Prison Overcrowding
Troy University
Research Methods
November 15, 2018
Abstract
This paper gives informational prospective about prison overcrowding. The inmates who are assigned to different facilities are encountering different environments as the facilities are ran by the officers and the state. Many people question the focus of prison overcrowding as if asking “Are they considered safe and reliable?”, nevertheless question if they focus more on the inmates or the legal system. Even though the system is strict, people still accomplish to break the law. Laws are essential because without them the society would be corrupt not from a standing point but from the knowledge of the alleged individual. This paper will go into identity and understandings of a prison overcrowding itself.
Statement of the Problem
Prison overcrowding is one of the main poor conditions around the world that causes the most focus when it comes to our Criminal Justice system. It surprisingly out weighable because your options are to either release the inmates to possibly cause danger to the society or continuously pack the facilities causing the place to be overpopulated than it already is. People don't realize how many criminals go inside of jails daily and come back out freely I would say it works faster than clock work. With this being a governmental issue it affects everybody in the world even the individuals that have never been incarcerated.
Purpose of the Study
I plan to seek the study of prison overcrowding in the legal system, because not only do they have to know the information of a civilian pertaining to their punishment, but also to their rights. Their advice and actions not only affect individuals, it may also reflect on the United States Government and on themselves as they’re getting into these situations.
Research Questions
How can prison overcrowding be controlled? Would perspectives from other individuals affect the work ethics of a correctional officers and police officers? Can judgements of society affect the inmates’ personal lifestyle while incarcerated?
Justification of the Study
When an individual asks another “What would you like to pursue your career in?” responsively the individual answers a voice for certain disputes in our criminal justice system. Automatically, the questioner assumes a speaker that is in front of a people/crowds dealing with opinions of the community on individuals who have committed wrongdoing as they are facing their punishment. Furthering their mind to think without knowledge of knowing that there are different types of criminals that pursue the same goal but in a different way, which are classified to be homonyms. With the understanding of homonyms within criminals it causes individuals to look at others differently than off of one individual. Not only would it conduct negative of politics but it will provide positive conduct stating that this particular criminal may not be like another type of criminal. Therefore, thinking of the individual still as a human being who still has rights and focusing on all the aspects that are held within the incarceration facility.
Terminology
• Criminals- unlawful abiding individuals
• Deformity- feeling of abnormality
Literature review
Poor prison conditions are unhealthy for the well-being of humans such as failure of sanitation, spread of diseases, increased violence, etc. Not all prisons are clean and spotless but with the facilities being so old it’s hard for people to clean it spick and span. The spread of diseases may come from someone using the same sink, cellmates, bathrooms, and sexual activities. Unfortunately, as the population of prison overcrowding increases and the space lessens the activities of sexuality increase as there are more vulnerability in the facility among inmates. As building become old they tend to produce mold and extremely bad bacteria that can seriously harm an individual to the extent that they need serious medical care. Nevertheless, as the population increases so will the violence among gangs as there will be more fighting over territory and respect of one another. Lack of privacy can drive a person insane causing them to not only hurt themselves but for them to hurt others.
Surprisingly, there are several advantages to prison overcrowding as more private prisons are being built. The government will be able to cut back on cost and employee workload as they can limit their hours and benefits (dental care, insurance, overtime, and holiday bonuses) controlling how their third party business operates and functions. With private prisons being built it helps the public prisons with their overcrowding as inmates are transferred from one facility to another. Also, ensures inmates of space availability but are still at risk of illnesses. Most of all private prisons create stable employment careers for inmates as they reenter society to help them earn income for themselves and their families. The disadvantages will always outweigh this subject for the sake of “criminals”. Not all private prisons can help the public as “some companies accept only low-risk inmates and return high-risk ones to state-managed prisons to keep their costs low and avoid the responsibility of dealing with dangerous convicts. This, in turn, means that the government still has to deal with the cost and hassle of housing high-risk prisoner’s” (Lombardo, 2016). The potential of high-risk inmates being placed back into the public facility causes dictatorship to the new inmates as its their first time being incarcerated. Prolonged inmates also, known as “Jail Vets” have the advantage of the facility among the inmates because they have adapted themselves to the system and know how it operates. Prison overcrowding is just like chess as you move pieces and try to compete your pieces will eventually be taken away but the more respected individuals consume all the power as they’re able to move anywhere without being questioned.
The deformity process of inmates deals with the inmates that are going back into society potentially being released from incarceration. As it has several arguments that are detrimental to its purpose and well-being of the system and human rights they promote continuity. Human rights is the main subject that is argumentative in courtrooms when it comes to cases, but “Prison reform is necessary to ensure that this principle is respected, the human rights of prisoners protected and their prospects for social reintegration increased, in compliance with relevant international standards and norms” (I, 2018). The system argues with the people about how their rights are restricted because they are incarcerated, beyond the fact that they still have rights as if they were outside of the facility freely. That excuse, is not legit as any inmate can still be harmed physically and mentally inside of any correctional facility by inmates or faculty. Furthermore, the reform process does help with job findings as they prepare them physically with temporary jobs as they are in “half-way houses”. This helps them stabilize the earnings in the world but they are still incarcerated but to a certain limit of work ability. Most inmates take this opportunity to better themselves and to learn the responsibilities of becoming a part of the working society. Upon this change of self, it helps the person feel confident in what they are doing in life being prosperous.
Prison overcrowding effects the state costs of whichever state the facility is located. For example, in Wisconsin, “prison overcrowding in Wisconsin led to hundreds of inmates being housed by private prisons, costing millions of taxpayer dollars each year. At the same time, new prisons were constructed and opened at a rate of nearly one prison per year, also costing millions of taxpayer dollars. Today, we stand on the verge of repeating this costly history” (Goyke, 2017). On an annually around the world it costs more than $31,000 dollars to support one inmate yearly but if it were a death row inmate the value would increase by almost double for the safety and facility costs. As the facility provides shelter and food to inmates the facility gets their money with the state as they charge them to make phone calls, emails, hygiene products, commissary, and medical visits. For an individual to support an inmate imprisoned it will cost them would roughly be around $28,000 per inmate. In regard to people profiling a bombarded individual because of the homonym of their criminal background to another is an undesirable manner. People selectively interpret what they see on the basis of their interest, background, experience, and attitudes. Some characteristics of individuals with negative comments may be that they have disbelief in others, were told they were never going to be successful, or maybe the environment they grew up in denied them or did not give them what they wanted.
Methodology
With this study my audience would be the people and communities, but my target population would be the inmates that are incarcerated. Incarceration facilities such as jails and prisons are the main contributors to my research as they hold the most overpopulated facilities in the world causing my study to be accurate and perceive to my research of prison overcrowding. These individuals that I choose to do the survey are individuals that have been incarcerated for a while and know the inside of the facility like the back of their hand. People don't realize how the inmates are going through as they are in an area where there is no room for them to feel comfortable.
Population and your sample – My target group would be private facilities in general but, more precisely, local and state incarcerations. The institutions I would select would be jails and prisons, where the individuals would be selected based off their experience. From there I will use the random sampling method, in order to choose at random, the individuals surveyed out of the particular targeting group of people that I have gathered. The most primitive and mechanical way to proceed with this method would be the lottery method, letting the computer pick at random by number, those individuals will be my chosen subjects for my study. Not only can I use those inmates but I can also use inmates from all departments associated with the government. It would cover all races and both genders, nevertheless there will be no specification on who can participate in the survey.
Data Collection – When I distribute my survey it will be provided to random individuals inside of the jails and prisons. There will be two supervisors watching people take the survey and the survey will not provide a “Name” category so people won’t know who submitted what survey. After the surveys are completed the information will be collected and placed in a box for result calculation, then it will be documented on a spreadsheet saying this many amount of individuals chose this answer and so forth. Then after we observe the results it will match our hypothesis and the information we provide. Therefore, qualitative interview will be the best data collection for my research. Also, it will provide present statistics on that facility and other facilities as inmates transfer from one facility to another.
Measurement-
IDENTITY OF A LAWYER SURVEY
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree Strongly Agree
Can the legal system change how facilities providing health to inmates?
Do you feel as if private and local institutions are the same?
Can the possibilities of more facilities being built without becoming overpopulated?
Is there a possibility that older facilities can become better suitable for inmates?
Is it accurate to prevent inmates from coming back to being incarcerated?
Parole and Probation are the best alternatives to the overpopulation.
Private Institutions are better suitable for inmates than local jails.
Charges are taken differently from others as they judge inmates.
Can programs in jail help the profiling of an inmate to society?
Analysis – By systematically evaluating texts data (documents, oral communication, and graphics) qualitative data can be converted into quantitative data. Helping individuals notice that the appearance and title of an individual should not depict who they are. People judge others in life based off of what they experienced, heard, or have knowledge of. My explanatory variables will show the cause and effect of how simple judgement effects people’s lives. With my results they will show precisely how words effect another person’s actions in the work field.
References
Goyke, E. (2017, November 28). The High Cost of Overcrowded Prisons. Retrieved November 5, 2018, from https://shepherdexpress.com/news/issue-of-the-week/the-high-cost-of- overcrowded-prisons/#/questions
I. (2018). United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Retrieved November 5, 2018, from https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/justice-and-prison-reform/prison-reform-and-alternatives-to-imprisonment.html
Irminger, F. (2016). Prison overcrowding. Retrieved November 5, 2018, from https://www.penalreform.org/priorities/prison-conditions/key-facts/overcrowding/
Lombardo, R. (2016, March 16). ConnectUS. Retrieved November 5, 2018, from https://connectusfund.org/disadvantages-and-advantages-of-private-prisons