Correctional facilities: overview and operational systems

¶ … Correction System in the United States

The objective of this brief study is to examine the correctional system in the United States. This system was historically a state-owned and government-operated institution however, in recent years the prison system in the United States has become privatized and this has created a new paradigm in terms of housing prisoners under the present judicial system's orders.

If It Is Broken

The prison system received a wake-up call in the Spring of 2011 due to a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that the California prison system was required to reduce the inmates in its overcrowded prison system by 30,000 individuals. The court ruled that the California state's system was "incompatible with the concept of human dignity." (Thomas and Beckel, 2011) The United States is reported to have roughly 2 million individuals incarcerated in local, state, and federal jails or prisons, which equals "the equivalent of New Mexico's entire population and more than any other country." (Thomas and Beckel, 2011)

II. Prison System is a Failure

The work of Mikkelsen (2007) entitled "U.S. Prison System a Costly and Harmful Failure" reports that the prison system population has risen "eight-fold since 1970, with little impact on crime but at great cost to taxpayers and society." Noted in Mikkelsen's report is a case involving a woman who is doing a two-year sentence for throwing a cup of coffee. The present population in the U.S. prison system is stated at 2.2 million, which is "nearly one-fourth of the world's total." (Mikkelsen, 2007) Mikkelson states that recommended are "shorter sentences and parole terms, alternative punishments, more help for released inmates and decriminalizing recreational drugs." (2007) These steps would reportedly "cut the prison population in half, save $20 billion a year and ease social inequality without endangering the public." (Mikkelsen, 2007)

III. Private Prisons

Private prisons were outlawed at the start of the 20th Century however, private corporations are presently "owning and operating prisons for profit." (Corrections, 2012) This happened because in the middle part of the 1980s the U.S. prison system went broke so many states are reported to have "turned to private investment, to venture capital, both to fund new prison projects and to run the prisons themselves for costs around $30 to $60 per bed, per day." (Corrections, 2012) Correctional Corporations are reported to have gained great political influence through ties with the government and through power from lobbying and contributions to election campaigns. The claim stated by private prisons is that they can "run prisons more efficiently and cheaper, doing a better job and saving the taxpayers money." (Corrections, 2012) The demographic composition in today's prisons are reported as follows: (1) African-Americans -- 50%; (2) Latino -- 35%; and (3) White -- 15%. It is reported that the privatization of prisons "threatens to re-institute a link between race and commerce that has not been seen since the 1800s." (Corrections, 2012) It is reported that public officials realize profits from prison privatization and enables them to act with lower levels of public accountability. (Corrections,, paraphrased)