Annotated Bibliography on Prison Overcrowding

Prison overcrowding is one of the major issues that have faced the criminal justice system for more than two decades now. It has grown to be an elusive phenomenon that has raised significant concerns of the local and international actors. The increasing population of the prisoners poses various challenges, including policy, financial, and health implications, thereby, the need for the adoption of responsive strategies to curb its effects.

Among the policy, implications brought by the increasing population of prisoners include the need for the modification of the minimum penalties, expansion of the use of the residential reentry, and reinstating parole for the inmates. Therefore, the following essay presents an annotated bibliography that will be used for ensuring the success of the proposal. Hough, J.M., Allen, R., & Solomon, E. (2008). Tackling prison overcrowding: Build more prisons? Sentence fewer offenders? Bristol: Policy Press.

The authors of the book recognize the fact that overcrowding is one of the major issues facing most countries globally in the current contemporary society. In specific, the authors use information collected by other authors such as Lord Patrick Carter, who dwelled on the analysis of the available alternatives that could be used to reduce the increasing population of prisoners. As such, they propose various strategies that can be employed to reduce overcrowding in prisons significantly.

The book differs from most of the books as it narrows the strategies into the most economical and efficient strategies of preventing overcrowding. The fact that the authors adopt a comparative analysis of the weaknesses identified from other books to build on his work forms the strength of the book. Council of Europe. (2000). Prison overcrowding and prison population inflation: Recommendation No. R (99) 22, adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 30 September 1999 and report.

Strasbourg: Council of Europe Pub Overcrowding presents a significant challenge to the administrators and policy makers of the criminal justice system across the world. Council (2000) presents the historical analysis of the development of the increasing population of the prisoners and the disparity between the prison populations across different states. The comparative analysis adopted in the report creates an understanding of the contributing factors to overcrowding in prisons and strategies adopted to reduce the cases.

Through a historical analysis, the report develops measures that cover crime prevention, development of treatment programs, legal reforms, and informing the public to participate in issues related to the criminal justice system. The report is important for the research because it creates an understanding of a wide range of activities that can be adopted to reduce overcrowding in the prisons. Taylor, A. (2008). The prison system and its effects: Wherefrom, where to, and why? New York: Nova Science Publishers.

Unlike the above resources, Taylor (2008) analyzes the development of the prison system of New Zealand to create an understanding of the changing trend in the population of prisoners. Apart the historical analysis of the development of the prison system in New Zealand, the author, focuses on complex social and managerial issues related to crime and its treatment. As such, he interweaves the different penal policies that have contributed to the overcrowding of prisoners in New Zealand.

The analysis raises psychological concerns associated with isolation in the shades of confinement, deprivation, and captivity created by the criminal justice system. The use of the historical analysis to show the development of the prison systems in New Zealand forms its strength. The book is important for the study because it provides an understanding of historical factors that have played a part in contributing to overcrowding in the New Zealand prisons. Great Britain. (2005). Rehabilitation of prisoners: First report of session 2004-05. London: Stationery Office.

The report examines the effectiveness of strategies such as rehabilitation in reducing overcrowding in prisons and re-offending among the victims of criminal justice. The report discusses various issues related to the rehabilitation such as recent initiatives of the government, provision of inmate education, paid work programs, and vocational training to the victims of criminal justice. Similarly, the report analyzes the effectiveness of using other strategies such as mental health service provision, drug treatment, and programs aiming at promoting the development of the cognitive skills.

Through this, the report shows that providing work to prisoners released and reintegrating them into the society using opportunities meeting their needs is important for reducing re-offending. The report is important for the research because it provides an understanding of various strategies that can be used to reduce re-offending among those released from the criminal justice system alongside initiatives adopted by governments to reduce overcrowding in prisons. Roth, M.P. (2006). Prisons and prison systems: A global encyclopedia. Westport, Conn. [u.a.: Greenwood Press.

The authors present an analysis of the prisons and prison systems across the world. The authors adopt a comparative analysis to show that prisons have changed.