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Prison Overcrowding

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Ask any child or adult you encounter, and more than likely they can name a famous criminal who has been sent to prison. For those of us who have never committed a crime, jails and prisons are something we hear or read about, but have never personally experienced. Hit shows like “Lockup” give us a chance to embrace our curiosity of what it is really like to be thrown in jail/prison and be isolated from society. However, TV shows like Lockup have surprised many people because prisons don’t look as frightening as we may think; in fact, it appears the scariest thing about prison is the inmates themselves. This leads many to question whether or not prisons are harsh enough- and therefore effective enough. In this paper, I will uncover all aspects …show more content…

In a web article written by Portland State University, we learn that overcrowding is usually caused by “…harsher penalties for criminal activities, changes to laws…high recidivism rates and needed improvements to the penal system” (“Prison Overcrowding,” n.d.). Prison overcrowding is a serious issue that forces the inmates to double up in a cell and increases the risk of violence (“Prison Overcrowding,” n.d.). Many have tried to come up with a solution plan to prevent overcrowding including the Penal Reform International non-profit organization. They provide several suggestions including reducing sentencing lengths; they write “Prison sentences should be kept as short as possible…” (“Ten-Point Plan,” 2012.). In theory, this would sound like a wonderful idea for inmates- not having to serve as long of a sentence and going home early. However, many prisons are not as scary as they may seem and thus provide us a possible explanation of why so many criminals come back to prison after …show more content…

For this reason, it may not come as a surprise that surveys prove drugs in prison is highly common. The Washington Times (2010) reported that “Roughly 1,000 ‘drug incidents’- seizures of marijuana, heroin, and other drugs- are reported annually at California prisons” (“Drugs Inside Prison Walls”, 2010). This same article raises the question: “how do drugs enter the prison when the prisoners are searched upon arrival?”. Sadly, the Washington Times claims that corrupt officers have played a major role in the rise of drugs in prison (“Drugs Inside Prison Walls”, 2010). In fact, Richard Pillajo, who worked for a Florida state prison, was caught smuggling cocaine and other pills to sell to inmates (“Drugs Inside Prison Walls”, 2010). These findings point to the possibility that inmates may want to return to prison because it is easier to get ahold of drugs. In fact, in 2016 Adam Lusher, journalist for the Independent UK, investigated exactly how accessible drugs are in certain prisons; the title speaks for itself: “The prison where it is ‘easier to get drugs than bedsheets’ (Lusher, 2016). The Chief Inspector of Prisons, Peter Clarke, stated “The stark reality is that prisoners told us it was easier to get illegal drugs in the prion than it was to get clothes or sheets” (Lusher, 2016). These findings are lead us to believe that many prisons across the world are

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