Over the past decade, secure facilities have faced a crisis of over criminalization. As we have increased the number of punishable offenses, we have increased the number of offenders who need punishing. The result of more punitive laws, mandatory sentences, determinate sentences, and sentencing guidelines is why much of our prison population is crowded. Kids are being charged as adults, and stricter drug laws have left many incarcerated. Californians have been greatly affected as the three strikes law became in effect years ago now, and could possibly be part of the reason why our prisons are flooding with inmates. No need to point fingers as to how this crisis happened, although now a question as to how to get ourselves out of this mess is another story.
“As existing studies of the impact on crime in California consider only partial deterrence, that is the deterrence of offenders committing their last strike. As another explanation is tougher sentencing practices, many critics of sentencing reforms argue that stricter sentencing is too harsh on criminals and ineffective in achieving deterrence”(Sheperd 2002). It makes complete sense right? People get harsh longer sentences, and say screw it, if I have to be in here for at least twenty-five years there’s no point in following the rules. Then of course is the controversy to as who is being locked up.
“Overcriminalization is probed as this superficially simple question in considerable depth and with great sophistication. It might be thought that if an offense is created, and then never enforced, that must be a case of overcriminalization; but that is not necessarily so” (Horder 2009). In fact, these days our prisons are so full it is as if they are welcoming facilities. It is as if people truly do not mind being incarcerated…is it really not that bad as compared to the outside life?
Horder, J. (2009). Overcriminalization. Social Theory and Practice, 35(3), 483-90.
Shepherd, J. (2002). Fear of the first strike. The Journal of Legal Studies, 159
Society demand tough and stricter punishment to deter crimes but little did they know the cause of this is higher taxes to pay for incarceration. Laws had been made, it's hard to take them away. That is why I think we should find some good use for the large amount of inmates we had today. That is prison labor. You make the them work to earn some of the cost back. Do this as a business and contract out their labors. This however may affect the jobs market in society. One way to go about this is contract prison labor out to oversea companies only. Make that a law. Just some thought.
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