Social Problems Essay

Reflection Essay : Too Many Laws, Too Many Prisoners

The main topic of this article is focused on American Prison; on how it has in time created such a huge population. Justice in America is rough in comparison to other rich countries , around 2.3 million people are behind bars which includes those in parole and probation and those under correctional supervision. According to top law enforcement officer in America by the name of Eric Holder, “too many Americans go to too many prisons for far too long, and for no truly good law enforcement reason”. A rate of five times that of Britain, nine times more than Germany and twelve times more than Japan has been recorded. Nearly sixty percent of inmates are housed in Federal prisons which is way more than its designed capacity. Heavier drug penalties would be the main cause and driver of this overwhelming growth, even just a minimal possession of illegal drugs would lead to at least three years of imprisonment in Massachusetts for example. Even first time non violent offenders has to go to jail for a certain period of time. Another area of concentration would be the reason why this population continues to rise. The article explains the truths about Americas' broken system. According to criminologists, the system has three major flaws, one in puts too many people away for too long. Prisoners locked up for more than decade and at the same time at an old age that would less likely to create trouble or violence are still being held in prison. Two , it criminalizes acts that need not be criminalized. Alabama for example, gave a life term to a petty thief Jerald Sanders for pinching a bicycle. Three, it is unpredictable. Due to the the laws being vague and hard to understand, people are getting confused if they broke the law or not. The system has it's strengths as well. Though population in prison is extremely high, it marked a decline in it's crime rate. In the past two decades, crime rate has fallen since the bad guys are in prison or are scared of being sent there. Crime rate continuously drops down despite the recession because of the fact that habitual acts of crime committed by a certain individual or habitual criminals would face serious consequences. An increasing number of prisoners, reduces crime rate. Security creates the feeling of being safe for the people in the community since petty thieves and thugs are being put aside. Another good factor would be the programs they give to offenders.

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