Pros And Cons Of Corrections In America

Corrections in America
Zachary Gene Mooney
Notre Dame College

The American correctional system has its flaws like many other programs in America today. A hot topic in today?s society is whether or not the American criminal justice system is effective; often times, this leads citizens to believe that the United States can no longer be considered the land of the free because of its various flaws. America has the highest imprisonment rate in the entire world along with a shockingly high rate of recidivism and lack of programs that will truly help law breakers. The main issues discussed in any criminal justice course regarding the failure of the justice system can be summed up by lack of funding, overcrowding, and repeat offenders. The lack of funding from the state and federal government can lead to many other issues, and likely has the most negative affect on the system overall. Most prisons today are underfunded both in the facilities in which they warehouse the prisoners and also the type of treatment programs they can provide for prisoners in custody. With the number of prisoners growing daily and no slowdown in sight it seems as if hoping for a change in prison system management seems bleak at best. Recidivism is the rate at which former prisoners are rearrested or
return to prison. America has a shockingly high rate of recidivism which for some is enough proof that our correctional system is not working in the way it is intended to. A popular thought in society today is that the United States should simply remove offenders from the street for a period of time, and give them no help and cut them loose again. There are many factors that are critical in reforming a prisoner such as whether or not they have access to a treatment program. The lifestyle an individual had outside of jail plays a large factor in whether they are willing to change their behavior. Willingness to change is one variable that typically gets neglected in studies. Society needs to begin to understand that some individuals do not want to change their behavior and will continue to partake in illegal activity because going to prison may be a better alternative than the life they live on the streets. Recidivism can be caused by many different things although one thing people can agree on is that is an issue that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. All three components that contribute to the failing of the justice system intertwine with the third and final issue of overcrowding.
Most prisons in the country today are highly over crowded which ties into many of the other problems such as facilities and rehab programs. Even if some prisons are capable of providing necessary services, often times the prisons are not staffed up to par to handle the number of inmates which in that case it becomes luck of the draw if you gain access to the necessary programs. The issue of overcrowding can also lead to disease spreading throughout the prison. This issue can become fatal for prisoners due to the lack of medical staff employed at
prisons. The lack of funding, overcrowding, and repeat offenders all relate to one in another in more than one way. Although this doesn?t necessarily mean that the system is broken, but rather needs to have adjustments made to it. Along with making adjustments perhaps performing studies of inmates and collecting data to improvise programs that will truly help them. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/AGE295215/00 https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=kfdetail&iid=487 https://www.nij.gov/topics/corrections/recidivism/Pages/welcome.aspx http://sundial.csun.edu/2011/03/more-funds-are-needed-for-prisons/. http://www.ohsinc.com/info/cost- of-drug-testing/