Government should build more prisons to alleviate overcrowding
Graphic by Emily Lodahl
January 25, 2014
Prisons across the nation are being forced to redirect prisoners into overflow rooms as overcrowding in many prisons, federal and state, is becoming a growing problem in the United States. As a result, inmate violence is rising, conditions are lacking and prisoners are being forced to live in even tighter arrangements. Prison overcrowding is a problem. New prison facilities should be built to handle the larger volume of inmates and alleviate overcrowding problems.
As crime rates across the nation increase, demand for bigger prison facilities also increases. Prisoners are being let go early, without serving their full sentence, just to make room for new prisoners. Also, as a result of prison overcrowding, crime rates in prisons are going up, and some people are beginning to question if treatment is crossing the line to cruel and unusual. Many prisoners are going on hunger strikes to protest unfair treatment in prisons, mainly ruling it cruel and unusual, unconstitutional.
Prison overcrowding leads to a lot of unnecessary violence and misconduct. However, this may not entirely be the fault of the inmates. A recent study by the Federal Bureau of Prisons indicates that prisoner misconduct may not be an exact result of prison overcrowding. However, the study does indicate prison management style is related to misconduct, and it is possible that overcrowding has an effect on prison management, because it creates a far more stressful environment for the corrections officers and wardens. Additionally, overcrowding has been known to have direct impacts upon the psychological state of inmates, thus causing crime rates to rise, and even more problems as a result.
In prisons, overcrowded population is mainly a result of high recidivism rates. More than 65 percent of inmates return to prison over a three year period according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).
To decrease the problem of prison overcrowding, Department of Justice officials should push for options like constructing new prisons, lightening sentences or reintroducing parole for federal crimes. Additionally, prison officials should be urged to examine the best practices available, so when inmates finally become citizens again, they will stay out of prison and become contributing members of society.
“People will get out of prison, but they’re not being helped to reenter society,” said Inimai Chettiar, a director at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, who has reviewed the report. “People are going to recidivate more when they get out of horrendous conditions without job training and development programs to get their lives back together.”
Although prison overcrowding is a major problem in the United States, many believe it to be counter productive if more prisons are built just in an attempt to solve the problem. Building more prisons, or even expanding existing ones, is extremely expensive and also encourages a greater inmate population to thrive. Therefore, more prisons built would mean more crime, more prisoners and more stress on society.
As overcrowding in prisons across the nation increases, the solution is still simple. Build bigger prisons. Bigger prisons will handle the increasing amount of inmates and solve the problem of overcrowding, meaning less stress on prison officials and more relaxation on society.
Jasmine Hearne • Feb 19, 2014 at 5:36 am
This is a great opinion article Quentin! You clearly articulated your opinion in the introduction and had some really convincing evidence and claims. My only advice would be to add a concession statement and possibly some more facts or another quote to support your claims. Otherwise, this was an awesome article!
Clara Ilkka • Feb 17, 2014 at 11:37 pm
Although I disagree with the opinion that we need more prisons, this article was well researched and had a lot of strong sources. I liked the use of a quote from the law school director. The author did a really nice job stating his opinion right away and clearly in the lead and explaining the why behind his opinion which I appreciated.
My opinion- The US has a higher incarceration rate than any other nation in the world (1/100 adults is behind bars according to the Washington Post, but MN has the 2nd lowest in the nation according to the Star Tribune). I think we should try and change that by reorganizing parts of our justice system and how we treat criminals, starting with how we handle drug charges.
Tim Press • Feb 17, 2014 at 2:59 am
Quentin … This is a fantastic article. It’s clear that you did your research and that you are very affluent on the issue. Not only have you fluently articulated your position, but you very effectively backed up your claims with relevant facts and sources. The only thing I’m missing is a retort in your concession statement as to why you are right and everyone else is wrong. Other than that, you clearly have mastered the art of editorializing.