Today the United States topped the list of countries by a number of people in prison. All these data indicate the difficulties facing the modern American society. The very functioning of the penitentiary system of this magnitude generates a set of social, human rights, economic, racial, and, consequently political problems.

Jail congestion is a major issue in fact. Therefore, it is a subtle marvel that albeit national and universal on-screen characters have managed it for quite a long time. Stuffing in the places of confinement has been a major problem since its creation in the nineteenth century (Albrecht, 2012). The amount of inmates in the US prisons is increasing, despite the drop in the crime rate. Thus, this is the conclusion of sociologists who prepared the US statistics on court cases in the period of 1981-2013. The results were presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association.

The researchers, who studied the cases of 355,000 convicts, determine the severity of offenses as well as the court-ordered punishment. They found that in 1981, only 40 percent of the criminals were brought to justice, but by 2001, this number had grown to 60 percent. At the same time in 1981, the quantity of those sentenced to imprisonment was 15 percent, in 1995 - 20 percent, and in 2013 - 30 percent. "Providing space for special needs inmates is a challenge for many smaller facilities, as some inmates require single rooms and can't be placed with others" (Ruddell & Mays, 2007, p.255). Enjoy the reading. You can buy essays now like this!

The main reason for overcrowding in the US penal facilities is the strictness of the laws according to which minor offenses and petty crimes are punishable by prison terms. Excess amount of convicts lead to the increased costs for jails in the federal and local budgets. When the government is trying to cut the expenses, often the rights of prisoners are infringed. In addition, numerous violations are peculiar for a growing number of so-called private prisons. People who were incarcerated at a young age and served a sentence, in most cases, commit crimes and are repeatedly sent to penitentiaries. The problem of overcrowding in detention centers consists of many aspects, including recidivism, outbreaks of diseases, inmate misconduct, which should be definitely solved with the help of psychoeducational projects, by sentencing fewer offenders, as well as penal reforms.

In his paper, Bodenhorn (2016) mentions that jail swarming is an inescapable advanced issue with profound chronicled roots. The solution of this problem presupposed more detainment facilities; the transient arrangement involves early discharge. Early discharge projects can be compelling when they adjust the funds of lessened costs against the expenses of recidivism by the discharged convicts. The paper uses the authentic information to examine how jail authorities changed their initial discharge strategies despite overcrowding and rising genuine detainment costs. The observational proof is predictable with the theory that prison administration make use of data about the dangers of recidivism uncovered at trial and amid detainment to make right choices about whom to free and when.

Auty, Cope, and Liebling (2017) studied psychoeducational programs for reducing violence in correctional facilities. Institutional savagery presents critical difficulties to the achievement of the real social request in jail. Moreover, this orderly survey considers the impact of psychoeducational projects on vicious conduct in penal facilities. The inquiries of the observational research writing led to recognition of what randomized and non-randomized reviews did in the recent two decades that contrasted psychoeducational projects and treatment of course (TAU). The substance of projects was broke down and grouped. The outline of the surveys was liable to a risk of biased investigation and quality appraisal. Fierce conduct in penitentiaries was measured by institutional reports, prisoners' self-reports, spectator evaluations, or by utilizing psychometrically-substantial scales. The programs that intended to incorporate their treatment ethos into the institutional administration and target particular criminogenic hazards likewise delivered confirmation of adequacy in lessening institutional brutality. The present proof base does not give a reasonable response to the 'what works' question in decreasing viciousness in penitentiaries. However, there is a proof that some methodologies are more effective than others, and this ought to affect the future program outline and assessment. Another major concern deal with the fact how the changing states of contemporary representation influence perpetual inquiries in political science and government organization. Thus, official politics and governance are partially inspired by inquiries, for example, how legislative matters are resolved by administrations, how issues rise and fall on political plans, and how open associations and administrations perform and how they are outlined (Bastow, 2013).

The USA is the leader in the number of people, who are behind bars. The content of the correctional system costs taxpayers billions dollars annually. The authors of the report believe that the reason for such a large amount of prisoners in the United States is the rigidity of the American laws. Furthermore, according to experts, those, who have not committed serious crimes, should make greater use of penalties, and be offered alternatives to imprisonment. For example, community supervision or treatment of drug addiction should be introduced. Incarceration rates in the United States drastically increased in the course of recent decades. Hence, this pattern has attracted noteworthy scholastic thoughtfulness regarding jail congestion and its potential impact on the subsequent wrongdoing by offenders. Nonetheless, the observational relationship between lawbreaking and congestion is not quite clear. Undoubtedly, the theories demonstrating positive, negative, and invalid connections can be found in different studies.

However, it is unfair to blame American justice that is held accountable for the problem. According to statistics, in the US the acquittal rate reaches about the quarter of the total amount. In Russia, the percentage of people, who were sentenced to imprisonment, but were justified, is much less. On the one hand, researchers can talk about the good work of the investigating authorities, which do not bring the innocent to the court. On the other hand, the performance of the courts may be rather poor, since it accepts the outcome of the investigation without trying to understand it. Hough, Allen and Solomon (2008) stated that "any calls to limit the prison population are likely to be portrayed by the popular press negatively as being soft on crime but that is not a good enough reason to conceal the damaging financial and public safety consequences of our increasing use of custody" (p.38). In their article, Van Ginneken, Sutherland and Molleman (2017) conducted an ecological analysis of prison overcrowding. Detainees are in an enormous danger of suicides in comparison with the whole community. Contrasts in suicide risks can be mostly clarified by individual hazard components; however, the commitment of jail qualities stays vague. Stuffed penal institutions have higher suicide rates; yet, this might be linked to performance of correctional facilities, security level, population, and turnover.

HIV and related diseases in the convicts demonstrate that the purposes behind this disregard incorporate variables that make prisoners defenseless against contamination, furthermore, not able to get treatment; out of line and wrong laws; underfunded and overcrowded detainment facilities with substantial quantities of people in protracted pre-trial detainment; the policy that makes an individual enter special drug centers; and unfair criminal equity systems (Beyrer, Kamarulzaman, & McKee, 2016). Scientists investigated the interrelationship among the perception of crowding, racial antagonism, and aggression in a custodial oriented prison. Due to the black-white ratio in each dorm (2:l) and the forced, largely inescapable interaction in the open dorm housing arrangement, it appeared that racial matters had an important effect on the interpersonal dynamics of the penitentiary. Perception of crowding was directly associated with the racial antagonism variables of stereotyping and social distance, especially for white inmates. Additionally, racial biases and social dissonance were connected to aggression, particularly interracial violence. The high number of convicts in the United States has transformed from a law-enforcement problem in the social one. Firstly, the racial-ethnic composition of criminals does not reflect the structure of the US population. "Perception of discrimination may factor prominently in the life experience of ethnic minorities, immigrants, and other socially disadvantaged groups, as experiences of micro-aggressions attributed specifically to race can exceed an individual's coping resources and trigger stress responses" (Anglin et al., 2014, p. 114). If one analyzes the penalties faced by white and black Americans, there are serious imbalances. For example, the whites are often eligible to the procedure of conditional release. The incarceration of the blacks for violent crimes lasts on average a year longer than in case of white Americans. With regard to sentencing, the drug-related disparity is even greater. If one comparer (in relation to the total amount of these groups in the US population), the number of Hispanics, Indians, and the whites among the inmates, it appears that the Spanish-speaking ones are convicted half times as much as the Indians and two times more than whites. Therefore, the tendency further deteriorates and the existing tension in race relations heightens.

The Belgian criminal equity framework has experienced the time of phenomenal authoritative change. One of the significant advancements has been the foundation of another sort of tribunal, which is in charge of basic leadership and follow-up identified with the execution of correctional authorizations. Oddly enough, but human rights activists have reproached prosperous Belgium. According to the organization, there are overcrowded centers for juvenile offenders, and the part of adult prisons (Daems, 2008). The leadership of Great Britain faced the problem of penitentiaries overcrowding. Particularly acute is the issue in female jails since the number of women prisoners has been growing steadily.

The destiny of penal institutions and detainees in a fiasco has mixed exceptionally constrained consideration from both researchers and approach producers. However, recounted confirmations state that both detainment facilities and convicts are especially influenced by heartbreaking occasions related to outside common and different dangers. Hence, spatial, social and political types of prohibition and minimization connected to detainment harmonize with the elements, which make a few places and individuals more helpless (Gaillard & Navizet, 2012).

The problem of penitentiary congestion has appeared to be one of the focal issues in adjustments in the recent decade. Most reviews concerning this theme have managed the outcomes of overcrowding upon physiological and behavioral matters with respect to the detainee during the imprisonment. There exists the impact of jail overpopulation upon post-discharge conduct, for instance, recidivism.

The studies show that the number of crimes in the United States has decreased over the last decade. The paradox can be explained by the increase in the amount of repeat criminals. Therefore, the severity of sentences is lessened, and those found guilty, that did not have a criminal record, are often not sent to correctional facilities. However, for repeated offenses, the judges tend to impose the punishment of incarceration. Sociologists believe that reducing the quantity of inmates in prisons can be achieved if efforts for prevention of re-offending are intensified.

References

Albrecht, H.-J. (2012). Prison overcrowding - finding effective solutions: Strategies and best practices against overcrowding in correctional facilities. Freiburg: Max-Planck-Inst. fu?r Ausla?ndisches und Internat. Strafrecht.

Anglin, D. M., Lighty, Q., Yang, L. H., Greenspoon, M., Miles, R. J., Slonim, T., Isaac, K., ... Brown, M. J. (2014, September 30). Discrimination, arrest history, and major depressive disorder in the U.S. Black population. Psychiatry Research, 219(1), 114-121.

Auty, K. M., Cope, A., & Liebling, A. (2017). Psychoeducational programs for reducing prison violence: A systematic review. Aggression and Violent Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2017.01.018

Bastow, S. (2013). Governance, performance, and capacity stress: The chronic case of prison crowding. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Beyrer, C., Kamarulzaman, A., & McKee, M. (2016, September 10). Prisoners, prisons, and HIV: time for reform. The Lancet, 388(10049), 1033-1035.

Bodenhorn, H. (2016). Prison crowding, recidivism, and early release in early Rhode Island. Explorations in Economic History, 59, 55-74.

Daems, T. (2008). Compatible victims? Prison overcrowding and penal reform in Belgium. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 36(3), 153-167.

Gaillard, J. C., & Navizet, F. (2012). Prisons, prisoners and disaster. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 1(1), 33-43.

Hough, J. M., Allen, R., & Solomon, E. (2008). Tackling prison overcrowding: Build more prisons? Sentence fewer offenders? Bristol: Policy Press.

Ruddell, R., & Mays, G. L. (2007). Rural jails: Problematic inmates, overcrowded cells, and cash-strapped counties. Journal of Criminal Justice, 35(3), 251-260.

Van Ginneken, E. F. J. C., Sutherland, A., & Molleman, T. (2017). An ecological analysis of prison overcrowding and suicide rates in England and Wales, 2000-2014. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 50, 76-82.