Prison Overcrowding in California - 905 Words

Prison Overcrowding in California Jeffrey Shaw CJA/564 Josette Ford May 6, 2013 The California prisons have been crowded for decades. This cannot continue to go on. One of the reasons that the prisons are overcrowded is because of the types and lengths of sentences. Other reasons why the prisons are overcrowded is because many of the prisoners are there on non-violent crimes. Also many of the sentences are for smaller crimes. The one recent event that is dealing with this problem is release program that is letting out around 40,000 inmates over the next few years. This might be a good idea, yet we will not see the results for some time. This can possibly increase the crimes in our counties. There has to be other cures or†¦show more content†¦In the past decades thousands of people were sentenced to prison for non-violent and non-sexual crimes. These crimes should be sentenced to the county jails, not to the state prisons. If one is sent to a state prison that means that sentence is of one year or more. Criminals that are sent to county jails are sentenced to less than one year. The sentencing matrix needs to change in California. No one should be sentenced to prison for the lesser crimes. All this is doing is keeping the prison population up to and over 137% full. Instead of a prison sentence; probation, fines and community service can be imposed. New laws can be made so that if the crimes are not murder, rape, molestation and other violent crimes, the sentenced individuals will not spend time in prison. The criminals can spend their time in the county jails or have no jail time at all. If no jail time is imposed then there will have to be fines, probation and many hours of community service. I believe that the community service has to be directly related to the crimes committed. That way its more meaningful and helpful to the community. References Romaine, J. (2011, may). California Prison Overcrowding: How’s That ‘War on Drugs’ Working Out?. International Business Times,(), . Retrieved from http://www.ibtimes.com/california-prison-overcrowding-hows-war-drugs-working-out-285805Show MoreRelatedEssay on Prison Overcrowding in California2469 Words   |  10 Pagesproliferation of prison overcrowding has been a rising concern for the U.S. The growing prison population poses considerable health and safety risks to prison staffs and employees, as well as to inmates themselves. The risks will continue to increase if no immediate actions are taken. Whereas fighting proliferation is fundamentally the duty of the U.S. government, prison overcrowding has exposed that the U.S. government will need to take measures to combat the flaws in the prison and criminal justiceRead MoreCalifornia University Links Prison Overcrowding And Recidivism1272 Words   |  6 PagesCALIFORNIA STUDY LINKS PRISON OVERCROWDING AND RECI DIVISM America has the highest rate of incarceration per capita of any other industrialized nation. That is an amazing fact. Don’t believe it? Then do some research. ASTOUNDING INCARCERATION RATES The World Prison Brief, a database hosted by the International Centre for Prison Studies, provides an online table* that list the world’s prison population broken down by nation. With a total population of over 320 million, the U.S. ranks at 698 prisonersRead MorePrison Overcrowding And California s Correctional System1651 Words   |  7 PagesPrison overcrowding has caused many complications to California’s Correctional System. To resolve this issue, â€Å"[o]n April 5, 2011, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law AB 109, the ‘2011 Realignment Legislation Addressing Public Safety’†¦, which†¦ shifted responsibility from the state to the counties for tens of thousands of offenders,† (Abarbanel et al., 2013, 1). This law was put in action was because of overcrowding in state prison and it was affecting a variety of crucial programs thatRead MoreThe Problem Of Prison Overcrowding1572 Words   |  7 Pagesdrought crisis†¦all of which are major dilemmas in California. One major dilemma, however, is often ignored. Over the past 30 odd years, California’s prison population has grown by 750 percent (â€Å"California’s Perpetuating Prison Crisis†). As this percentage perpetuates to make substantial gains, inmates are suffering in confinement cells, officials are negotiating over the issue, and the public is protesting to make their opinions count. The prison crisis has continued to grow over the years, causingRead MoreThe Problem Of Prison Overcrowding998 Words   |  4 PagesPrison overcrowding has been seen as an issue since the early 1990’s in California. It all began when California began to aggressively increased sentencing in the late 1980’s and 1990’s in response to a nationwide fear about crime rates. During this time period California â€Å"enacted more than 1,000 laws that increased sentencing in a five-year span to settle these fears† (Fuchs). The ef fect of these laws resulted in a high prison population when California prisons reached a number of 173,000 by 2007Read MorePrison Overcrwoding in America and England1234 Words   |  5 PagesPrison overcrowding in the United States is due to many reoccurring charges that is being sentenced to inmates that have been released and returning. As the increasing inmate population is a growing concern in the U.S, many law enforcement agencies and academic expert have analyzed data about the situation and are working to combat it. Research shows that Drugs are mainly to blame. Of the inmates in federal prison as of September 2011, more than half or 50.4% was serving sentences for drug offensesRead MoreThe Problem Of Prison Overcrowding1598 Words   |  7 Pagesthe major problem of prison overcrowding and argue that the problem of prison overcrowding would not be ending anytime soon, due to the inadequate attempts by state governments to deal with the inhumane living conditions in overcro wded prisons. This article relates to the topic because the authors analyze how the federal government and some individual states, such as California and Florida, respond to the constrained resources causing unsuitable conditions in overfilled prisons. This source illuminatesRead MoreProblematic California Prison System Essay849 Words   |  4 PagesCalifornia has one of the most dysfunctional and problematic prison system in US. Over the last 30 years, California prison increased eightfolds (201). California Department of Correctional and Rehabilitation (CDCR) does little to reform prisoners and serve as human warehouse rather than a correction institution. Californias prison system fails the people it imprisons and society it tries to protect. In many cases, Californias prison system exacerbates the pre-existing problems and aids in theRead More235764916 CJA 394 Week 1 Criminal Justice Overview Paper SAMPLE page only1665 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿ Select one of the following issues: †¢ Racial profiling †¢ Prison overcrowding †¢ The war on drugs †¢ Increased use of technology †¢ Cultural diversity Write a 1,050- to 1,705-word paper addressing how your selected issue affects the criminal justice system as a whole. †¢ Describe some of the change(s) the criminal justice system as a whole has made in response to the issue you selected. †¢ Include your opinion on whether the changes are sufficient. Should more changes be made, and if so, what changesRead MoreThe Overcrowding Of Prison And Massachusetts1261 Words   |  6 PagesAfter exploring options of which states had the most overcrowding in prisons, the best option to go with was California because states like Alabama and Massachusetts did not have current statistics. If anything, their statistics were from 2016 or 2013, making data harder to collect. Therefore, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation website, the most recent report they have of the total population is as of midnight February 8, 2017. The total population is 180,885