Crowding Impact in the Prison System
Prison overcrowding is one of the biggest challenges facing thecorrections system today, and nowhere is it a bigger problem than in theState of California, where "The number of drug offenders imprisoned in thestate today is more than twice the number of inmates who were imprisonedfor all crimes in 1978" (Schlosser). Much of this overcrowding directlyresults from increased "war on drugs" in the past decade. Expert Schlossercontinues, "During the past two decades roughly a thousand new prisons andjails have been built in the United States. Nevertheless, America'sprisons are more overcrowded now than when the building spree began, andthe inmate population continues to increase by 50,000 to 80,000 people a Many experts agree that not only are our prisons dangerouslyovercrowded, they are at the breaking point mostly because of the war ondrugs, and that war on drugs has become a massive societal failure. It iscosting the nation's taxpayers massive amounts of money in new prisons andto keep prisoners incarcerated, and yet drug use continues unchecked inmany of our major metropolitan areas. The war on drugs is not working -rather, it is a criminal justice nightmare playin
g itself out in thejudicial and prison systems of our nation. Prisons are for criminals" (Marciniak 10). Often, judgesrelease lawbreakers held for lesser offenses to make room for criminalswith more violent and dangerous backgrounds. The problem isso bad that arrests are not being made throughout the state, because thereis simply nowhere to put the accused, the jails are already filled tocapacity. He continues,"But they are rarely offered any opportunity to get drug treatment. This strategy was usedin the past, but currently, most drug offenders are simply incarcerated,released, and the cycle begins anew. The most popular form ofelectronic monitoring is a type of bracelet worn by the offender with alink to a central computer. As one expert notes, "Drugaddiction is undeniably the nation's foremost health problem. 2 billion on prisonconstruction over the past fifteen years, California now has not only thelargest but also the most overcrowded prison system in the United States"(Schlosser). Treatment can help them regaintheir lives while leaving our prisons to those who really need to beincarcerated. Only 8,000 are enrolled in any kindof pre-release program to help them cope with life on the outside(Schlosser). Electronic monitoring may not be perfectfor all scenarios, but using it extensively could help alleviateovercrowding in some of California's most overcrowded prisons. They are being explored in a variety ofstates across the nation, including California. Electronic monitoring and house arrest are two avenues that could helpalleviate prison overcrowding. The war on drugs is filling up our prisons with offendersthat could be better served by treatment programs, better funding fortreatment centers and mandating of treatment time, and even electronicmonitoring as some alternate forms of punishment.
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Acceptance Essays
