISP’s began to sweep the nation around the 1980’s and 1990’s in order to assist with prison overcrowding and correctional spending. This program was also designed for offenders who deserve more than parole, but not necessarily prison. Many obstacle’s came with the development of Intensive Supervision Programs including how to determine if these programs are effective or not. There are many type of offenders, ranging in multiple ages and committing various crimes.
Topic: Prison overcrowding General Purpose: To inform Specific Purpose: At the end of my speech, the audience will be able to identify and describe the key reasons and issues of prison overcrowding. Introduction Attention Getter Imagine being locked up in a confined space with little to no air conditioning, concrete walls, concrete floors, poor sanitation, rowdy peers, no soft comforts of a home, and a lack of the everyday basic needs.
With well over two million people incarcerated in the United States and countless more tied up within the criminal justice system, alternatives to incapacitation are needed now more than ever. Jails and prisons are feeling the strain on their resources due to overcrowding. This overcrowding has debilitated their ability to function as a place to serve out sentences and to rehabilitate inmates. Alternatives to incarceration could reduce prison populations as well as reduce economic costs. A few programs that have shown to be effective are probation and restorative justice.
PHILI PPINE COLLEGE OF CRIMINOLOGY GRADUATE SCHOOL MASTER OF SCIENCE IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE MAJOR IN CRIMINOLOGY PREPARED BY : Franz Fernando A. Kalalo SUBJECT CODE : MSCJSC4 INSTRUCTOR : Shirlene S. Esplana, PhD TOPIC : Policy Analysis on a Contemporary Issue in Modern Penology - Overcrowding in Prisons Introduction One of the most imperative contemporary issues in modern penology is the problem of overcrowding in prisons. Overcrowding occurs when correctional facilities exceed their intended capacity, resulting in numerous challenges for both inmates and staff. This policy analysis will examine the causes and consequences of prison overcrowding, evaluate existing policies, and propose potential solutions to address this issue
The mental health care system in Ohio is one of the most effective in the country. Ohio spent a lot of time and years making improvements in their systems. Separating the mentally ill and the prison general population by putting in mental health units to . Every morning the mental health staff get together to discuss inmates that are in danger to themselves, and talk about keeping a closer eye on them and come up with a solution to help them. They took action to their disciplinary process after seeing that many of them were going into maximum security prisons.
This model focuses on the individual needs of the offender and in doing so increases their chance of living sober once they reenter society. For example, indeterminate sentencing allows offenders who exhibit good behavior and participate in prison substance abuse programs to be paroled closer to the minimum sentencing term. This means the offender can be released from prison based on conditions set forth by the court. If the offender violates parole by committing another crime or failing to continue substance abuse treatment, they can be returned to prison. Furthermore, offering indeterminate sentencing for offenders who meet the criteria creates prison space thus helping with the ongoing problem of prison overcrowding (Seiter,
Introduction: The Need for a New Approach to Jails The cycle of incarceration and recidivism continues to plague our society, with former prisoners struggling to overcome the barriers they face upon reentry. It's time to rethink our approach to jails and prioritize rehabilitation and reintegration. In recent years, the need for reforming jails to prioritize rehabilitation and reintegration has become increasingly apparent.
Since, such correctional residential facilities are run by programs that can support their system this is a key element that Lobuglio and Piehl has stated in this article. As well as, any other key point, in this article, the finally statement that is held very accountable towards is that in order for this process to thrive it “will require a large expensive, and politically challenging investment…throughout the country.” Besides, it isn’t easy to unwind such development of mass
The law was intended for violent crimes. Three strikes laws are used excessively in for crimes like theft or drug possession. In California, Leandro Andrade was given two consecutive terms of twenty-five years to life for three felony theft, drugs and burglary in 1995 (Heyer, 2012). Perhaps Andrade could have been rehabilitated, but instead, he is one of many prisoners in the overcrowded prisons in California. Three strikes laws overcrowd prisons by giving people excessive sentences for crimes that do not fit the punishment.
The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with approximately 2.3 million people currently behind bars. This number is staggering and raises questions about why so many people are being imprisoned in the United States. There are several factors that have contributed to this situation, including mandatory minimum sentences, the war on drugs, and the privatization of prisons. One of the key drivers of the high incarceration rate in the United States is mandatory minimum sentences.
The Drug Treatment Alternative-to-Prison Program is another attempt to provide better treatment for people who are convicted. The study showed that drug offenders who underwent a treatment program outside of prison had a 26 percent less rate of re-arrest after two years than a control group that was sent to prison (Justice Policy Institute, 2010). Rehabilitative programs like the Second Chance Act and the Drug Treatment Alternative-to-Prison Program has shown to growth and positive
The US prison population makes up 25% of the world’s prison population while the rest of America only makes up 5% of the world population. The cost of keeping these 2 million people in the US behind bars is an astonishing $80 billion. With such a gargantuan price, politicians, economists, and concerned taxpayers are struggling to find ways to reduce costs. Two ways have been identified as the most promising: privatize the prison industry or put inmates to work. There have already been successful implementations of both around the country, yet inmate labor is likely to be stifled and greatly discouraged due to its association with slave labor.