Overcrowding of Prison Leads to Diversion Programs, Term Paper Example

Overcrowding in prisons occurs when the anticipated capacity of that prison exceeds the available prison space. The possible causes of this  trend is the high rate of people entering prison after being sentenced and a low rate of prisoners who leave the prison after being released who are supposed to free some space in the prisons. Building of new prisons to accommodate the rising numbers of incoming inmates is hindered by lack of funds among other reasons (Clements, 127).

Overcrowded prisons are potential causes of psychological damage to prisoners. A high number of prisoners in any one correction facility than the available space can allow leads to the development of anti-social patterns of behavior that is a contributing factor to increasing cases of violence in the prison. Most of the prisoners feel the direct impacts of this type of overcrowding and they can easily become victims of stress, panic attacks and lack the capacity of developing healthy relationships upon their release from prison. Overcrowding in prisons is a cause of many social problems to the inmates.

Some states in America are on record for punishing offenders of minor crimes with high punishments.  This situation is made even worse by implementation of “zero-tolerance” policing approach, obligatory sentencing regulations and the denial of common sense verdicts for the judges when deciding on the appropriate sentence for minor offenders.  Most situations require the guidance of the constitution in addition to the Bill of Rights and the possibility of applying common sense to make decisions in the judicial system is dictated by modus operandi (Clements, 121).

It is important to take criminal law in a similar manner as the common law where the judges, apart from finding facts, embrace the universal ideologies of fairness, seriousness of the offence and the circumstances surrounding the offence in delivering their judgments. In Ohio State of America, overcrowding in prisons has been a significant factor of increasing pressure in correctional facilities. A high number of prisoners’ population and a declining correctional spending is the root cause of overcrowding in prisons and in most cases the maximum capacity of the facility is exceeded.

The rights of the inmates are often violated as a result of this overcrowding. This is attributed to a shortage in available resources to meet the needs of the inmates, limitation in space of an individual inmate, food deprivation and limited access to rehabilitation programs. The activities that are supposed to be given to the inmate are also deprived due to overcrowding which causes frustrations as well as anger as they are accorded an unfair treatment. Most prisoners are forced to release some of the inmates before the expiry of their jail term.

According to available statistics in Ohio, the anticipated prison capacity is usually exceeded by 31 percent and this is a cause of many problems. The current number of inmates is documented at over 50, 000 which has increased by over 6 times the number recorded in 1974. This account for over 12, 000 inmates above the anticipated capacity. Most cases of aggressive and anti-social behavior are common in these prisons and this trend is attributed to such overcrowding. When the number of inmates exceeds the set capacity of the correction facility, corresponding increase in the number of prison staff is not a consideration. This means that, the negative behavior that develops in the prisons is not addressed adequately due to lack of sufficient manpower. The increasing numbers of prisoners with a declining staff population also contributes to an increase in the cases new gangs, abuse and drug trafficking inside the prisons.       The inmates whose histories are associated with violent behavior are likely to extend their anger to their non-violent counterparts as well as the prison staff, leading to a continuous cycle of violence, punishment and withdrawal of unlimited resources, consequently making life in prison more unbearable.

The analysis of the problems associated with overcrowding in correction facilities is a complex undertaking. A lot of assumptions are inevitable concerning the human behavior of the convicts and the judges. Important considerations include demographic in addition to economic trends, the rates of incarceration, possible penalties, patterns of sentencing, rates of recidivism, conviction, and arrest among others (Cox, Paulus, & McCain, 949).

The population of inmates has already reached a dangerous echelon due to an increasing number of crimes inside the prisons and also outside. The mental and the physical health needs of the inmates is usually neglected. The general public is also at a danger due to this trend. The inadequacy of vital resources to give the needed support, health care, sufficient rehabilitation and monitoring of the inmates, the correction facilities fail to live to their obligations. The inmates upon their release cannot be productive members of the society due to lack of appropriate tools that should otherwise be provided during their jail term. The rate of repeat offenders is on the upward trend and the severity of offences is stringent making the inmates to send most of their time in prisons. A high level of security breakdowns in the overcrowded prisons is negatively felt by the correction officers through vicious attacks from the inmates.

The end result is creation of a situation of near-crisis and therefore, constricting the operating budgets. The funds of creating new recreational facilities are also limited and the funds for implementing rehabilitation programs alike. The shortage of funds has negatively affected the programs of education, job placement and drug treatment for the prisoners. The TV rooms in the prisons have been converted in to makeshift sleeping places thereby denying the inmates the much needed recreational facilities. This has not been beneficial to the recreational facilities as the inmate misconduct has drastically increased. Other negative effects have been observed in the safety as well as security issues of the inmates and the prison staff alike. Consequently, the image of the state of Ohio has been associated with perverse bargain. Although Ohio has taken the initiatives of constructing more prison space with an additional bed capacity of 17, 000, the number of prisoners and the length of their terms have been on an increase, therefore defeating the objective of an expanded prison capacity (Cox, Paulus, & McCain, 109).

Overcrowding in correction facilities is associated with three effects in the day by day environment of prison. In the first place, everything is limited and available resources and space is stretched to meet the needs of the prison population. The potential opportunities of participation in self-improvement programs for the inmates are also constricted. The rehabilitative programs are also a limitation. The inmates can hardly access vital programs of employment, academic and vocational training. This is caused by the limited resources because the funds set aside for such programs are based on the normal prison capacity. Lack of such important opportunities creates an aura of idleness among the inmates which consequently breeds disruptive behavior and discontent (Cox, Paulus, & McCain, 1149).

The resources for the prisoners cover all their needs including the availability of washrooms, recreational facilities such as TV lounge and library. This limited resource availability is manifested as frustration and a denial of the much needed resources. Additionally, limited supply of resource causes conflict in addition to competition that consequently leads to violence and aggression among the prisoners (Johnston, 19). The impacts of prison overcrowding together with misclassification are depicted in the establishment of vicious cycle. The starting point is overcrowding. This is followed by provision of inappropriate programs to the inmates and placement in inappropriate facility. This creates stress reactions from the inmates attributed to an absence of services, lack of movement and progress in the system, lack of parole release and then the beginning of the cycle again (Clements, 77).

The importance of funding diversion programs are based on their role in rehabilitating victims of mental diseases and disorders allied to substance abuse. The diversion programs operate on short term basis to stabilize and connect the victim to traditional approaches of treatment and consequent reduction of incarceration period. Diversion programs are a source of community-based health in addition to substance-abuse therapy services, housing, medication and case management. Most of the funding for these diversion programs is derived from grants and from bodies such as Bureau of Justice Assistance. Non governmental organizations also give grants to diversion programs in both monetary and technical assistance.

Substantial expansion of supervision programs based at community level and expansion of requirements for eligibility for the offenders could possibly offer a potential solution to the problem of overcrowding in prisons. The eligibility requirements should also be extended to incorporate all categories of inmates in prisons. This step is likely to increase the safety of the public as the convicts are actively involved in community based programs that are financially organized but have a close resemblance to the prisons. Sufficient funding of these community-based programs is also an important consideration to make them serve the intended purpose.

Works cited

Clements, C. “The relationship of offender classification to the problems of prison overcrowding”. Crime and Delinquency, 28, 71-85, 1982.

Cox, V., Paulus, P., & McCain, G. “Prison crowding research: The relevance of prison housing standards and a general approach regarding crowding phenomena”. American Psychologist, 39, 1148-1160, 1984.

Johnston, J.C. A “Psychological perspective on the new design concepts for William Head Institution (British Columbia)”. Forum on Corrections Research, 3, 14-21, 1991.