Crime and Punishment and ways to make our prison system better - Essay Example

?The Role of Education, Poverty and Race in Prison Overcrowding There is a general understanding that the rising crimes in the United s contribute to the rising rates of incarceration in the country. However, research has shown that the rise in crimes contribute only a “small portion” of the incarceration from 1980-1990 (Schmitt, Warner, and Gupta, page 8). Researchers further attribute the trend of prison overcrowding to “stricter sentencing policies” related to non-violent offenses such as drug trafficking (Schmitt, Warner, and Gupta, page 8). Thus, when sentencing is awarded to non-violent crimes also, the number of incarceration on this account will increase, which will increase prison overcrowding. Evidence also points to a trend that the criminal justice system in recent years discourage the use of “probation and parole” because the law enforcement believes that stricter punishments should be awarded to offenders to effectively prevent crimes (Schmitt, Warner, and Gupta, page 9). This further results in a situation where offenders are punished with longer prison terms with rare chances of “being released on parole” (Schmitt, Warner, and Gupta, page 9). The belief that stricter punishments discourage crimes and the resultant strict sentencing causes a corresponding increase in incarceration rates in the present day. This skyrocketing incarceration is responsible for the overcrowding in the United States’ prisons. In 2008 alone, corrections have cost the government a spending of “nearly $75 billion” across federal, state and local government facilities (Schmitt, Warner, and Gupta, page 10). It is clear that the heavy rate of incarcerations remains a burden on the country’s financial resources. This high rate of incarceration can be linked to many things, such as the lack of adequate education as well as the rise in poverty, a rate that is higher amongst the African American population, which contributes to new forms of racism. The Policy Information Report by the Educational Testing Service finds that the rate of black youths incarcerated has increased to the point that it “jeopardize(s) the achievement of broader social justice goals” (Coley and Barton 3). This is especially true for those who dropped out from school. This indicates that there is a gap in the educational opportunities of the Black youth as compared to the White youth. It is a matter of common knowledge that when people are not educated, they receive lesser opportunities for employment and, therefore, some of them turn to alternatives such as criminal activities to earn their living. Therefore, it can be construed that lack of education causes crime, which in turn increases the incarceration rates. Besides, research evidence suggests that “illiteracy” and the lack of mathematical skills are quite high in prisoners and a “half of all prisoners” do not possess any education at all (Crowded Out? The Impact of Prison Overcrowding on Rehabilitation, page 10). It is also seen that there is an increased trend of early dropout from schools, which can be attributed to drug use, lack of family support or the want of economic resources. Therefore, any reformations of prison systems must also encompass the concept of educating the prisoner through in house sources so that when they get released, they can engage in some productive employment. This will decrease the chances of recidivism and, thereby, eliminate the chances of their repeated incarceration. In the present day, the job market has become highly competitive and business entities have a wide variety of choices of people to hire. This means that people who do not possess adequate qualification, such as a college degree and professional skills, remain unemployed. In addition, the fact of being imprisoned casts the shadow of social stigma of ex-convicts and, usually, employers would not be interested in hiring them. This situation forces them to look for alternative sources of income and they end up relying on criminal activities for income and this entails recidivism. I, therefore, feel that the lack of educational qualifications is one of the major reasons for the increasing rates of incarceration in the United States. This further suggests a lack of prudence on the part of the law enforcement and criminal justice systems in the country. It is necessary to consider the heavy expenditure that the government has to incur for maintaining the prison systems and on the prisoners. Thus, at least in non-violent crimes, sentencing needs to be avoided and alternatives such as parole should be resorted to. The criminal justice system in the United States needs to encourage fines rather than sentencing for both nonviolent crimes as well as crimes that may be of low significance like the countries in Europe such as the Netherlands and Germany which have registered a “significant reduction” in the use of sentencing (Allen 11). The reduced custody can directly be attributed to the “use of the Task Penalty” instead of “short sentences” (13). However, there has logic in the assumption that when people do not have the financial resources to pay off the penalties such as fines, they may prefer sentences instead as a punishment and this can increase incarcerations. Also evidence indicates that “pervasive poverty” is the “largest driving force” that encourages people to indulge in criminal activities which adds to the increase in incarceration rates (Cradle to Prison Pipeline Campaign, page 1). However, such people are most likely to indulge in crime such as stealing or cheating rather than violent crimes and in their case it will be appropriate to inflict the punishment of fines rather than sentencing, which may go a long way in reducing the overcrowding of prisons. Research further shows that various government policies that reduce funds for social services deprive people from access to essential resources and this might also result in forcing them to rely on an “underground economy” to take care of themselves and their families, which increases criminal activities and therefore increases incarcerations (What Causes Overcrowding in Jails and Prisons? Page 2). There is no need for me to point out the fact that when people are deprived of the help from government, they will have no source to turn to for meeting their needs. Those who are uneducated have no alternatives other than crime to earn income. The result is, of course, an increased number of crimes, and, obviously, those punished with fines will not be able to pay and they will be forced into the prison system. This causes the number of sentencing to increase which automatically raises the number of incarcerations that make prisons overcrowded. The lack of education and prevalence of poverty among ethnical minorities, especially in the case of Blacks, has created a unique situation in the United States, and has possibly brought forth a new type of racism. Some research has concluded that Black boys born in 2001 have a “1 in 3 chance” of landing up in prison, but White boys only have a chance of “1 in 17” (Cradle to Prison Pipeline Campaign, Page 1). Also in Angela Davis’s article “Masked Racism: Reflections on the Prison Industrial Complex,” she finds that out of two million people in prison during 1998, “70 percent [are] people of color” (Davis, Page 570). This suggests that ethnical minorities represent a major share of incarceration in the country, perhaps influencing racial stereotypes. Davis also says that the nation harbors a racialized idea of criminal behavior, whereby people assume that “black welfare mothers” give birth to criminal children (Davis, Page 570). Again, there is logic in believing that such assumption within a society might pass on to the target population and they would engage in crimes as a measure of retaliation. Besides, the lack of education or the tendency to drop out in school, African Americans seem to recognize the social stigma prevailing against them. This may be the reason why they are associated more frequently with crimes and thus contribute to the increasing rate of incarceration and prison overcrowding. Thus, when the notion of deprivation is generated in a community they may feel that their rights are non-existent and they may turn to criminal activities. It is clear from my research that the lack of education and the prevalence of poverty, especially among minorities such as the African Americans may have caused the emergence of a new kind of racial discrimination, especially after the intensified crackdown on drug offences as a consequence of the war on drugs. In turn, this has caused the number of incarcerations to skyrocket. Education is a primary requirement for people to seek employment and the lack of it causes them to remain unemployed and thus force them look for alternatives for survival. Similarly, poverty and the absence of resources, especially due to government policies that reduce the spending on social welfare, have caused many people to turn to crimes to earn their livelihood. If the trend of prison overcrowding is to be controlled, the government needs to first address the issues of the minorities and take appropriate action to provide them education. Getting rid of poverty and the implementation of appropriate policies for mitigating the problems of economically backward classes is another focus area that will help reduce crimes in the country. In addition, the government will also have to ensure that racial discrimination in any form does not prevail in the United States in order to provide equal opportunities to all the citizens so that it can rule out the chances of any ethnic group being marginalized. Rather than spending on corrections, if the government diverts its fiscal resources to adequately address the issues of education and the eradication of poverty, the rising rate of incarceration can be checked effectively. The simple logic is that if people receive better opportunities to earn their livelihood, they will abstain from criminal activities and do something productive. Works Cited Allen, Rob. Reducing the Use of Imprisonment: What can We Learn from Europe? London: Criminal Justice Alliance. 2012. Web. 15 May 2013. Coley, Richard J and Barton, Paul E. Locked Up and Locked Out: An Educational Perspective on the US Prison Population. Educational Testing Service. 2006. Web. 22 April 2013. Cradle to Prison Pipeline Campaign. Children’s Defense Fund. 2009. Web. 22 April 2013. Crowded Out? The Impact of Prison Overcrowding on Rehabilitation. The Criminal Justice Alliance. 2012. Web. 22 April 2013. Davis, Angela. Masked Racism: Reflections on the Prison Industrial Complex. Colorlines, Fall: 1998. pp.569-573. Print. Schmitt, John, Warner, Kris and Gupta, Sarika. The High Budgetary Cost of Incarceration. Washington: Center for Economic and Policy Research, 2010. Web. 22 April 2013. What Causes Overcrowding in Jails and Prisons? Statewide Harm Reduction Coalition. n.d. Web. 23 April 2013. Read More