-
Essay / Mass Incarceration: Locked Up in America
America has taken steps to ensure that crimes do not go unnoticed or unpunished. This has led to an increase in the number of people incarcerated. In recent years, incarcerated people come from all races, religions, genders and even social classes. The United States puts more people behind bars than any other country in the world. America must find ways to reduce imprisonment rates. Too many people stay in prison for too long without good reason. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Mass incarceration is a forced deprivation of liberty and individual liberty and rights, causing overcrowding of prisons. America leads in incarceration rates compared to other countries. In the world, America has the largest prison population in terms of percentage of total population and number of inmates. High incarceration rates inflict many unnecessary costs on society, impacting the lives of individuals, families, and communities. Crime rates themselves have declined, but they still pose a threat to the U.S. economy. The cost of incarceration alone hurts the economy. One city paid $168,000 a year for an inmate, and the average annual cost to taxpayers was $31,286. Social costs are also an issue, whether victimization costs or intangible costs. It appears that America's war on drugs plays a significant role in incarceration rates. There are tough laws that put non-violent drug offenders behind bars. Law enforcement agencies have intensified their activities to stop and extinguish drug use. This is part of the reason why the United States has such high incarceration rates. To say that the War on Drugs has been the only role played in influencing incarceration rates would be false, or to say that limiting sentences to non-violent drug abuse would be the only cure for this problem. American sentencing laws are generally too strict. The idea of being consistently tough on crime has led to strict policies, the result of inmates spending too much time in prison. Here are three recommendations for achieving an effective criminal justice system. First, America can reinvest its savings, eliminate truth in sentencing and three-strikes laws, and prosecutors could seek lower penalties when appropriate. If the United States reinvested its savings, there would be so much money saved that could then be redistributed to education, improving public safety, and rehabilitation programs, which would benefit society immensely. If the three strikes and truth in sentencing laws were eliminated, then judges would be able to make sentencing decisions that would be more appropriate for the offender. These two laws deprive the judge of the opportunity to evaluate the details of the crime to impose fair sentences. The next maximum and minimum sentences should be evaluated more thoroughly. If someone commits a crime, yes, they should be punished, but for how long? Just because someone serves a longer prison sentence does not mean they will be better rehabilitated. Longer stays could eventually lead to a criminal relapse. Sentencing guidelines should be improved so that sentences are proportional to the crimes committed. Finally, prison should be abolished for..