Detrimental Effects of Prison overcrowding
By: Tyler Wong
Tags: Overcrowding, Mental Health, Prison, Politics, Sociological

Introduction

It seems that the United States is incarcerating more inmates than we can physically detain in our detention facilities. According to collected data the “incarceration system in this country “hold[s] more than 2.4 million people in 1,719 state prisons, 102 federal prisons, 2,259 juvenile correctional facilities, 3,283 local jails, and 79 Indian Country jails as well as in military prisons, immigration detention facilities, civil commitment centers, and prisons in the U.S. territories.” (Wagner and Sakala, 2014). In the criminal justice system, there is greater support for harsh and lengthy sentencing, which may force judicial decision-makers to give longer sentences to offenders as well as incarcerate more individuals. Prison overcrowding poses a serious issue, particularly in regards to the inmate’s safety. When prions are at or beyond maximum capacity prison officials are forced to house multiple inmates into one cell which can create conflict among inmates. Some inmates can dislike a particular inmate based on the crime they committed, upbringing, social affiliations prior to being incarcerated, or simply because they feel they are physically stronger and can intimate and frighten the other inmates in the cell. In most detention facilities inmates are required to spend on average 22 to 23 hours a day in their cell which makes eradicating themselves from a bad environment nearly impossible which also may increase the chances of murder or serious physical injury between inmates. The safety of inmates, as well as prison staff safety, may be greatly impacted “when inmates have to withstand 110-degree heat-without ice or air conditioning-some go berserk and start arguing, fighting and cutting” (Cobb, 1985). The overcrowding of prisons is perpetuated by the tough on crime initiative and added pressures from society to enact justice and retribution on offenders and as a result, inmates are forced to be constrained in small and inhumane regions which could detrimentally affect the inmates' overall health.

The Emergence of Prison Overpopulation

Decision-makers in the criminal justice system are motivated by the pressures and the sense of fulfilling their responsibility to ensure that justice is served, as well as the financial gain that they may receive due to giving offenders longer sentences. “The pressure for harsher sentences at the local level is largely in one direction. Lengthier incarcerations (be they motivated by retribution, the desire to get the criminals off the streets or the hope of deterring prospective criminal activity) are frequently viewed as benefiting a community” (Giertz and Nardulli, 1985). The criminal justice officials feel that it is their duty and priority to listen and adhere to the pressures of society in order to create a sense of justice and equality within the community in regards to the criminal justice system. In addition, judges and prosecutors may also feel persuaded to give lengthier sentences because it would increase their popularity and likeability in society which would help better their career by the possibility of new career advancements. Additionally, “the prison system in most states is operated and financed at the state level. While local jails exist in most areas, states usually require that sentences over a certain length (often one year) be served in state facilities at the state’s expense” (Giertz and Nardulli, 1985). This contributes to the overcrowding of detention facilities because criminal justice officials can often times view this as a proper or a free alternative to handling crime issues. Oftentimes individuals are given lengthy sentences so they are forced to serve out their time at state facilities, which negatively impact state budgets that could be used on resolving or fixing the current disarray of inmate treatment and conditions but instead the funds are being allocated on paying to house the inmates. Furthermore, there is no desire or pressure from society to build institutions, large enough to house inmates because society’s main priority is the encouragement of inflicting longer sentences for inmates.

Prison Overcrowding is a Social Issue

Prisons were constructed for a purpose of keeping hardcore criminals off of the streets and behind bars where society can remain free and safe from any possible dangers or potential risks. It seems that society has strayed away from that concept and use prisons as a means of getting rid of unwanted people or attempt to mask social issues such as the increase in mental illness within society. Society’s main arsenal in their tool belt is the threat of incarceration because we think that locking someone up for an extended amount of time will better for them and society. With the current state of the prison systems that theory and idea is anything but accurate and truthful. “Much of the increase in the size of the prisoner population is a result of the “War on Drugs” and associated federal reforms such as mandatory minimum sentencing laws” (Macmadu, 2015). With the emergence of the war on drugs, criminal offenses were being heavily prosecuted and sentenced in order to deter others from using any illegal substances. Over a few years, the prison population began to exponentially increase and become overcrowded. Prison overcrowding can be viewed as a social issue because eventually the inmates that are incarcerated are going to be released back into society and their behavior and conformity to societal norms and rules will be affected by the treatment and conditions they faced during their incarceration. Indicating that if inmates are forced to live in tight and hostile environments over time they develop and adapt to their surroundings and environment just as any human in order to survive or not be targeted. Typically inmates may develop a more hard and tough personality. The development of their tough personality may come across as hostile or difficult to approach or get along with for people within society which may make the individual feel like an outcast or constantly judged and may give up trying to transition back into a normal citizen role. This could negatively impact the individual causing them more anger which may lead an individual to commit more crimes. If inmates are subjected to environments where they are treated inhumanely and stripped of their human rights they may begin to internalize that thought and feeling and figure that they have nothing to lose. Eventually, there would be the constant repeating of negative cyclical events which would either make things worse than the current state or things would remain the same.

Inmate’s Health Due to Overcrowding

When talking about health and medical treatment among inmates it is an issue that gets ignored and disregarded due to societal perspectives and opinions being driven by the desire for retribution of inmates. Just as in society there are factors that create disparities in health care and medical treatment such as ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, and current health state. Most noticeably detention facilities have seen a dramatic increase in people who suffer from mental disorders who are “undiagnosed, untreated, or inadequately treated mental health disorders experienced heightened risks of incarceration” (Macmadu, 2015). For many individuals suffering from mental disorders, prisons have become their primary care provider. Prison overcrowding can negatively impact inmates “in correctional facilities — including restricted liberty, material deprivations, limited movement, the absence of meaningful endeavors, lack of privacy, and risks of interpersonal danger — expose inmates to stressors that can incite (short- or long-term) or exacerbate symptoms of mental health disorders”(Macmadu, 2015). “Overcrowded conditions, are defined as facilities that are operating near or exceeding capacity, aids the spread of communicable diseases and places undue additional stress on inmates and facility staff. Overcrowding has also been associated with increased risk of suicide, as overcrowding reduces the availability of meaningful programming” (Macmadu, 2015). Overcrowding may make inmates feel that there is no purpose in being forced to reside in inhumane conditions which could cause inmates to develop psychological disorders due to the constant stress and worry of being a potential victim of a physical altercation as well as the close and claustrophobic conditions some inmates may feel. Furthermore, according to the documentary “Overcrowded: The Messy Politics of CA’s Prison Crisis overcrowding was a key component that contributes to the lack of medical and mental health care being offered at a constitutional level in many state prisons” (Weissmueller, 2014).

Forcing multiple people to live in tight living quarters for the majority of the day can pose health risks and diminish inmate’s psychical and psychological state. Most notably in the sweltering summer heat “when the [temperatures reach] 100 degrees or more, many inmates become violent, or extremely mean or evil” (Cobb, 1985). When people are subjected to hot temperatures, it causes them to become easily agitated and irritable, making them more prone to become violent and aggressive. The aggression stems from the decreased amount of self-control over urges and temptations to act on a certain thought or idea. Housing multiple inmates in the same cell can cause inmates to physically harm each other or even the possibility of creating a brawl, which in turn could result in a riot. In addition, when there is double the amount of inmates it can create stress on the guards because they are not always or able to effectively intervene in any problematic situations due to the limited staff as compared to the inmates.

Conclusion

Overcrowding of prisons is associated with the tough-on-crime initiative and added pressures from society to enact justice and retribution on offenders and as a result, inmates are forced to be constrained in small and inhumane regions which could detrimentally affect the inmates' overall health. As a result of overpopulation within detention facilities, inmates are not able to get the proper health care treatment that is required. Often times overpopulation causes an increase in dangerous and damaging health conditions due to the inmates being in close living quarters to each other. We know that this is a societal issue that needs rectifying because it affects everyone either directly or indirectly. Some solutions to help combat the overpopulation of prison systems is a more active part in “controlling ingress into the system, i.e., taking active measures to reduce criminality in a society” (Durnescu, 2003). Currently, our criminal justice seems to take action after the crimes have been committed as opposed to prior criminal offenses. An active role in crime would be instituting hot spot policing to help discourage any possible offenders from breaking the law or partaking in any felonious actions. Police departments typically know the crimes most prevalent in particular regions of the city due to utilizing the Uniform Crime Report published by the FBI annually. Additionally, “controlling punishment modalities, e.g., decreasing incarceration sentences” (Durnescu, 2003). Decreasing sentencing for some crimes, especially nonviolent crimes would decrease the prison population seeing that the majority of inmates incarcerated are nonviolent offenders, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons that state drug offenses account for 46.2% of the inmate population. Our society is in disarray and many of the solutions we may think are beneficial and successful have long-lasting negative impacts. We cannot hide the problems of society or our failures in public policies by incarcerating people for extended amounts of time instead of identifying the problem and coming up with solutions to fix it. Some people make mistakes and due to their mistakes, they are treated inhumanely and stripped of their rights. They are treated like animals locked in cages in heinous and hostile environments which are expected to somehow cure them of their issues. Then society acts shocked and surprised when individuals come out of prison oftentimes worse than they were before going to prison.