According to a new report by the Pew Center on the States, 1 in every 100 Americans are currently incarcerated. That's a record-breaking total of 2,319,258 in jail at the beginning of 2008. It shouldn't surprise you that government spending on prison costs has increased dramatically in the last 20 years - from $11 billion to $49 billion - but it should be surprising that four states now spend more on corrections than they do on higher education.
Obviously, America has a problem. Why have our prison populations been increasing when, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, serious violent crime levels have been decreasing since 1993? One answer could be that the number of arrests for drug related crimes has been steadily increasing; however violent criminals make up more than half of the prison population.
I postulate that a combination of more arrests and and an increasing number of convictions is at the heart of the problem.
Would legalizing marijuana as a recreational drug reduce prison populations? Economically and socially, this makes some sense. Marijuana is the least dangerous of the illegal drugs, and, in fact, causes no traceable deaths due to it's use. In comparison, for the US alone alcohol caused 85,000 deaths and tobacco caused 435,000 deaths in the year 2000 .
However, according to a 2002 survey more than two-thirds of local jail inmates (68%) were found to be dependent on drugs or alcohol or abusing them. This is much higher than the general population, demonstrating that illegal drug use has a correlation to breaking the law. Therefore, it would not be wise to legalize any other illicit drugs.
Other possible solutions include tougher sentencing or more successful rehabilitation. Tougher sentencing would only increase capital expenditure, as well as the gap between the incarcerated and societal expectations.
I would suggest reducing prison terms and improving in-house employment training for the incarcerated. The system should also be tougher on drug smuggling into facilities, so more inmates have a chance to break their debilitating habits. This will provide former prisoners an opportunity to succeed when they get out, rather than become dependent on the system. I believe if you give them the tools and the opportunity to succeed, many of the non-violent offenders will be productive members of society.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23392251/
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance.htm#Crime
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/causes.htm#marijuana
I agree with you 100%, except that the truth is even sadder. That's only talking about incarcerated adults. It leaves out all of the youngsters enjoying our penal system.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/29/us/29prison.html?_r=1&ex=1362027600&en...
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
Good point... the msnbc article didn't stipulate that it was only the adult population.
I wonder how big the juvenile population is... could we really have 1 in 75 Americans in jail? It wouldn't surprise me all that much after reading these articles, and seeing the Bureau of Justice Statistics' website.
I don't remember the article, and am too lazy to check it, but it added quite a hefty chunk to the prison populace.
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
Are there really that many public colleges in Alaska, Wyoming, Montana and Rhode Island?
--Mike
Check out the Topic of the Week
http://www.progressiveu.org/weeklytopic
Whoa. I hadn't even seen this post when I drafted mine. Weird that we were thinking along the same lines at approximately the same time.
Those are some sad statistics.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
Yea... this was my 3 AM I-haven't-posted-in-3-months post. I saw the article on msnbc.com and couldn't help myself. It was painful to read... I am surprised, maybe even a little disappointed, more bloggers haven't caught this subject. There were some racial and gender statistics in the articles that it would be interesting to read about.
I know those are out there. I'm going to look. You've inspired me!
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
Check my first reference, and the one that Jjaj posted in his comment. They both contain them. That'll give you a head start.
: )
Why don't we privatize prisons? Let businesses build and maintain their own correctional facilities. The Government can pay these businesses a small sum for holding the prisoners, the prisoners can be made to do slave labor, and in time, these prisons will be putting money into the economy!
Nicholas Aden
Self-Promotion
My Creative Writing
Why shouldn't prisoners be asked to support their own upkeep?
The rest of us do.
"Slave labor" implies doing stuff for the same reason I do house chores; I don't see a fucking dime, but I've got a roof over my head.
Nicholas Aden
Self-Promotion
My Creative Writing
The topic of your blog just hit the news overseas 3 hours ago, but I got the news 10 hours ago first throughout your post, strange to see those numbers, makes me wonder a lot,
I believe it’s time to introduce my futuristic concept of a prison facility!
I call it “Smoke Land” and it might bring some solutions to reduce crime and keep the not so appealing criminals far away from “Wonder Land”, the costs involved would be reduced to a minimum.
A top notch facility that will keep bullets were they belong and allow women to walk the streets naked at night without any hassle, lol, not that I would like to see this but, just to give you an idea of how safe we can create our habitat if we train some of the animals to make better use of their brain.
The one’s that don’t have a brain can go straight to “Smoke Land” were they will provide us with educational material that we can introduce to potential juveniles that are running around with a nail that is sticking out of their brain.
Anyway, I need to work on some details before I get this fiction ready… ;-)
Our jails in Europe are full to the max too..... same problem here, sad it is...
:-(
We need to stop putting minor drug offenses in jail, and some of your problem with go away. I agree with legalizing marijuania.
Our jails would not be pushing at the seams if drug sentences were reduced. Young kids who made a dumb mistake or were selling or caught with drugs like weed not heroin are placed in jail. Petty drug offences are basically the problem. I'm not saying drugs are good but some of the sentences given are ridiculous. But I agree with ya.
I had absolutely no idea that so many were in jail! Something definitely needs to be done to reduce the cost of prison and work to decrease the number of inmates at the same time. I am not a pot smoker, but legalizing marijuana DOES make sense. I am also curious as to what kinds of business the legalization of marijuana could bring....I know it sounds a little strange, but it is something that could open up more jobs.
Maybe if we spent less on making the prisons all nice and fancy with televisions and weight rooms, we could spend more on the education system so that young adults have a brighter future and do not feel the need to drop out and make fast money selling drugs/robbing banks/etcetera.
The fact that property taxes in the various areas go toward the educational systems in that same area doesn't help when you live in the ghetto... At least that's the situation here in Milwaukee area.
"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." -F.N.
Do you think that breaking the law is correlated with drug use, or that the crime the people are in there for IS drug and alcohol use? Most people in jail/prison are for drug-related crimes, so I have a hard time believing that drug and alcohol use is causing people to break other laws. Drunk driving is one exception.
F*** Religion. Read more here:
http://www.progressiveu.org/020528-f-religion
Drug and alcohol use causes people to do all kinds of stupid things. Many addicts desperate for a fix will go into prostitution, break-ins, hold-ups, muggings. They'll rip copper out of houses, sell their children...anything for the money to buy their next hit. And alcohol related crimes happen too, like drunk driving, as you noted, but also tresspassing, vandalism, assault, etc. Those are the things that happen when some people's inhibitions are lowered.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman