One In One Hundred

In this country we don't like to think about prisons. I mean REALLY think about prisons. We like to talk about things like being tough on crime, debts to society, laws named after legitimately wronged little girls and mandatory sentencing. We don't, however, like to talk about the reality of the people we have sitting in cells.

We dance around the subject. It doesn't come up in polite conversation. People can speak passionately about how the incarcerated should be treated harshly while never really attempting to identify with the realities of being incarcerated. Many seem to feel entitled to remain ignorant about the issues at hand because they have never really broken the law so it shouldn't have to affect them...but is that really true?

I challenge you to find someone who hasn't been peripherally exposed to someone who has been incarcerated. Given the results of The Pew Center study I linked to in the title, I suspect you would have a hard time finding anyone who isn't exposed to someone impacted by a friend or family member in a prison or jail right now. For every 100 people in this country, 1 of them is incarcerated at this very moment. If you really let that number sink in, the magnitude is staggering.

A few fun facts for you:

• Approximately 2.3 million individuals are currently incarcerated in the US. That is only slightly less than the entire population of the state of Nevada (2.5 million)
• The US incarcerates more people than any other nation in the world. We also incarcerate a higher percentage of our population than any other nation in the world. Our inmate population is larger than the 26 largest European inmate populations...combined.
• There are currently 1 million more individuals incarcerated than actively serving in the US military.
• 1 in 9 black men between the ages of 18-34 is currently incarcerated.
• 1 out of every 8.3 California State Employees works for the Department of Corrections.
• For every $1.06 that the state of Oregon spends on corrections, $1.00 is spent on higher education.
• 9.3% of the general fund for the state of Florida was spent on corrections.
• 67% of former prisoners are rearrested within 3 years of their release. 52% are re-incarcerated.
• Of the 33 prisons in the state of California, all of them are exceeding 100% of their designed capacity. 16 have populations in excess of 200% of their designed capacity. Many have bunk beds in hallways, gyms, recreation rooms, office spaces and some have even place mattresses in prison chapels to accommodate the population.

Is it really possible to believe that we are not all affected by the prison system in this nation? We all pay for it. We know the friends and family members of those directly impacted by an incarcerated loved one. We live with the inhabitants when they are released. It is time to start addressing the issues associated with how we handle the people who violate our laws. We need to discuss and debate it. We need our politicians to be able to confront it realistically without the threat of being labeled soft on crime.

What is our main goal in incarcerating such a large percentage of our population?

If the goal is to protect society, I suggest that we are failing. A early look at the 2007 crime rates seem to indicate that states such as New York and California who have substantially reduced their prison populations in 2007, have experienced similar if not better reductions in crime rates than states such as Florida. Florida's prison population increased 5% in in 2007 due to lengthening of prison stays and a zero tolerance policy in regard to probation violations.

If our goal is to reform offenders, again I say we have failed with our current system. Recidivism rates over 50% show how sadly we are addressing the concept of reform. It is understandable, however. Given the current inmate population levels states are struggling to feed and house them, leaving little in the budget for programs that offer new opportunities for prisoners upon release.

If the goal is simply to punish, I am left with one question. How much are you willing to pay for the sense of satisfaction of incarcerating non-violent offenders? The vast majority of the incarcerated are serving time for non-violent offences, often drug offences. Is this really the best of use of state and federal resources...let alone of these people's lives?

We are failing and it is costing us dearly, both financially and socially. In a democracy, when we see weaknesses and failures in our system we have a responsibility to address them. We must learn about them and hold our elected officials responsible for failing to acknowledge them. By ignoring the flaws in our criminal justice system we risk personally falling victim to them.

Now I admit that I am over-simplifying a very complex problem. This is a real problem, however, and we are ignoring it. We can not afford to remain entitled to our ignorance.