The federal government along with several states introduced mandatory sentencing and life terms for habitual criminals often called three strikes laws, meaning that after three convictions you're out. They also restricted the use of probation, parole, and time off for good behavior (Prevention History of Corrections -- Punishment or Rehabilitation - Justice Model, 2010).
The rapid increase in the 1990s in the number of people confined in prisons and jails was thought to correspond with falling crime rates. Experts though could not agree as to why this decrease in crime occurred. Some thought that imprisoning more criminals naturally led to less crime in society, while others believed that new policing strategies and tactics such as community policing and zero-tolerance reduced crime. The growing number of offenders on parole and in prisons and jails has put a real burden on the system. Facilities have become overcrowded and states have had problems getting large enough budgets to build new prisons and jails or to supply the treatment and educational programs that are needed (Prevention History of Corrections -- Punishment or Rehabilitation - Justice Model, 2010).
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Because of determinate sentencing often eliminating parole, prisons have turned to a system called gain-time to prevent overcrowding and maintain control. This system allows prison officials to deduct a specified number of days from an offender's sentence for every month served without the inmate breaking any rules (Prevention History of Corrections -- Punishment or Rehabilitation - Justice Model, 2010).
References
Alighieri, Dante. (2009). Institutional Corrections. Retrieved January 31, 2010, from Web site:
http://www.apsu.edu/oconnort/1010/1010lect07a.htm
Corrections. (2010). Retrieved January 31, 2010, from Bureau of Justice Statistics Web site:
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=1
Prevention History of Corrections -- Punishment or Rehabilitation? - Justice Model. (2010).
Retrieved January 31, 2010, from Web site:
http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/2504/History-Corrections-Punishment-Prevention-or-Rehabilitation-JUSTICE-MODEL.html
