Jail in the United States

Jail overcrowding in the United States has increased to an all-time peak in the last three decades. The U.S. wholes the world's record of 2.2 million people in prison and of which is a 500% increase over the past thirty years. The increase of prisoners over the years and lack of proper funding is weakening the U.S. prison structure. Many people have committed unlawful acts, but does it all require harsh prison sentences? Many distinct factors have contributed to jail overcrowding in the U.S.

First, the prisons in the United States are overcrowding because of criminals committing new crimes which is making their sentences longer. Convicted people that have already served a prison term are more likely to be arrested again which means they will serve a more harsh prison sentence. The U.S. has a rule of thumb known as the Three Strikes policy which makes a criminal a lifelong resident of the government's prison system. These criminals are repeat offenders due to the lack of upbringing and counseling of family and community. The government must implement a program that interventions youth at an early age to ensure crimes do not become a habit or a part of someone's nature.

Secondly, the prison system in the United States is experiencing an overcrowding issue is the government has taken many crimes and not match a true punishment to fit the crime. Drug dealers and auto thieves for an example often experience harsh punishment without the proper counseling early to stop their trend of earning money. The governments stand on war on drugs has cost the U.S. millions of dollars. A vast majority of criminals serving ten or more years in prison are on drug and/or drug usage related charges. The government could vastly reduce overcrowding by staring early putting people in rehabs for drugs and for the distribution of such.

Thirdly, poverty has greatly influenced criminals to commit unlawful acts sending them to prison. The jail overcrowding issue also involves criminals who are gritty thieves due to poverty. Poverty leads people into county and state prison jails for great periods of time. People stealing food, food stamps, breaking in homes, and etc. have all play a role in the issue of overcrowding. Criminals create a habit of stealing just because they lack money, or the self-willingness to work for material items.

But now jail overcrowding also becomes an issue from the inside the systems themselves. Many facilities lack the proper staff and resources to handle prisoners. The costs of taking care of prisoners has increased greatly in years which has created issues like classification problems. Overcrowding now has led to prisoners that belong in a low minimum facility to be housed with medium facility prisoners and much more. Also the government and prison administrations try to balance out by