Prison overcrowding in the United States Free Essay Example, 1250 words

s School Prison Overcrowding in the U. S Various s in the U. S are struggling with the issue of prison overcrowding owing to which these states are trying to pass legislations aimed at resolving the issue. Even in states where the legislations have been passed, the law enforcement institutions have restricted will and power to implement the decisions aimed at resolving the issue of prison overcrowding in the U. S. To be more precise, Prison Overcrowding tends to refer to a situation where the demand for space in prisons keeps increasing at a high pace, while the jurisdiction fails to exceed the capacity of these prisons owing to legislation or other reasons (Prison Reform trust 1993). The capacity of the jails, though apparently seem to be the most legitimate reason to justify the prison overcrowding, however many other factors are also involved. One justification which is often posed by many is that prison overcrowding occurs when the intake of prisoners in the jails exceed the rat e by which other prisoners die or are discharged out of the jail. However, research indicates that there are several other factors leading towards prison overcrowding in the U. S including major offenses for minor crimes, and the lack of will on part of the legislatures (Braswell 1985). We will write a custom essay sample on Prison overcrowding in the United States or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now There are various risks involved in prison overcrowding which can`t be ignored including stress, violence, anxiety, health issues and deterrence in rehabilitation processes amongst the prisoners. Possible solutions, thus, include incorporating community service or restitution etc as possible alternatives to sending minor offenders into jail (Tip 1994). This paper aims at discussing these causes, risks as well as the solutions in detail with regard to the prison overcrowding in the U. S. Also, as a reference one such ruling will also be discussed to make a sound conclusion regarding the issue at hand. Starting off with the causes relevant to the prison crowding in the U. S, the first and the most apparent reason relates to the quantitative issues when it comes to the number of jails in the U. S. With time, as population amongst the prisons keeps increasing, the government should ensure that the capacity for keeping prisoners is also expanding accordingly. However, this is not the only factor associated with it. In fact, one of the biggest reasons for prison overcrowding in the U. S as pointed out by the researchers is acclaimed as the increase in the number of recidivists along with the drug offenders (Clark 1994).