Prison conditions and their effects on inmates

Prison Conditions

There are two major issues that need to be addressed with regards to prison conditions. One is the whether humane conditions are provided and the other is concerned with the degree of rehabilitation that prisons facilitate. On both counts, U.S. prisons need to take actions to prevent abuse and to reduce the high number of repeat offenders as our prison populations swell beyond control.

According to Human Rights Watch, prisoners suffer from physical mistreatment, excessive disciplinary measures, intolerable physical conditions and inadequate medical and mental health care. Prisons are severely overcrowded and do not have adequate staffing.

Many local jails are unsafe, vermin-infested and lack areas where inmates can get exercise or fresh air. Violence by inmates and guards is common. Mentally ill inmates who comprise between six and fourteen percent of the incarcerated population do not receive adequate monitoring and treatment. Private prisons operate without sufficient control and oversight from public correctional authorities. Both prisoner-on-prisoner sexual abuse and sexual abuse of women is a huge problem. Amnesty International reported that sexual abuse of female inmates is rampant but said many cases go unreported for fear of retaliation. Amnesty reported an undetermined number of cases of prison guards who grope women during daily searches and who rape women. Amnesty also found some prison guards sell female prisoners as sex slaves to male inmates.

Even most those who argue that prisons should punish prisoners would agree that prisoners need to be provided with humane living conditions. In addition to the treatment of prisoners in general, the special concerns of non-violent offenders and women should be addressed. Human Rights Watch estimates that fifty-three percent of all state inmates were incarcerated for nonviolent crimes. So, we're taking non-violent offenders and placing them in very violent environments, almost ensuring that this exposure will negatively impact their future behavior. Amnesty International reports that the women's prison population has tripled since 1985, but prison facilities have not kept pace by hiring more women to guard the female population. Seventy percent of all those who are guarding women in the United States are men; by comparison, 90% of such guards in Canada are women. And, twelve states do not have legislation protecting female inmates from sexual abuse.

Since the prison boom began in 1980, the number of inmates in jails and prisons has risen to two million with ninety-seven percent of these inmates facing eventual release from prison. But, many of them will only wind up in jail again. The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimated that about 614,000 people will be released from state and federal prisons 2001 and that within three years 62% of them would be arrested again, and 41% would return to prison. And, the Department of Justice estimates that at least ten percent of the U.S. population will be incarcerated by 2015. These alarming statistics call for the need for rehabilitation if for no other reason other than to control the growth of prison populations. A major shift is required in the thinking about how to run prisons to transform them from institutions that serve to punish and make life as unpleasant as possible to trying to overcome all the crime inducing circumstances that prisoners faced before they were imprisoned.

The Oregon program represents a positive example of how prisons can contribute to the rehabilitation of prisons. Upon an inmate's arrival, the prison is given a battery of tests to identify the mental, social and educational barriers the inmate may confront that will prevent their successful return to society. A detailed plan is then created to help the inmate overcome these troubles through literacy, drug treatment or job training programs. The Oregon program has turned from historical vocational training for low-paying jobs to comprehensive inmate training for jobs that companies have open, like telemarketing and using computers to map water and tax districts from aerial photographs. To ensure accountability, the program tracks inmates by computer and offers small monthly bonuses for good work or study. As a result of the Oregon program, the percentage of inmates admitted to Oregon prisons in 2000 who were returning parolees was only 25%, down from 47% in 1995. There has also been a sixty percent reduction since 1995 in major disciplinary problems.

Another example of a successful rehabilitation program is the Stop Violence Program for Inmates implemented in Kansas correctional facilities. Through discussions guided by inmates for inmates, participants explore the roots of their violent behavior and learn alternatives for coping with their stress and anger. As a sign of success, only twenty-three percent of those participating in the program return to prison as opposed to Kansas's recidivism rate of fifty to fifty-five percent.