Prison over Crowding

Prison Overcrowding

Shirley Ramiz

Capella University

Introduction

In the prison system there are many concern, but the crowding of the prison is a key factor. Crimes are being committed on a daily basis and this has become a huge problem in the criminal justice field. Subsequently in 2002, the United States has had the top highest imprisonment percentage in the world. Even though penitentiary populations are accumulating in a majority of the world, the ordinary rate of the prison incarceration system for certain countries are equivalent to the United States which inclines to be around or about 100 inmates per 100,000 population. The U.S. percentage is 500 inmates each 100,000 citizens, or about 1.6 million inmates in 2010, this is according to the up-to-date information from data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2012/us-incarceration.aspx).

The overcrowding of the prison system comes from not having enough places to house the inmates, because of the tough consequences from the activities of criminals that has caused a very higher rate of crimes (Mkkmuckraker.blogspot). Imprisonment of many individuals either it be minor or major has led to the overpopulation in the penitentiaries in the United States. Some of these prisons are so over crowded until you have inmates sleeping on the floor. In my past I worked at a prison when the inmates first came in for intake they were house at a different prison from everyone else. The prison was so overcrowded until the inmates were given blankets and a pillow to sleep on the floor. The United States is very well known for having the highest population of inmates being incarcerated.  It has been clarified the prison residents from the United States was at a decreased rate in the 1970s (businessinsider.com)

The penitentiaries are full, because the inmate residents is growing faster than the agency’s size. Since the inmate population has increased from the 9.5 percent from 2006 through 2011. With the prison population increasing 136 percent of capacity to 139 percent, according to the GAO.

        It has been known that the fewer correctional officers that is hired that is showing a staff shortage in the amount of 3200 in the 2010 study of the GAO. The inmate crowding has increased, but the inmate to staff has decreased (https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/prison-crowding-undermines-safety-report-says/2012/10/15/ab77de02-16fc-11e2-a55c-39408fbe6a4b_story.html?utm_term=.603cfd5792f7). This study was done in 2010, but the staff shortage in Mississippi is very high. You have one officer working a pod, which houses at least 100 inmates on a pod.

Perspective Section

        Since I would like to hold the position of a Correctional Counselor. The role I desire is that of Warden Stevenson.  Even though he had no control of the situation at hand of the overcrowding of the prison system.  The overcrowding of the penitentiaries can cause a lack of medical care for the inmates and unsanitary conditions. I have worked in the penitentiary system and you have inmates who had been incarcerated for at least a month and did not have proper clothes and hygiene products. As working in the system and having to deal with the inmates on a daily basis I tried to talk to the officers about issuing hygiene products and clothes for them, but it didn’t work (ir.lawnet.fordham.edu). The Warden understood what was going on and the issues that were at the prison, but he and his staff could not help the situation. They were affected by the state of the penitentiary. Tewksbury (2010) describes the process of the inmate population rising and the impact it has on the operations of the facilities and the costs and the stress it causes on the staff. I agree with a belief that the warden has believing the overcrowding will cause an increase in the crime rate. I think it will, because if you have to many people living in a living quarters there will be more issues, more time for them to contemplate, especially when you have a prison similar to the one I'm currently at. Where gang affiliation and race is a big issue. You have certain tables and certain areas you can sit at, certain showers to use, certain cells to be housed in and once you overstep these boundaries a race or gang riot will break out.

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