The Prison Boom

1060 Words5 Pages
The prison boom of the past three decades has caused prison populations to skyrocket. One statistic wrote there more prisons built in during this time than schools. Each year thousands of people are incarcerated for drug convictions receiving outrageous sentences. Many of these inmates will be stuck in a perpetual cycle because of the major issues concerning how this war is being waged. With the alarming growth rate of US prison, many inmates will be unable to receive the treatment necessary to prepare for release. Then after release, many of these individuals will find it near impossible to find employment because of the social stigma of being in prison. This essay will explore the problems associated with those who have been effected…show more content…
This is due to the get tough on crime and the war on drugs policy. The largest section of this population growth is in the uneducated males in their twenties and thirties. More specifically black males. “In the mid-1990s, one in every three young black males was under some form of supervision (Latessa and Holsinger, 2011, p. 388). This is huge issue with other minorities as well. The rate of imprisonment of the minority population is much higher than that of white males. Pushing the criminal stigma associated with people of race that much more (Latessa, and Holsinger,…show more content…
As prisons were busting at the seams, new prison were being build all over the nation. “Between 1990 and 1999, the total number of inmates in state and federal prisons increased 75% (Latessa and Holsinger, 2011, p. 386).” California alone built 21 new prison in the previous 20 years. One statistic showed that a 500 bed facility would open weekly during the mid-1990s. And most of those increases in the prison growth are related to the war on drugs. With each new prison, the cost of housing inmates grows substantially. While more is being pumped into this prison empire, little of the money is used to actually rehabilitate these inmates (Latessa and Holsinger, 2011). “There is of course a very cruel irony in all these developments. As state goverments take funds from education and social programs to extend their prison systems (Latessa and Holsinger, 2011, p.
Show More
Related

  • Essay On Organ Harvesting In China

    809 Words  | 4 Pages

    A Global Social Problem: Illegal Organ Harvesting in China Medically, organ harvesting involves the use of surgery to remove organs and tissues or even bones from someone for the purpose of transplanting them into patients who need them. On the other hand, illegal organ harvesting entails the idea of human trafficking, where certain groups of people have their organs, tissues or bones surgically taken away from them against their will. This is deemed as a social problem, defined sociologically as

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Venture Capital

    9268 Words  | 38 Pages

    1.1 What is Venture Capital? Venture capital is a segment of private equity industry, which focuses on early-stage, high-potential, start-up companies. The venture capital fund earns money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a new technology or business in high technology industries, such as biotechnology and IT, however with high risk. Funds are typically established as limited partnerships, which is a contract between institutional investors who become limited partners

    Read More

More about The Prison Boom

Open Document