Prison System Work example essay topic

Right now in the United States of America murderers, rapists, and child molesters are being set free. Prisoners are watching T.V., eating a meal, and using exercise equipment while law abiding citizens are starving and living in the gutters. Prisoners even have their own periodical. Dangerous criminals are walking the streets and crime is a way of life to many Americans. In America, crime does pay because our nation's prison system is not working.

The nation's prison system must be changed because of major problems with the system such as overcrowding and the fact that early release programs do not work. Building more jails is expensive and does not solve anything. These problems can be solved by giving prisoners no chance for parole and imprisoning only violent offenders. The non-violent offenders should enter a work program for the duration of their sentence.

Since 1980, jail and prison populations have grown by 172 percent (United States 11 Sept. 1994). Overcrowding is both inhumane to the prisoner and dangerous to the prison staff. When you put a lot of people, especially criminals, in close quarters tensions rise and the chance of a riot increases. If a riot occurs both prisoners and guards are put in danger. In some states, the jails are full.

There is an estimated backlog of 29,000 state prisoners who are incarcerated in county jails awaiting new cells in Texas. (Brida 24 Nov. 1994) Texas is not the only state with overcrowding problems. For example, Ohio's prison system is operating at 180 percent of capacity. (Varnam 16) Also, the federal prison system is 37 percent over-capacity (Clark 4 Feb. 1994). Statistics like this are found across the country. Prisons should have two results; 1.

Keep dangerous criminals off the streets and 2. Create a deterrent for committing a crime. Our system has failed to do either. Early release programs let prisoners out of jail before their sentence is complete.

This promotes good behavior in prison and keeps the prison population lower. However, many released prisoners just commit another crime and are returned to jail. In 1992, one in three state prison admissions was a probation or parole violator. (Byrne 50) Also, a special report from the United States Bureau of Justice Statistics stated: State courts in 32 counties across 17 States sentenced 79,000 felons to probation in 1986. Within 3 years of sentencing, while still on probation, 43% of these felons were rearrested for a felony. Half of the arrests were for a violent crime (murder, rape, robbery, or aggravated assault) or a drug offense (drug trafficking or drug possession).

This proves that the current system puts dangerous criminals back on the streets without being rehabilitated and that imprisonment is not a successful solution. Although it is a step in the right direction, criminals should not be allowed to break the law three times before they are punished. It would be a much greater solution if they were not offered parole at all. Prisoners should not be given a parole opportunity. Criminals should know that if they are convicted of a crime they will not be able to get out early. This creates a heavier punishment for people who are considering criminal acts.

It would also assure that dangerous criminals are kept behind bars longer and therefore given a better chance at rehabilitation. Some could say that having no parole would cause prison population to increase even more, but not if only violent offenders were imprisoned Violent offenders are the prisoners convicted of crimes in which a victim was emotionally or physically harmed, for example; murder, rape, or child abuse. They are dangerous and need to be incarcerated. Non-violent offenders are the criminals convicted of crimes such as embezzlement, drug possession, or petty theft. These non-violent criminals should be put into work programs. There is plenty of work to do on both the national and state levels.

Road crews could be used to build and repair roads. National and state parks always need manpower to build and improve on their lands. The possibilities are endless. Where these criminals would be housed? Since they will only be working in an area until the work is done, they could build their own temporary shelters or stay in tents. Texas is currently implementing this by putting hundreds of inmates to work on land owned by Texas Parks and Wildlife (AP 24 Nov. 1994).

It could be argued that this would take jobs away from the public. Actually work programs would create jobs. The prisoners would not be skilled at building roads, buildings, or whatever so they would need almost constant supervision by experienced workers and the final work would have to be done by skilled workers. Extra security would also be needed to preserve the guard to prisoner ratio, therefore creating even more jobs.

What would the violent offenders be doing while non-violent offenders are out improving communities and supporting themselves? They would be working towards self-support as well by farming their own food, doing prison maintenance, and getting psychological help for their rehabilitation. However, they would be allowed no extracurricular activities, no television, and limited contact with the outside world. Having prisoners farm their own food will not only save money, but also teach prisoners that they can have productive lives. Prisoners already do prison maintenance such as laundry and food preparation. This should be continued and increased to keep the prison costs down and keep the inmates busy.

Both violent and non-violent offenders would receive the psychological attention necessary for rehabilitation. This will help ex-convicts to become productive members of society and increase their chances of staying out of jail. This proposal is also economically beneficial. On average, it costs over $20,000 to incarcerate someone for a year and it costs at least $50,000 to construct one prison bed.

(Varnam 16) With work programs these numbers would be significantly reduced. Prisoners could construct their own housing and supply their own food. If they refuse to work, then they do not eat (Sanchez 26 Nov. 1994). Many people believe that building new jails will solve the problems. New prisons would temporarily relieve the overcrowding problem. However, the new prisons would soon fill up as the courts convict more criminals to fill the empty beds and then we are right back where we started.

As mentioned earlier, building jails is also expensive. It costs at least $50,000 to construct one prison bed (Varnam 16). Work programs would immediately relieve prison overcrowding as the non-violent criminals move to their work areas and if new prisons are absolutely necessary in the future then the convicts can help build them and therefore greatly decrease the cost. How will new prisons help deter crime and rehabilitate prisoners? The simple answer is they will not. New prisons will only cater to the serious problems that exist in the system and make room for new criminals.

This proposal will stop overcrowding, help to deter crime, and help to rehabilitate criminals. The only way to make the prison system work is to change it. Many polls show crime is the No. 1 concern of voters so now is the time for action (AP Nov. 9, 1994) o Byrne, James. Thinking your way out of prison (alternatives to imprisonment to prevent prison crowding). Spectrum: the Journal of State Government vs. 66 (Fall 1993): p 50 (9). o Varnam, Steve. Our prisons are a crime (reforming the prison system).

Editorial. Christianity Today 21 June 1993: p 16 (1). Internet Sources Brida, Jay. Prison officials face hard struggle to boost capacity.

Daily Texan 24 Nov. 1994 (found) URL: gopher: //gopher. ci c. net/00// gopher / e -serials / general /education / univ -newspapers / daily - texan / today /94040108.'s 04 Prison. gz. o Clark, Charles S. PRISON OVERCROWDING: Will building more prisons cut the crime rate? The CQ Researcher 4 Feb. 1994 URL: gopher: //gopher. cq alert. com/0 F 1: 25674: 05 CQ FEBRUARY 1994%20 gopher. o Cunni ff, Mark A. and Patrick A. Langan. Recidivism of Felons on Probation, 1986-89.24 Nov. 1994 (found) URL: gopher: //justice 2... gov/00/o jp / bus /13. o Prison Inmates To Work In Wildlife Management Areas. Associated Press 24 Nov. 1994 (found) URL: gopher: //gopher. ci c. net/00// gopher / e -serials / general /education / univ -newspapers / daily - texan / today /94041507.'s 03 Prison. gz. o Sanchez, Edward J. Look Beyond Capital Punishment.

26 Nov. 1994 (found) URL: ? o United States. Department of Justice. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Probation And Parole Populations Reach New Highs. 11 Sept. 1994.

URL: gopher: //justice 2... gov/00/o jp / bus /prob par. txt. o Voters Get Tough On Criminals. The Associated Press 9 Nov. 1994. URL: ? .