Ban The Box, It'S The Right Thing To Do. .The United States

(Albright and Furjen). This offers a more balanced look at ex-cons, giving them a chance in

Over the past few decades, the United States has witnessed a huge surge in the number of individuals in jail and in prison. Evidence suggests the mass imprisonment policy from the last 40 years was a horrible catastrophe. Putting more people in prison not only ruined lives, it disrupted families, prevented ex-prisoners to find housing, to get an education, or even a good job. Regrettably, the United States has a higher percent of its population incarcerated than any other country. America is responsible for a quarter of the world’s inmates, and its incarceration rate is increasing exponentially. The expense produced by these overcrowded prisons cost the country a substantial amount of money every year. Although people are incarcerated for a number of reasons, the country’s prisons are focused on punishment rather than reform, and the result is a misguided system that fails to rehabilitate criminals or discourage crime. By researching mass incarceration, I hope to get society to understand that incarcerating an individual not only effects the family, but we will look at the long term consequences on society and how the United States can remain safe and, at the same time, undo much of the damage that results from large-scale imprisonment.

Mass Incarceration in the United States has been a large topic of choice because rapid growth in the prison and jail populations, the long sentences the inmates face, and the inability for some inmates to incorporate themselves back into society. Since the 1970’s the U.S. prison population quadrupled from 158 to 635 people per 100,000, causing the U.S. to gain the title of country with the highest incarceration rate. (Massoglia, Firebaugh, & Warner, 2013, p. 142; Muller, 2012) As the growth of the U.S prison and jail population rapidly increased, so did the growth of the three major contributors to that population – African Americans, Hispanics, and whites – with African American and

The criminal justice system focuses more on criminalization and incarceration than it does on rehabilitation. The United States of America wins the award for the highest incarceration rate in the world with over 2.3 million people in correctional facilities. America itself contains only about five percent of the world population, but accounts for twenty-five percent of the world’s prisoners (American Civil Liberties Union). With a longstanding history of mass incarceration and

At any given time, there are approximately 2 million American citizens incarcerated and nearly 700,000 inmates returning to their communities each year. (Petitt & Western, 2004; Western, 2001). Since most prisoners are eventually released, mass incarceration has in turn produced a steep rise in the number of individuals reentering society and undergoing the process of social and economic reintegration. (Travis, 2005). During the period between 1982 and 2007, the number of Americans incarcerated in jails and prisons increased by 274% (Pew Center on the States, 2009). In addition to the increase of the individuals incarcerated, there is an even larger amount of individuals under community supervision, with a recent study finding that one in every 48 American adults are either on probation or parole on any given day (Glaze & Bonczar, 2011). Recent statistics show that the percentage of parolees re-incarcerated after release currently stands at 32% (Maruschak and Parks, 2012).

Incarceration rates have increased from 400,000 people in 1975 to 2.1 million in 2003; a fivefold increase, making the United States a leader in rates compared to other nations (Morenoff & Harding, 2014). These numbers bear a great burden on individuals, families, and communities in various ways. First, with 700,000 individuals being released from prison annually comes difficulty in reentering society both socially and economically; difficulty finding work, education, strained relationships, and social stigma (Morenoff & Harding, 2014). Second, the increasing rates of incarceration are disproportionately and unfairly impacting minorities, specifically African-Americans, and poor urban communities (Morenoff & Harding, 2014). A New York Times article by Furman and Holtz-Eakin (2016) states that $80 billion dollars--$600 per household--is spent on corrections annually, or a 1,700 percent increase in the federal prison budget in just thirty years. These increases have a deep historical background, many complex and interweaving factors, and require urgent reform.

In this period of mass incarceration and tough on crime era policies, harsh prison and jail conditions are being utilized as a form of deterrent to reduce crime and improve public safety. Accordingly, well over “2.3 million people are in prison or jail, and 700,000 former offenders are returned into society each year and 77 percent were sent back to prison costing taxpayers massive amounts of revenue.” (Mears & Cochran, 2015) As a result of this the United States possesses the “highest incarceration rate in the world” due to this faulty theory. (Mears & Cochran, 2015) For many politicians and the general public, they believe the idea that stringent and austere prison conditions will create a milieu in which an offender will want to reform to avoid these intolerable living environments. This situation is exacerbated by the lack of studies, and politicians not heeding the existing research. According to Listwan et al., limited number of studies that has paid systematic attention to how exposure to the deprivations or pains of imprisonment might foster reoffending. This omission is somewhat perplexing, given that the pains of imprisonment have long been documented and that policymakers have explicitly celebrated the painfulness of prisons as a way of teaching offenders that “crime does not pay.” (Listwan et al., 2013)

With America being the land of opportunity, the U.S has presented quite a few disadvantaged Americans’ with not so many opportunities. Especially those people of who have been arrested for a criminal crime. This also includes freshly released from prison, probation and/or parole. A study in 2012 shows with one in four Americans in the United States today, have been arrested. (Solomon). That same study shows most Americans being arrested at the age of twenty three.

“Ban the Box” legislation takes the question about conviction history off of the job application and delays when the employer can ask about an applicant’s criminal history and/or run a criminal background check. This legislation has been enacted in over 100 cities and counties and 28 states with each government body having different requirements.

As of the end of 2015, there were 1,526,800 prisoners in the United States being held in state or federal correctional facilities. Every year, thousands of people are released from jail or prison. Most people who are incarcerated today will eventually be released. Most of these individuals return to a life of freedom without the skills they need to survive. Recidivism rates suggest that many of these individuals will re-offend within six months of release, and most will reoffend within three years. This is not because they’re bad people; it’s because they are trying to thrive in a system that sets them up to fail.

1538). If a federal law were to be enacted it should follow the guidelines that Weissert (2016) advocates. Instead of allowing employers to ask about criminal history in the interview stage the employers should have to wait until a conditional offer of employment has been made (Weissert, 2016, p. 1552). The employer should consider the nature of the crime, the time elapsed since conviction, and the positon the applicant is applying for (Weissert, 2016, p. 1552). Discriminating on the basis of criminal history increased the rates of recidivism and has a greater impact on Afircan American and Hispanic males (Weissert, 2016, p. 1531). Ban the Box might not be the solution for the issue of discriminating on the basis of an applicant’s criminal history, but it is a step in the right

America sends more of its citizens to prison than any other country in the world. The United States, though only five percent of the world’s population, incarcerate 25 percent of the world’s prisoners. America is supposed to be the land of the free, not the land of the incarcerated. About 6,937,600 offenders were under the supervision of adult correctional systems at year end 2012. Around two-thirds of the prison population which is released annually (637,400) will recidivate within the first three years of release (Glaze, 2013). The prisoner re-entry programs that are currently in place are clearly ineffective and insufficient. A reallocation of the budget is the first step towards fixing our re-entry programs. Once the budget is under control, the government needs to have a complete overhaul of system. There are many prisoner re-entry programs that have shown promise which means there is already a blueprint to success available.

The dream of a life of freedom in a world that has endless possibilities begins in the United States. Sadly, this is not a privilege for everyone to experience. Although, when speaking of confining and isolating individuals, the realization of this luxury of freedom is not granted to everyone. These few words pierce into the heart of life as a inmate. Nevertheless, the suffering of one is felt by more and more individuals on a daily basis. Yet, those living free on the outside do not see a problem and many refuse to believe or even acknowledge that there is one. However, the United States has paved the way to create a cycle of endless incarceration for many people but especially for those of color. Such as the 1994 Violent Crime Control Act and the lack of substance abuse treatment in prisons. Overwhelmingly, mass incarceration has had a great impact on families, communities and society as a whole. As illuminated through the parable by inmate Joe Martinez, this continued cycling of inmates in and out of prison is devastating to the growth society.

Vivian Nixon’s article “During and After Incarceration, Education Changes Lives” argues higher education should be made available to current and formerly imprisoned individuals. Her main point is that, “Lawmakers should remove the obstacles that prevent convicted individuals from earning degrees during and after their sentences” (Nixon). Throughout the article, she discusses the value of education and how it reduces recidivism. While appealing to legislators who implement the law, the article is relevant to all readers.

Being released from prison comes with a myriad of problems that stem from blatant disenfranchisement. To more subtle aspects that is put on them by their society rather than government. In the end the result is the same though. These people serve their terms in jail, only to return to society as pariahs. Many things can happen. They can be sucked back into the criminal underworld, and find themselves back on a pipeline to prison. Or in unlikely circumstances with the deck stacked against them they can succeed. Through this paper i intend to touch upon several difficulties that present themselves to ex-convicts, and how they are put in a cycle that often ends badly.