The failure of America's prisons

Failure of America's Prisons

The United States incarcerates a greater percentage of its population than any other nation in the world (Macionis, p.237-8). Furthermore, its crime rate, particularly for violent crimes, is far greater than that of other industrialized nations. The very people who should find prison to be the greatest deterrent, those who have already been incarcerated, are very likely to become recidivists when released upon prison, demonstrating that fear of prison does not prevent criminal activity. Moreover, both race and class seem to play a tremendous role in who will serve time in prison. Are there proactive things that society could do to prevent criminal behavior in the first place, rather than relying on ineffective, reactive solutions?

The United States has a crime rate that is greater than the crime rates in most industrialized nations. Of course, there are some problems with making those comparisons, because different countries criminalize different behaviors, and a huge proportion of America's prison population is there because of drug offenses. However, even when one compares specific crimes, America's crime rates are higher than those in most other countries. For example, America has the highest violence crime rate (Lukenbill). Furthermore, while prison may deter these violent criminals from committing violence against the general population while incarcerated, one need only have the most elemental understanding of the reality of prison life to understand that prisoners engage in multiple levels of criminal behavior while incarcerated, including violence towards fellow prisoners and prison workers.

The United States seems stuck in the idea that punishment should be based in the idea of retribution. The Middle-Age view that crime is a sin seems have carried over to the modern criminal justice system (Macionis, p. 236). Therefore, it is essential that criminals be punished. The other goals of the criminal justice system, like rehabilitation, deterrence, rehabilitation, and societal protection get pushed to the back, as punishment takes the forefront (Macionis, p.237). In fact, the whole idea of being tough on crime reinforces the notion that society can somehow punish away the possibility of crime. However, only about 1/15th of crimes are actually punished, so that an offender is much more likely to avoid punishment for a crime than to suffer from it (Macionis, p.238). However, an equally likely explanation is that most offenders are not engaging in the type of logical thinking that would allow the threat of punishment to act as a deterrent when they commit their offenses.

An additional explanation for the seemingly dichotomous relationship between America's incarceration rates and America' high crime rates has to do with what criminals are learning in prison. Many people in prison are not there because they have engaged in violent crimes, and the drug or property crimes in which they engage present little threat to society. Once incarcerated, they are exposed to the type of people the average citizens thinks of when considering a career criminal (Lukenbill). The theory of differential association suggests that placing criminals together defeats the goal of rehabilitation, because it strengthens criminal attitudes and skills (Macionis, p.238). Furthermore, prison stigmatizes convicts, and, upon release many people, particularly employers, are reluctant to take a chance on someone with the stigma of a prison record (Macionis, p.238). Prison also breaks social ties between the prisoner and non-criminal friends and family, weakening the very type of community ties that are believed to help deter criminal behavior (Macionis, p.238). Therefore, if one of the goals of the tough-on-crime stance is to reduce criminal activity, it is clear that American prisons simply are not accomplishing that goal.

In addition, over the past two decades, "the American prison population has climbed from 300,000 to more than two million- roughly equal to the combined population of Austin, Denver, Nashville, and Washington, D.C." (Silverstein, p.1). In addition, "largely because of racially-biased drug sentencing laws, about half of America's prison population is African-American and one-quarter of all black men are likely to be imprisoned at some point during their lifetimes" (Silverstein, p.2). That statistic cannot be taken in isolation. The rise in incarceration of black males has followed quickly on the heels of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, and exists in an era when black males are able and willing to assert their political rights, which would certainly threaten the status quo for many individuals, particularly those in power. Man in prison cannot participate in society, cannot interact with his family, has very limited employment opportunities upon release, and, perhaps most significantly, in many states will not ever be able to vote. Even when a released criminal is able to find work, his earnings will be approximately half of those of a similarly qualified individual without a criminal background (Street, p.34).