That comment would be applicable if you were studying the American prison system. The mere fact that we incarcerate 756 people per every 100,000 residents (1) in the United States tells people that we have got to be one of the most evil societies ever, right? Wrong.
We're not an evil society, in fact, we're probably one of the least violent. Most of our incarceration rates are for petty offenses and things like drug possession. Ever since we started with the three strikes law and the war on drugs the incarceration rates have soared to astronomical levels. It was when we added the truth-in-sentencing laws that some of our now older inmates were forced to remain in prison since the law passed was to make sure that you served most of your sentence. There's half of me that rejoices when I hear that since so many people don't serve half of their sentences but when I look at the sheer numbers of those in prison I'm flabbergasted that something hasn't been done yet.
Overcrowding, a major problem now. Inmates are stacked in bunk-beds in the main rooms of prisons because there is just no more space. Where there was only supposed to be two inmates there could be now three or four to a cell. Prison's are overcrowded and understaffed; who wants to make a career out of serving for the scum of the earth? Cynical and biased, many of the correctional staff don't even go to college - a good majority of them are just highschool educated, much like the prisoner's they watch out for.
What does this mean for the prison system? Not the most fluid of systems out there. The fact that there are 2.3 billion, yes I said billion, people in the jail system should scream "Hey! We're doing something wrong here!" but no one gives it a second look; why should we? They did commit crimes, after all, broke the law, they're horrible people! Murderers! Rapists! Drug offenders! But take a walk on the wild side, imagine that one of those people is your relative. "Well, I sure as hell wouldn't spend time with that relative again!" Really? You could disown blood that easily? What about the mother's, the father's, the son's, the daughter's? All waiting and still loving their family members even if they're in prison.
But if we take a closer look at the prison system we'll find that not all the prisoner's in there happen to be murderers and rapists. No, a good number of them are in there because of the War On Drugs Act that was started in 1914 (2) and continued to be revised until 1988 when the final bill was put in place. After that bill was enacted, federal prison populations jumped to 177% (3). That was only the beginning.
President Clinton signed a bill in 1994 which gave 7.9 billion dollars in grants to build prisons and to eliminate parole for drug dealers (4) which further increased the population. Parole was to be a secondary punishment for prisoners and once parole was taken away they were merely stock piled in prison until they finished out their sentences which only exacerbated the problems in prison. It was Bill Clinton who enacted the Truth In Sentencing which would only give money to states that would limit their good time granted to inmates (5). But after all is said and done is there any concrete evidence that drug use has been limited or eliminated? Where are the numbers to say that drugs have begun to vanish from the streets? Maybe they have only because of the fact that the drugs are now in prison - with the rest of the population.
American not only has 2.3 million people in its prison system but there is a general number of 5 million in some kind of correctional custody in the United States. This means probation, parole, house arrest and other sanctions. (6). That means that one out of ever 31 adults is being supervised by the justice system. No wonder people think that we're absolutely deplorable.
When we're putting all this money in the battle and war against drugs we're missing the fact that something dangerous is creeping into the US: Gangs. The large majority comes from our Mexican fellows to the south (heard of MS-13? One of the most vicious gangs around, even worse than the Crypts and Bloods.) and has been smuggling drugs into the country at a rate of 25 million a year (7). And what else does this mean? Arizona has become the kidnapping capital of the world, only behind Mexico City. A whopping 370 cases in 2008 alone (8). When we're spending all our time on drug issues and making sure that people who possess only the amount for themselves go to jail and get hard time and those people who commit petty theft go to jail for life after their third offense we turn a blind eye to the explosion of kidnappings in Phoenix, Arizona? Somehow I think that's a bit disproportional, considering that these people are nothing more than petty thieves. Yes, I believe that they should have known better, they should have stopped but its small crimes, they're not really "hurting" anyone other than themselves, and yet they go to jail for life? I can understand the desire to get tougher on crime but the more I think about it the more I wonder why. Why not go after the gangs instead of turning a blind eye?
I know where I live the residents still refuse to acknowledge that we have a gang problem. I see the graffiti and people continue to deny it. They want to still believe that where we live is still that safe, quaint little town that it always was but the times, they are a'changin'. To quote the legendary Bob Dylan.
The question is what are we doing here in America? Incarcerating people for three-strikes laws for petty crimes and people who are charged with possession, that's what. Locking people up for nonviolent crimes and throwing away the proverbial key, letting them simply rot in prison, stuff the prison full to bursting and say its okay. To have the highest rate in the world for incarceration. We're supposed to be known as "America: Home of the American Dream". Lately, we've become known as: "America: Home of the Highest Incarceration Rate". Do we want that label? How about doing something to change that? Perhaps changing some laws, perhaps not being as harsh. Perhaps... Perhaps being a different society, change the perspective a bit, start looking at people who commit violent offenses rather than nonviolent offenses. Lets stop ignoring the growing gang population, protect the citizens in Arizona. Lets do something different because apparently something isn't working right now.
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(1) "Our Prisons by Senator Jim Webb" in PARADE Magazine
(2) - (5) "Prisons and Prison Life" by Joycelyn M. Pollock - pages 29, 33 , 35 & 36
(6) - (8) "Our Prisons by Senator Jim Webb" in PARADE Magazine
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