Mass Incarceration In Prisons

The American prison system is an incredibly expensive part of our economy, with incarceration costs going up each year. A 2014 data collection of state correctional expenditures estimated that the economic costs of administering overcrowded prison systems are over 48 billion dollars each year (Kyckelhahn 2014). This money is coming from American taxpayer dollars and goes towards all of the prison staff wages, electricity, water, food, security, and more. By reducing the number of prisoners incarcerated, the cost of prison administration would also go down. Despite all of the money being spent on prisons in our nation, there is no evidentiary support to show that incarceration actually prevents crime. In fact it is thought to be the opposite. …show more content…
However, this does not mean that the issue of mass incarceration is no longer relevant. During the time of mass incarceration, there were so many persons incarcerated that the damage was catastrophic. The nation is still reeling from the effects and the prison population rates need to keep going down. The history of the criminal justice system shows us that our perspective changes back and forth over time from rehabilitation to punitiveness. We can insure that the prison rates keep declining and rehabilitation stays the focus of public policy through two changes in the criminal justice system. First, we need to change the way in which we conduct sentencing, and secondly, we need more rehabilitation programs available in lieu of …show more content…
It has become a growing concern for many Americans, as well as a political platform for many public figures in the past years. Evidence supports the fact that prisons in America are severely overcrowded. This evidence establishes a need for prison inmate rate reduction through the reduction of long prison sentences and the increase of rehabilitative options in the criminal justice system. Through the process of reducing prison sentences and offering more rehabilitative programs, there would be a significantly lower rate of incarceration in the United States. This would lower the current cost of managing prisons as well as increase the quality of living within the prisons. Without as many inmates, prisons could put the money towards probational programs and the inmates currently residing in prisons and jails would receive better attention, more living space, and a better chance at getting into prison programs meant to aid prisoners in getting out and staying