Prison population

Introduction

There has been a significant growth in prison populations over the past few decades even though crimes rates have been reducing considerably. Increased sentencing of offenders to longer terms and the neoclassical thinking on the need for incarceration to deter crime are the major reasons.

Discussion

The increased population in American prisons can be attributed to the various policies and practices adopted by the decision makers, with more adoption of severe sentences being the major characteristic of their decision. The decision makers have continuously adopted policies that emphasize the arrest and incarceration of not only the perpetrators of major crimes but also minor offenders (Travis, Western & Redburn, 2014). Many people end up spending a lot of time in jails because they cannot afford to post fines or post bail. Others are very ill mentally or have severe drug problems such that they cannot sufficiently care for themselves. Therefore, the majority of people who have been incarcerated at the county and local levels committed minor offenses such as shoplifting, evasion of subways fares but end up remaining there for many years since they cannot the costs imposed by courts (Travis, Western & Redburn, 2014).

For the major crimes, the state and federal decision makers passed laws that are make sure that more offenders who have been convicted are imprisoned and that their terms in prison for most offenses would be longer than previously.  The decision are likely to have been influenced by neoclassical thinking , where decision makers view enhanced punishment including longer sentencing as necessary in crime reduction , elimination or  deterrence (Schmalleger, 2002). The thinking relates to politically conservative policies for crime control.

Conclusion

The inability of minor offenders to meet cost imposed by costs including bails and fines has contributed to high population in prisons. This has deteriorated due to adoption of conservative policies for controlling crime.

References

Travis, J., Western, B., & Redburn, F. S. (2014). The growth of incarceration in the United States: Exploring causes and consequences.70

 

Schmalleger, F. (2002). Criminology today: An integrative introduction. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall.131