The Pros And Cons Of American Prisons

Despite what you may think, private prisons have existed in the United States dating all the way back to 1852, beginning with the San Quentin state prison. Private prisons did not truly become as common as they are today though until President Ronald Reagan led a large-scale effort for increased privatization around the United States during the 1980’s. One result of this effort was a large upswing in the number of private prisons. As a result of private prisons becoming more common place, it has been seen that compared to prisons run by the government, length of sentences have gone up within private prisons, while at the same time the treatment of prisoners has gone down. This topic interests me because I believe that it should never be in the best interests of such a large and powerful group to have as many people as possible in prison for as long as possible. In my opinion, it is not ethically correct on a basic human level to ever have it in people’s best interests to keep other people in prison. I chose this topic because I have always held a strong opinion on this topic but have never had the time to do extensive research on it and either confirm or dispel my current beliefs about it.

American Prisons poorly represent our criminal justice system; due to not have clearly outlined goals associated for its offenders. Also, look at the cost to lock up and house this country’s offenders, it has increased significantly over the past few decades. With the two above stated issues, we have a huge problem in America. Other countries look at our justice system as though we have got it figured out and, we may have a better idea of Justice than most countries, because, well we are no longer chopping off hands for stealing anymore. While there are some prisons that are too harsh, there are some that make life way too easy. Therefore, we must create a baseline for all prisons in this country. In order to decrease the percentages of repeat offenders and expedite the out-processing of small time criminals, American prisons are in dire need of help, especially

Even though the prison in this article is not real, the prisoners still went through the same struggles as real prisoners. “‘Real’ prisoners typically report feeling powerless, arbitrarily controlled, dependent, frustrated, hopeless, anonymous, dehumanized and emasculated” (Zimbardo 3). The prisoners felt as if this prison was real and that they were real prisoners. Dehumanization played a large part in their feelings of being real prisoners. “Here he began the process of becoming a prisoner- stripped naked, skin-searched, deloused and issued a uniform, bedding, soap, and towel” (Zimbardo 1).

Hoarse yelling, officers shouting out orders, threats being passed brazenly between those in power and those whose power has been stripped away. While this may sound like a line that could be from a dystopian novel or a story about the a corrupt government and its people in a third world country, things like this have actually happened in the United States. From the year 1980 to the year 2010 people incarcerated for federal drug charges increase from 4,749 people to 97,472. While those statistics may be shocking, the fact that approximately half of the people with federal drug charges are not even incarcerated in a federal prison. Those that are not in a federal prison are detained in private for-profit prisons owned by companies like Corrections

Prison is not meant to be a comfortable place. Prison, historically, is meant to be a punishment for crimes committed against society. Once an individual is convicted and sentenced, they are then taken into custody of the state or federal government. The term custody refers to an individual taken to a detention facility. This term also refers to the concept that the government is now responsible for the wellbeing of the inmate. The individual is being punished, but the government must take reasonable steps to protect those in their custody until they are released back into society. It is vitally important for the safety of these individuals that administrators become aware of the factors that may put certain inmates at a higher

Ostensibly, the motive for incarceration appears to be justice. However, where profit exists, so does deception. “…Statistics are now showing that locking people up for profit is overriding the concept of jailing people in the name of justice” (Magee). Our prison system has transformed from a rehabilitation program to a corporate, profit machine. Prisoners are no longer perceived as inmates serving their time and recuperating, but rather bank accounts that can be extorted for every penny by these private prison corporations. Increasing sentencing and lengthening time served benefits the prison, not the inmate. It is despicable to jail non-violent criminals, whom would normally receive probation, to line the pockets of private prisons and

The average person probably assumes that state prison is a place for felons to do time for the crime they committed. They serve their time and are released to the public. Prisons are run by the state government. Tax payers pay for state prisons to operate. However, it is a totally different deal with privately run prisons. Prisoners are big business for some privately run facilities. Private prisons are facing overcrowding. However, they show little concern because most of those prisoners are outsourced to work for large companies. Seems like there is growing concern that there is a strong motivation to incarcerate even more prisoners because of the outsourcing profits earned by private prison industry.

The United States is home to five percent of the world population, but 25 percent of the world’s prisoner. There must be a change to the current prison system which is doing more harm than good in American society and must be reformed. Reasons for this claim are that American prisons are too overcrowded with inmates, which creates a dangerous and unhuman environment. The cost to run a prison has gotten too expensive for tax payer pockets, and lastly the prison system is more as a punishment instead of rehabilitation with about sixteen percent of inmates most serious offence being drug charges. Prisons fall short of reforming criminals and the government is obligated to completely reform the prison systems in the United States.

A major issue in the United States corrections system is the over-crowding of are prisons. The United States Prison System and department of corrections have become an everlasting part of our justice system, but for various reasons confinement may be causing more harm than good. More and more Americans are being thrown in prison without any signs of being rehabilitated which is causing prisons across the United States to become over-crowded. According to Etienne Benson an assistant Professor. Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. M.A. Stanford University. A.B. Harvard University; at one point the main focus of incarceration was to rehabilitate, programs were put in place to ensure that prisons gain certain skills to recover and become a productive member of society. However, the United States has taken a step back due to tougher punishments on crimes committed. Prisoners must be treated fairly with dignity and respect help them rehabilitate and get them out of the criminal justice system. Although most

Privately operated prisons were common during former centuries in England as well as the United States. Along the twentieth century governments had taken authority and leadership upon themselves for almost all imprisonments and other criminal justice functions. “The stimulus in the United states came largely from business entrepreneurs who were promoting their own virtues. Policy reforms later developed a more elaborate rationale for opening government to business interest” (e.g, President’s Commission on Privatization 1988; Stewart 1986; Logan 1990). A replacement of having the government in control of these facilities made private collaborations with correctional establishments and facilities. There are three major forms which independent

"The most common rate is 90%, though some prisons are able to snag a 100% promise from their local governments" (Mathews 2). Contracts between the government and private prisons stating the minimum capacity rate of the jail, exist for all private prisons. Private prisons, or a facility for incarceration, run through a third party and have contracts with the government. This approach guarantees money for profit-seeking CEOs, causing them to effectively run as a business. However, the quotas these contracts call for present a problem because "[w]hile incarceration statistics have skyrocketed, crime rates have increased much more slowly" (Smith 3). The quota put forward by the private prison industry causes the rise of imprisonment rates. Because

The overcrowding prison reflects that the inmate population has grown much faster than the funding for prisons, which is controlled at the state level. In most cases, state funding has not come close to keeping up with the rise in the prison population, leading to decrepit prison infrastructure that is wholly inadequate for housing such large numbers of inmates. Without capacity to house inmates properly, some prisons have resorted to having prisoners sleep in gymnasiums, and many have overcrowded cells to accommodate the extra bodies. This overcrowding has led to deteriorating cleanliness of prisons and declining safety. Today, non-violent prisoners are forced to live in close quarters with violent ones, and the results are predictable.

The methods that are most effectively employed by the prison system depend on who you ask and what their ultimate goal is. If the goal is to reduce the crime rate in society and minimize the impact that crime and criminals have on law abiding citizens, then simply locking up or otherwise removing criminals from society is an effective method. If the desire is to take individuals who have committed crimes and reform them so that they do not commit crimes again, then prison methods that involve reformative techniques such as therapy or educational efforts such as job skills training or literacy skills training make more sense. Not only is the end goal a major determining factor in what prison system methods are deemed successful, but so is understanding that the problem of crime and the legal and prison systems is not one that is simple or isolated. Crime and criminals exist within a society that has other factors at play, such as economics and class and racial dynamics that inform how the legal and prison systems act, and the likelihood that an individual will commit crime.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 7.3 billion dollars of a state prison’s expenditures are spent on inmate medical care, food service, utilities, and contract housing, which totals 26 percent of the prison’s entire operating budget (Stephan, 2004). Furthermore, since 1986 prisoner incarceration costs have doubled from 65 dollars per day to 134 dollars per day (Stephan, 2004). Since we are aware of the costs associated with the basic needs of prisoners, let us examine some possible alternatives to assist prison administrators with their limited budgets.

Overcrowding in prison has become a big issue. Having an overcrowded prison can create an aggressive atmosphere for innocent prisoners who want to better themselves in life for their mistake.