The study's goal was to look into California's jail overcrowding. The report will be based on the causes, effects on inmates and agency officers, prevention, and actions that can be taken to address the effects on society. The high rate of incarceration in California is a result of both drug abuse and the strict rules imposed by the government, particularly by presidents. Prison overcrowding is primarily determined by how it is measured, which takes into account factors like institution population, inmates per floor area, and living unit. The threat of overcrowding can be resolved with the help of methods improved by the legal system and sound planning. Inmate, overcrowding, Drug Abuse, prisoner, Staff
1.0 Introduction
Overview of Growth in the Prison Systems
Guetzkow and Schoon (2015) states the actions taken by various United States presidents in one way or the other contributed to the problem currently facing the state of California. President Nixon started a war on drugs during his tenure by making formal announcements (Guetzkow & Schoon 406). Ronald Reagan before he became the president of the US developed harsh policies towards drugs as the governor of California (Guetzkow & Schoon 411). Reagan later became the president and expanded on the war on drugs by implementing the federal policies developed by President Richard Nixon.
Raphael and Michael (2009) state that the United States’ war on drugs developed four main policies that led to an increase in population in the US prisons more so California. The policies developed included a longer period of sentences, mandatory maximums and movement of drug offenses to felony category from misdemeanor category (Raphael & Michael 89). The policy known as the "Three Strikes You're Out" imposed by the government also led to an increase in the US prison system (Guetzkow & Schoon 412). The state of California depicts the national trend in the 20th and early 21st century that made the US outstrip other countries for incarcerations. Most of the California governors in the 1980s and 1990s advocated for the construction of more prisons that helped set the national trend in the country (Raphael & Michael 94).
2.0 Literature Review on the State of California Prisons
According to Phelps (2011), California’s legislative system in support of the national trend focused on enacting more than 400 forms of legislations that led to increased penalties thus ensuring the jailing of more people. The trend of increasing the number of prisons increased especially in2000s (Guetzkow & Schoon 409). Horne and Newman (2015) state that the Saskal report by the Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2008 released $8.7 billion of lease-revenue bonds with the aim of expanding the capacity of the overfilled prison system. At the same time, several lawsuits were pending over the issue of overcrowded and poor conditions in the prisons (Horne & Newman 88).
By the year 2006, the number of prisoners in California had increased to about 173, 942 provoking the governor to declare a state of emergency (Horne & Newman 91). Under the provisions of Governor Jerry Brown’s California Public Safety Realignment program, California has decided to align the incarceration rate to the violent crime in which nonviolent criminals become subjected to alternative forms of sentences such as drug rehabilitation programs, community service and mental health treatment (Phelps 76). Because of the program, the number of prisoners has decreased by about 10 percent. Nonetheless, the number of prisoners overwhelmed the existing prisons forcing the Brown administration to focus on private prisons operated by corporations (Guetzkow and Schoon 414). Horne and Newman (2015) states California history of incarceration rates depicts the prison problem in the entire Nation.
3.0 Methodology
A descriptive survey was used in data collection to find the answers on the causes of overcrowding in prisons and the possible effects. The survey entailed the use of interviews, observation, and questionnaires. The study population was the staff in California state prison and comprised of individuals of higher ranks. From the findings, it was clear that some factors caused overpopulation and it was a menace to the system as discussed below.
4.0 Causes of overcrowding in California prisons
Overcrowding in prisons occurs mainly because the justice system sends more people to the prison for longer periods that the prisons can accommodate (Guetzkow & Schoon 411). The immediate cause of prison overcrowding is insufficient prison capacity. The remedy to that is simple as it requires that prisons receive fewer offenders for shorter periods; however, the best way to do this raises lots of questions.
The construction of more prisons does not solve the problem as they get filled as soon as they are built (Guetzkow & Schoon 429). The expansion of prison capacity to tackle the problem has not also been successful. The search for remedies to control overcrowding leads to the factors that lead to imprisonment.
Raphael and Michael (2009) state that one of the reasons behind overcrowding in prisons is when the offenders are released but end up committing the same crimes. The prisoners become incarcerated again, and they probably might have committed new crimes based on the updated penal code. The addition of crimes to the penal code implies that more criminals get sent to the prisons for new crimes (Raphael & Michael 102).
The failure in incompletion of community service also leads to the increased population in prisons. When an individual is charged and recommended to complete community service, and they fail, they are sent to prisons which eventually leads to overcrowding. Most of the offenders receive long sentences, and that implies they stay in the prisons for a long time.
Most of the offenders while in prison spend more time incarcerated and due to that most states have developed the Truth in Sentencing Act (Guetzkow & Schoon 427). The Act ensures that the offenders serve their sentences without receiving parole or credit for a good time. Based on the credit for good time policy, the offenders have the option of reducing their sentences. However, this does not take place because the states deprive them of such freedom (Guetzkow & Schoon 430). The policy allows the reduction of the number of days of the offender for the amount of time they have good behavior.
The fluctuating crime rates lead to overcrowding in prisons as most of the people are charged guilty and sent to the prisons. The fight against drug abuse has led to many young people getting to the prisons because they could not control their urge for drugs. Drug abuse, which is a criminal offense that has been fought by the government, is common amongst young people who mainly take it due to peer pressure. Such has led to a condition in which the prisons are full of the younger generation compared to the aged. Laws that regulate drug abuse have been made stringent by the government with some presidential administrations and governors taking charge of eradicating the crime. Individuals found culpable are then subjected to harsh conditions for them to act as an example to others who might want to indulge in such practices.
Poor planning and inadequate population projection in the prisons leads to overcrowding in the prisons (Raphael & Michael 121). The failure of the General Assembly and the DOC to adequately plan for the new prison facilities without taking into consideration the real offender population leads to the increase in prisoners in the prisons than they can accommodate. Community correction options are not adequately employed before the offenders are sent to prison. The situation leads to an influx in the number of prisoners in the system. The projection methods that are currently employed leads to overcrowding and are therefore not effective in fighting criminal activities.
The lack of facilities such as prison beds that are secure gives an explanation on the high influx of prisoners in the system. Most of the high-security inmates cannot receive housing facilities in the insecure prisons, and due to that, they transferred to already crowded areas.
With each of the inmates spending close to $35,000 annually, the cost of operating prisons is not only effective but also expensive to the government (Sudbury 89). Such costs drain the resources that the federal and state administrations could channel to pursuing violent criminals in the society.
5.0 Effects of Prison Overcrowding
The primary effect of prison overcrowding is the impact it has on the organization of the prison stability. The increase of offenders in prison weakens the organizational stability (Day, Brauer, & Butler 148). The increase of prisoners in the jails makes it hard for the correctional officers and the staff to monitor them. Controlling them also becomes a practical impossibility. Due to the increase of prisoners, the entire system needs to make changes about the accommodation of the prisoners to the number of correctional officers (Day, Brauer, & Butler 150). Such destabilization leads to misclassification of the offenders. Most of the offenders are classified depending on the space available which should not be the case as they should be housed based on the security level and the programs they should undertake. It is common to find most of the medium security inmates in the maximum sections while others who ought to be in maximum prisons in medium security prisons. Misclassifying the offenders is a problem as it leads to slow progress at the correctional facilities which in turn leads to overcrowding in prison set up. The correctional programs should, therefore, be altered to meet the needs of the offenders and not them meeting the needs of the correctional systems (Sudbury 119).
Overcrowding in the prisons undermines the safety of the inmates and the agency staff. BOP officials recently reported that triple bunking, fewer job opportunities and increased ratio between the staff and inmates lead to inmate misconduct (Guetzkow & Schoon 412). The facilities are getting overcrowded than the bureau can take charge. The overcrowding has reduced the ratio of the staff and the inmates and such could be detrimental to both the inmates and the agency staff. The menace has led to the death of some of the correctional officers after being killed by the inmates.
Basic sanitation has also worsened in the prisons, and due to that, chances of infectious diseases spreading are very high. Attending to the offenders on health related issues, therefore, becomes difficult as the diseases can easily spread from one individual to the other. Due to the high population, stress is common in the staff and the inmates as well. The staff has to strike a balance between how they can take charge of the inmates daily without indulging in any form conflict with them and other security parameters. It is important to note that the inmates are also stressed as they do not get the needed attention and that explains why most of the inmates have tried committing suicide while in the correctional facilities.
5.0 Solutions to Prison Overcrowding
The first step towards the reduction of inmates in California prison entails reversing the current trend of taking nonviolent drug dealers to the correctional facilities (Phelps 45). Nearly a quarter of people in the state of California serve as inmates. Such statistics explain the high numbers in the US federal and state prisons that translate to over two million people. Most of the individuals in prisons mainly serve felony cases that take over a year. The US houses about twenty-five percent of prisoners in the world, a number that is high due to the high incarceration in the states such as California (Phelps 61). Most prisons in the world strive every year to find better housing for the new prisoners who come due to the minimum legislations passed by the federal and state legislatures.
Moreover, the state of California should lower the law that every prisoner should serve at least 85 percent of the time in which they are sentenced (Raphael & Michael 89). The law is stringent as it makes the offenders spend more in time in prison thus leading to overcrowding in the populations. The solution to that rule would be to reduce the serving time to about 70 percent, and that will translate to about 150,000-bed years, which is $1.55 billion in savings.
The credit for good behavior should become institutionalized with the aim of appreciating the inmates who have changed and reducing overcrowding in prisons (Raphael and Michael 81). Such can occur through expansion of the facilities or programs that aim at the early release of the inmates. The programs should provide the inmates with skills that could benefit them when released to the society.
The judges should be given greater discretion when it comes to the sentencing of the inmates. With the current law, the judges do not have the mandate of subjecting defendants to minimum sentences. A judge has the authority to diverge from the protocol if the defendant has a history of convictions related to nonviolent drugs crimes but has immaculate criminal records.
6.0 Conclusion
Obstacles to the Solutions
The safety valve that gives the judges’ discretion to release nonviolent crimes does not give a provision for individuals who face minimum sentence offenses like white collar crimes. Such a scenario leads to overcrowding and due to that enactment of laws that guide white collar should become a priority. Most of the criminals make it impossible to reduce overcrowding in the prisons as they regularly indulge in illegal activities that make them sent to the jail (Phelps 62). Most of the inmates in California prisons are not US citizens, and that implies they should be sent back to their countries to release tension in the prisons. The challenge, however, lies on whether they will get the justice the same way the US government gave them without being compromised. Reducing the term for non-violent drug dealers has the impact of increasing the number of individuals dealing with drugs in the state of California. That presents a challenge because most of the inmates are due to drug dealing.
Overcrowding the prisons is becoming a major financial problem for the state of California because most of the budget goes to the correctional facilities. Overcrowding in prisons should be checked because it not only subject the inmates to poor living conditions but also subjects them to stress that could make them indulge in other criminal activities(Raphael & Michael 101). The paradox of punishment to an inmate lies in the expectation of the society. However, a balance should be struck on achieving the main objective which is the correction of the inmates.
Works Cited
Day, Jacob C., Jonathan R. Brauer, and H. Daniel Butler. "Coercion and social support behind bars: Testing an integrated theory of misconduct and resistance in US prisons." Criminal justice and behavior 42.2 (2015): 133-155.
Guetzkow, Joshua, and Eric Schoon. "If you build it, they will fill it: The consequences of prison overcrowding litigation." Law & Society Review 49.2 (2015): 401-432.
Horne, Christopher, and William J. Newman. "Updates since Brown v. Plata: alternative solutions for prison overcrowding in California." The journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 43.1 (2015): 87-92.
Phelps, Michelle S. "Rehabilitation in the punitive era: The gap between rhetoric and reality in US prison programs." Law & Society Review 45.1 (2011): 33-68.
Raphael, Steven, and Michael A. Stoll, eds. Do prisons make us safer?: the benefits and costs of the prison boom. Russell Sage Foundation, 2009.
Sudbury, Julia. Global lockdown: Race, gender, and the prison-industrial complex. Routledge, 2014.
