The Cost of High Imprisonment Rates in the United States...

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics there are currently 2.4 million people in federal and state prison in the United States, that equals out to 1 out of every 100 American adults. This places the United States at number one in the world for its incarceration rate. The US has 5% of the worlds population but 245% of the worlds prisoners. In addition to this there are 4.8 million adults on probation of parole and 70,792 juveniles in juvenile detention. In 2008 the breakdown for adults under correctional control was as follows: one out of 18 men, one in 89 women, one in 11 African-Americans (9.2 percent), one in 27 Latinos (3.7 percent), and one in 45 Caucasians (2.2 percent). Since 1980 the prison population has quadrupled in part†¦show more content†¦Colorado prohibits them from becoming dentists, engineers, nurses, pharmacists, physicians, or real estate agents. In addition most inmates, when released on parole are required to return to the county where he or she lived in the past. This mean even if inmates want to move away and start over they can’t and are sent back to the same neighborhoods and influences they came from and most likely contributed to their delinquency. Several studies have shown that incarceration increases crime rather than deterring it. Sociolgist Joan Moore explained that since prisons are dangerous places most new inmates seek protection by joining a gang. When inmates are released back in to society they are still loyal to the gang and commit more crimes. She was quoted as saying, â€Å"In California I don’t think gangs would continue to exist as they are without the prison scene.† Having a parent in jail also has a significant impact on children. Half of all men were the primary source of income for their children. Stats show that 1.1 million men behind bars are fathers and 120,000 women behind bars are mothers, that equals out to about 1 in every 28 children have a parent current in prison or jail. The Economic Mobility ProJect estimates that two factors influenced by parental incarceration have a direct impact on a child’s future employment status, these two factors are family income and the child’sShow MoreRelatedEssay on Criminal Rehabilitation in the United States Justice System1640 Words   |  7 Pagesbillions of dollars in order to lock up more and more people. We have become the country with the highest incarceration rate in the industrialized world. (National Criminal Justice Commission) This quote from Dave Kelly shows many of the issues with the United State’s criminal justice system today. The prison population is increasing because prisoners are being taken in at a higher rate than they are released. Also these prisons have become dangerous; inmates are exposed to a great deal of violence insideRead MoreIncreased Population of Prisons Essay1606 Words   |  7 Pagessocial issues for our government. The United States has seen steady growth in its prisons. A projected increment in seen due to â€Å"get-tough† policies that locks up offenders for longer sentences (Ohlemacher, 2007, para. 1). The correction system had been through various phases of transformation, and the government had been tough on crime; this approach had resulted in rising prison populations. There are many factors that cause overcrowding prisons in the United States. As a result, prisoners, physicallyRead MoreThe Increased Prison Population and Improper Punishment System1083 Words   |  5 Pagessystems are immense social issues for many nations’ governments. Growing prison punishment has led to congested prison and jails which also costs heavily to tax payers as well as government. Moreover, in many developed nations prison system exerts control against the poor, minorities and immigrants; they are mistreated and anguished by authorities. The United States has seen continuous growth in its prison. A projected increment in seen due to â€Å"get-tough† policies that locks up offenders for longer sentencesRead MoreShould There be a Capital Punishment in Kazakhstan?862 Words   |  3 PagesCapital punishment as it lowers the crime rate. Although it is evident that the death penalty may infringe on some human rights due to the inhumane methods, Saudi Arabia continues to conduct public beheadings to which foreigners are not exempt. As recorded by the world factbook there were 345 beheadings between 2007 and 2010 and the crime rate is the lowest in the world. Therefore, these statistics undeniably prove that the death penalty can lower the crime rate in a country. 2. According to theRead MoreThe Death Penalty Should Be Abolished Essay1634 Words   |  7 Pagesnz/new-zealand-and-death-penalty Starting with money investment and opportunity cost, prison is an extremely expensive way of dealing with crime. In March 2010 it cost, on average, $90,977 to keep a prisoner in jail for a year 3. The median for weekly income coming from all sources on a normal New Zealander is around 530 dollars4, which sums up to 27,560 dollars a year, and at the same time with a tax rate of 19.25% during that time gives the government 5305.3 per person, meaning the governmentRead MorePrison Industrial Complex Economics And The United States1157 Words   |  5 PagesMore people have been locked up in the United States than any other country. In the article â€Å"Prison Industrial Complex Economics†, it states, â€Å"the United States has approximately 6.5 million people under the criminal justice supervision. Incarcerated rate has grown from 176 in 1973 up to 700 in the year of 2000† (Waquant). Incarceration is a big business that feeds into drug violence, corrupted guards, and racism in criminal justice system, taxpayer cost, and racism in the criminal system and throughRead MoreReform, Means Improvement : Prison Reform Essay1558 Words   |  7 Pagesis a significant growing issue. The prison population is expanding at a phenomenal rate, exceeding the capacity of the system to accommodate the inhabitants of the incarcerated. The focus is increasingly on rehabilitation as a mean to reduce recidivism or prisoner relapse to crime. Prison in the United States is utilized more than any other nation, and the economy suffers financially from the extremely high costs. Prisons are expensive to build, maintain, and operate. Although, addressing the issuesRead MoreThe Effects Of Mandatory Sentencing On The United States Essay1273 Words   |  6 PagesThe United States prison population has grown seven-fold over the past forty years, and many Americans today tend to believe that the high levels of incarceration in our country stem from factors such as racism, socioeconomic differences, and drugs. While these factors have contributed to the incarceration rate present in our country today, I argue that the most important reason our country has such a high incarceration rate is the policy changes that have occurred since the 1970s. During this timeRead MoreThe Canadian Justice System And Capital Punishment1713 Words   |  7 Pageswrongfully executed. The cost of maintaining any civil service is expensive to maintain, this is especially true for correctional facilities. It costs an average of â€Å"$117,888 for each prisoner in Canadas 54 federal penitentiaries this has increased by 46% since the last decade.† () this shows that keeping an inmate is very expensive to maintain as taxpayers are losing a lot of money, this loss of money can average out to at least a billion. In comparison, the United States, a neighboring countryRead MoreThe Abolition of Capital Punishment in Australia1014 Words   |  5 PagesAustralia in 1973 imprisonment has been the only option as a sanction for murder. A survey conducted in 2009 demonstrated that a clear majority of Australians (64%) believed that imprisonment should be the punishment for murder as opposed to 23% stating the death penalty should be used and 13% did not wish to comment. The death penalty is not an effective punishment for all cases and there has not been any solid evidence stating that it is a more effective deterrent than imprisonment. Furthermore capital