A report released Monday informs us that almost 2.2 million people are in US jails. This marks an eight fold rise in the number of Americans in prison since 1970.It costs the taxpayer about $65 billion annually. The report has been produced by the JFA Institute a Washington criminal justice research group.
The impact of such a large number of people in prison is awesome.Once you include the families the prisoners leave behind,the prison guards and the prison administration, the lawyers and the justice system, it would seem that the system affects almost everybody.
The benefits of the present system are clearly visible. The streets are definitely safer.The homicide rate in the 1990's fell by 43% and continues to decline. The value of a safe neighborhood certainly outweighs the costs of imprisonment.
On the flip side, the prison population is set to increase by almost 200,000 over the next five years and it will cost another $27.5 billion to build and run the additional prisons that will be needed.Such a judicial system also serves to deepen the divide between the privileged and the disadvantaged.This is because the disadvantaged, the less skilled and the less educated are more likely to end up in jail.Spending their productive years in jail not only reduces their lifetime earnings but also adversely affects the prospects of re-employment upon their release.It also certainly affects the financial prospects of the families they leave behind.Critics also argue that in spite of such a harsh system the crime rate is where it was in 1973.
So what needs to be done about it. Before attempting an answer it is necessary to understand the reasons that lie behind this prison boom.It happened because crime increased and there seemed to be no way to control it except by imposing tougher penalties.This resulted in longer jail sentences being handed out with fewer chances of an early release.The war on drugs led to the arrest of a large number of small time users and drug dealers.Presently almost 60% of prison inmates are in for drug offenses.Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy remarked:'Our resources are misspent, our punishments too severe, our sentences too long.'
Maybe it's time to give the entire system a re look.To start with, prison sentences for petty crimes could be shortened and prisoners could be made eligible for early release in deserving cases.Alternate forms of punishment also need to be considered.There is also a case for being a bit lenient on 'soft drugs.'Debates on legalizing marijuana for medical use seem to indicate that this option is being seriously considered.
An editorial in The Washington Times said that prisoners deserve punishment.'But we shouldn't forget that a vast majority will also be returned to society, which has as much at stake in their rehabilitation as they do.'