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DrugScreening.org


 
Prison Population Boom Has More States Considering Alternatives
June 12, 2008

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News Summary

The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that a record 7.2 million Americans were incarcerated in 2006, costing taxpayers an estimated $45 billion and pushing states to consider less-costly alternatives ranging from private prisons to diversion to addiction treatment programs, the Washington Post reported June 12.

"There are a number of states that have talked about an early release of prisoners deemed non-threatening," said Rebecca Blank of the Brookings Institution. "The problem just keeps getting bigger and bigger. You're paying a lot of money here. You have to ask if some of these high mandatory-minimum sentences make sense."

The Pew Center on the States recently reported that the U.S. has more people in prison than any nation on earth, with 1 percent of the entire national population locked up. The new BJS report estimated that one in 15 black men are in prison, as well as one in 35 Hispanic males.

Harsh drug-crime sentencing laws have helped drive the prison population up from just 1.8 million in 1980. "It's really like a runaway train," said Ryan King of the Sentencing Project. "Nobody's taking a step back and asking where all these billions of dollars are going."

Still, the prison boom has its defenders. "If you look at the fact that these are people who are committing a crime, creating a danger to the public, you can't look at it as wrong," said Scott Thorpe, chief executive of the California District Attorneys Association. "What is the appropriate number of people to be incarcerated to ensure public safety? I don't know if you can answer that."

But Tim Lynch of the Cato Institute said the latest figures "demonstrate that we've lost our way ... when our laws require such a massive scale of incarceration."

"When you lock up a bank robber, a child molester or a mugger, you're removing a career offender from the street," said Lynch. "When you lock up a drug dealer, he is immediately replaced. We tried this with alcohol during Prohibition and it didn't work. We're not reaching the same conclusion with the drug war. It's slowly sinking in, but it will take politicians some time to turn this around." 

COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE:

Posted by beejay on 17 Jun 08 08:37 PM EDT
Most offenders respond fairly well to chemical dependency treatment, and should be able to participate in treatment programs rather than continue in their drug/alcohol abuses and dependencies. Individual states should put their resources into treatment, which is less costly and yields more productive results than "locking them up" does.

Posted by Tamara Lombard on 17 Jun 08 02:09 AM EDT
I wonder if anyone else besides me sees what I believe to be the obvious.My son too is a nonviolent and incarcerated 21 year old man whose crime was being under the influence, and by testing DIRTY. Why don't we haul every thief in and randomly polygraph each one...THE TESTING IS THE CASH COW THAT RE INCARCERATES AND SUCKS UP TAXPAYER MONEY!!!!!!

Posted by Shari A. on 16 Jun 08 06:28 PM EDT
I am a mother of a recovering addict who spent four months in the female prison here in Connecticut. For Two years I struggled with programs, fought with treatment facilities that turned her away when she wanted help. Key “She wanted help”. The system fails so many children who have become addicted as a result of first experimenting while in a mental state of depression or some other underlying mental instability. I feel no one examines the history of an individual before sentencing them to prison for crimes related to addictions. While there she did what she had to survive but was it necessary? The flip side is she was off the street long enough to allow her brain to function again not under the command of drugs, thus influencing her decisions. Now she realizes she never wants that life again and God willing she'll never be there again. Was there a lesson learned here? Is it up to the justice system to determine the fate of an addicted criminal? And if so why can't we create a facility to house those individuals who commit crimes in honor of their addiction, much like a state prison without the brutality and humiliation that takes place there. Just wondering if anyone agrees?

Posted by Alene Archer on 16 Jun 08 03:01 PM EDT
My son is currently an inmate in an Arizona state prison. For the past 15 years, his life has been a cycle of meth addiction, rehabilitation and relapse. The crimes he committed wouldn't have happened if he had not been using. I wish there were easy answers for this problem, but there aren't. The consequences are far more than monetary. Millions of children are also affected by the absence of fathers and mothers, being cared for by other family members or ending up in foster care, overloading that system as well. This problem will have serious consequences for society and generations to come.

Posted by Emily on 16 Jun 08 10:25 AM EDT
There are no positive incentives in prison. The only incentive is to survive in a brutal, violent culture, which just reinforces criminal behavior. What if, as an alternative to minimum sentences, prisoners had to earn their freedom through education, work, and self growth? I wonder whether that would be a step towards rehabilitation.

Posted by Glenn Major on 14 Jun 08 02:41 PM EDT
This report does not show the annual cost to the US economy of under-employability of persons with a prison/jail record. Many of whom are skilled/college educated. Assuming 50% are under-employed by $5,000 per year ($96 per week)that's $18 billion in lost productivity & taxable income. Glenn Major, CPA

Posted by Pat on 14 Jun 08 12:27 PM EDT
Revenge and vindictiveness appear to be ruling the world. People make comments such as "Fry them", "Put them in jail and throw away the key", people seeking "closure" by punishing ones responsible for a loved one's tragedy, even when it was non intentional, etc., etc.. When are they going to stop incarcerating non violent addicts for a disease? I do believe in maximum incarceration for ones who profit from contributing to the disease of addiction and the potential ruination of a respectable, safe society. Incarceration should be managed by broad minded individuals who make decisions based on the good of the society rather than by emotions.

Posted by Peggy Conway on 13 Jun 08 10:59 PM EDT
Given the lack of empirical evidence on the efficacy of custodial versus non-custodial interventions. I suggest resorting to consideration of the following: 1."First do no harm" (a phrase regarding medical care attributed to a Roman physician) and 2. "Put people in jail that you're afraid of, not the one's you're mad at." (Jennifer Lazlow, proposed during a discussion led by Marty Horn in the mid 1990's) On the former - we should be ashamed of ourselves for the harm we've done. On the latter - perhaps this is the best rule-of thumb available given the lack of evidence available to guide decision-making. The real answer is research, which begins with improved risk assessent and classification. The question goes beyond "What works?" The question is "What works on whom?"

Posted by sylvia on 13 Jun 08 08:01 PM EDT
If they are going to put and keep people in prison they need to make sure medical needs are met.these dumb a!!!! that thinks prison is an easy row, and always saying what they ought to do to inmates is insane,sure they broke the law but,they are still humans,all these people with thier big bad talk about inmates,need to have to spend about five months in a prison inviroment then see what they would be saying,theres no such thing as a paper towel for an inmate to use.one pair of p.j.'s are all the can have,theres no such thing as getting salt and pepper on a tray with your food,theres lots of things that go on in prison that inmates should no have to endure,but you got those guys who never broke any laws,they think the inmates should never have a t.v.like I said all these people who think they are so good the want to treat inmates as not a human,thats insane I wish those kind had to go through the like,they wouldnt be so quick to judge and run thier mouth about something they dont really know anything about

Posted by Judy on 13 Jun 08 04:21 PM EDT
We have a duty to rehabilitate those in prision. This is not being done. The nutritional connection between addictive behaviors has been medically proven. This information is being ignored by our bottom feeding rehabilitation programs. Due to our food supply and farming practices (hybridization, GMO, herbicides, pesticides,and pasteurization), the number of addictive behaviors is increasing due to nutritional starvation. Look into amino acids. Look into the PDR and find the nutritional amino supplement with 44 published medical studies, one of which is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, another is hepatic stress... This supplement has been PDR listed for 8 years. 44 studies! Look at what the founder of AA discovered 15 years after AA was founded. Get the doctors to prescribe the 8 essential amino acid supplement. Address the underlying chemical imbalance through the true solution which is nutrition! Add this supplement to our free breakfast/lunch program and then to our food stamp program. Our free lunch program in Texas feeds irradiated meat... Think about the ramifications and look at he statistics.

Posted by Lori on 13 Jun 08 01:12 PM EDT
In California, inmates are lucky to get into a program at all, even when they want it! All the space is being used for "ugly beds". Then, even when they do everything they are asked to do, if the parole board passes them, chances are very high the gov will veto!

Posted by S from Midwest on 13 Jun 08 10:14 AM EDT
The fact that one in 15 black men are in prison makes me sick to my stomach.

Posted by Katherine on 13 Jun 08 08:21 AM EDT
I am positive that it would be beneficial for all concerned to reward the inmates who have consistently shown progress in self improvement by taking advantage of programs offered and working, together with on going family involvement for 5 years. These should be given the chance to complete their sentence on parole.

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