Essay About Analysis Of The United States Prison System And U.S. Prison Populations

Analysis of the United States Prison SystemJoin now to read essay Analysis of the United States Prison SystemI. INTRODUCTIONIn the past thirty years, the United States has moved into a “get tough on crime” era. This can be seen through many enactments and sentencing policies, that have been created since 1980. While crime rates overall have been going down, we have seen a massive increase in the U.S. prison populations, causing large financial and social burdens. This paper will analyze this increase, and the sentencing initiatives behind it.

II. HISTORYInternationally, prison is the term used for the institutions that hold those who have been convicted of a serious offense. In the United States however, the term prison refers to the state and federal institutions where offenders are sent for a year or more, after sentencing. Most people use the terms ‘jail’ and ‘prison’ interchangeably, a jail however is a temporary holding cell where an offender is placed during trial. Below is a brief history of the development of the American penal system.

Solitary SystemThe Quakers first created the penitentiary as a means for offenders to repent their sins and eventually rejoin society. This idea led to the development of the first American prisons around 1790. These early prisons were based on silence and repenting, and in most cases run by religious personnel. This model was called the Solitary system, and quickly spread through Europe (Tonry).

Progressive reform eraBy 1877, the second wave, known as the Progressive Reform Era, was underway. Prisons in this era were based on rehabilitation through educational efforts. Once inmates were deemed reformed they were released back into society. Although courts preached rehabilitation, little authority was placed over prison personal, and correctional facilities became brutal un-checked institutions. By the 1960’s and 1970’s, indeterminate sentencing was seen as a failure, and recidivism rates were shown to be high. The human rights movements and the racism that developed in prisons caused many racially surged riots to take place in prisons. The most notable riot was New York’s Attica riot in 1971. Prisons were seen as out of control, and by 1980 prisons in more than 40 states came under federal court control (Tonry).

The Reform Bill of 1968 was signed into law in the name of the American Revolution, and the US Constitution and its articles were enshrined in The Bill of Rights. Reforms, including the Second and Fifth Amendments, also included the Right of the People to be Forgotten, a basic right which was removed from many of these laws because they were deemed not to help Americans who were mentally ill. Reforms also excluded the exclusion of the use of private prisons and the right to vote. The law also provided for increased education, which meant people who committed other crimes, such as stealing or possessing marijuana, were not eligible for civil and criminal liability, which made the practice of public administration of the laws more difficult. The new law began in a private court in Washington, DC. In addition to the private court, New York and Texas also had their own private courts in order to ensure their residents had the same legal rights. The reform law made it impossible to seek or receive a state’s approval for an operation, and individuals could not use the courts to seek or get legal assistance. This did not stop the Reform Commission, which was appointed by President Nixon in 1972 and headed by the late James W. Justice. The Commission, which began in 1972 as the U.S. Civil Penalty and Re-Incarceration Reform Commission, established an independent review board of state prison officials on the recommendation of the commission. During the Reagan and Bush administrations the American government focused heavily on reducing incarceration for nonviolent offenders. However, the Reform Commission also expanded the focus on public safety by appointing the Director of National Intelligence to evaluate national security matters concerning federal civil rights litigation. Since the start of the reform revolution in October of 1986, the New York City Police Department has been the subject of numerous lawsuits and investigations; while the Metropolitan Washington Police Department (MWA) maintains a federal civil rights unit for individuals and civil rights laws and is subject to federal laws, the MWA oversees and investigates the criminal justice system. The MWA is based at the Metropolitan Washington Police Department and can serve as a central place where an attorney may work. In August 1988, the department announced that it was investigating at least one officer who had had a criminal conviction, with the possibility that the officer’s history of violent offending could be used against him.

The Reform Commission made this announcement along with the New York Municipal Commission and the Washington Commodity Commission after it was asked to address issues relating to the legal status of drug use in public housing. The public housing authority issued a statement acknowledging that the Commission had “received assurances that some of our local jurisdictions will not impose any new or additional restrictions on the use of private or municipal housing. We have not yet received assurances that these will not be the case. As this is a state-funded process, however, our determination to take any further action for the health or safety of individuals living in or around public housing is consistent with any other federal law enforcement action that would involve the government and public housing authorities. We cannot and will not consider any increase in the percentage of criminal cases handled by the police or mental health officials of New York City. We therefore do not feel comfortable releasing our findings, as the findings would be inconsistent with state or federal government guidelines.” The Commission’s decision “provides clarity to the

The Reform Bill of 1968 was signed into law in the name of the American Revolution, and the US Constitution and its articles were enshrined in The Bill of Rights. Reforms, including the Second and Fifth Amendments, also included the Right of the People to be Forgotten, a basic right which was removed from many of these laws because they were deemed not to help Americans who were mentally ill. Reforms also excluded the exclusion of the use of private prisons and the right to vote. The law also provided for increased education, which meant people who committed other crimes, such as stealing or possessing marijuana, were not eligible for civil and criminal liability, which made the practice of public administration of the laws more difficult. The new law began in a private court in Washington, DC. In addition to the private court, New York and Texas also had their own private courts in order to ensure their residents had the same legal rights. The reform law made it impossible to seek or receive a state’s approval for an operation, and individuals could not use the courts to seek or get legal assistance. This did not stop the Reform Commission, which was appointed by President Nixon in 1972 and headed by the late James W. Justice. The Commission, which began in 1972 as the U.S. Civil Penalty and Re-Incarceration Reform Commission, established an independent review board of state prison officials on the recommendation of the commission. During the Reagan and Bush administrations the American government focused heavily on reducing incarceration for nonviolent offenders. However, the Reform Commission also expanded the focus on public safety by appointing the Director of National Intelligence to evaluate national security matters concerning federal civil rights litigation. Since the start of the reform revolution in October of 1986, the New York City Police Department has been the subject of numerous lawsuits and investigations; while the Metropolitan Washington Police Department (MWA) maintains a federal civil rights unit for individuals and civil rights laws and is subject to federal laws, the MWA oversees and investigates the criminal justice system. The MWA is based at the Metropolitan Washington Police Department and can serve as a central place where an attorney may work. In August 1988, the department announced that it was investigating at least one officer who had had a criminal conviction, with the possibility that the officer’s history of violent offending could be used against him.

The Reform Commission made this announcement along with the New York Municipal Commission and the Washington Commodity Commission after it was asked to address issues relating to the legal status of drug use in public housing. The public housing authority issued a statement acknowledging that the Commission had “received assurances that some of our local jurisdictions will not impose any new or additional restrictions on the use of private or municipal housing. We have not yet received assurances that these will not be the case. As this is a state-funded process, however, our determination to take any further action for the health or safety of individuals living in or around public housing is consistent with any other federal law enforcement action that would involve the government and public housing authorities. We cannot and will not consider any increase in the percentage of criminal cases handled by the police or mental health officials of New York City. We therefore do not feel comfortable releasing our findings, as the findings would be inconsistent with state or federal government guidelines.” The Commission’s decision “provides clarity to the

The Reform Bill of 1968 was signed into law in the name of the American Revolution, and the US Constitution and its articles were enshrined in The Bill of Rights. Reforms, including the Second and Fifth Amendments, also included the Right of the People to be Forgotten, a basic right which was removed from many of these laws because they were deemed not to help Americans who were mentally ill. Reforms also excluded the exclusion of the use of private prisons and the right to vote. The law also provided for increased education, which meant people who committed other crimes, such as stealing or possessing marijuana, were not eligible for civil and criminal liability, which made the practice of public administration of the laws more difficult. The new law began in a private court in Washington, DC. In addition to the private court, New York and Texas also had their own private courts in order to ensure their residents had the same legal rights. The reform law made it impossible to seek or receive a state’s approval for an operation, and individuals could not use the courts to seek or get legal assistance. This did not stop the Reform Commission, which was appointed by President Nixon in 1972 and headed by the late James W. Justice. The Commission, which began in 1972 as the U.S. Civil Penalty and Re-Incarceration Reform Commission, established an independent review board of state prison officials on the recommendation of the commission. During the Reagan and Bush administrations the American government focused heavily on reducing incarceration for nonviolent offenders. However, the Reform Commission also expanded the focus on public safety by appointing the Director of National Intelligence to evaluate national security matters concerning federal civil rights litigation. Since the start of the reform revolution in October of 1986, the New York City Police Department has been the subject of numerous lawsuits and investigations; while the Metropolitan Washington Police Department (MWA) maintains a federal civil rights unit for individuals and civil rights laws and is subject to federal laws, the MWA oversees and investigates the criminal justice system. The MWA is based at the Metropolitan Washington Police Department and can serve as a central place where an attorney may work. In August 1988, the department announced that it was investigating at least one officer who had had a criminal conviction, with the possibility that the officer’s history of violent offending could be used against him.

The Reform Commission made this announcement along with the New York Municipal Commission and the Washington Commodity Commission after it was asked to address issues relating to the legal status of drug use in public housing. The public housing authority issued a statement acknowledging that the Commission had “received assurances that some of our local jurisdictions will not impose any new or additional restrictions on the use of private or municipal housing. We have not yet received assurances that these will not be the case. As this is a state-funded process, however, our determination to take any further action for the health or safety of individuals living in or around public housing is consistent with any other federal law enforcement action that would involve the government and public housing authorities. We cannot and will not consider any increase in the percentage of criminal cases handled by the police or mental health officials of New York City. We therefore do not feel comfortable releasing our findings, as the findings would be inconsistent with state or federal government guidelines.” The Commission’s decision “provides clarity to the

The Return to PunishmentThe United States current correctional era is known as the Return to Punishment. Prisons can no longer be seen as correctional institutions. Criminologist Hans Tochs called prisons “a human warehouse with a jungle like underground” (Samaha). In the 1980’s, crime became the main agenda of almost every politician, and the “get tough on crime” era began. Parole release was abolished by 15 states, conditions in prisons were made less comfortable, and treatment programs gave way to increase cost.

III. THE NUMBERSWorld ComparisonThe number prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants of a nation measure prison population. There are many ways of making these measurements. Many statistics separate those in jail from those in prison. For the purposes of this paper we will consider all those being held in jail and prison because they are all a burden to the tax payers. To the side (figure1) you can see the massive increase in the United States incarceration rates since 1980.

People typically try to relate prison populations with crime rates. This has many flaws and drawbacks.First of all, countries that are politically and socially similar can have large differences in their prison populations; for instance, Canada’s rate in 2002 was 103 and the United States was 709 (Christie). Russia is a country that is dramatically different than the United States, however they have been our closest competitors in prison population rates; in 2002, their rate was 640. Secondly when studying historical trends in prison rates increases and decreases have been shown to be linked to nation’s political movements, not crime rates (Christie)

From 1925-1972, incarceration rates fluctuated between 90 and 130 per 100,000 residents, which showed a relatively stable rate. Since 1972, however, the rates have increased every year (Renshaw). Patterns of imprisonment can be affected by a nation’s ideologies on punishments. Many European countries believe that crime is influenced by social conditions and inadequate socialization, and punishment is unlikely to affect crime rates. Because of this ideology only 1 to 3 % of prison sentences in Europe are for 2 years or longer, and their

incarceration rate is only 124 (Christie). United States