Overcrowded Jails Case Study

Effective Management Practices in Overcrowded Jails

The United States at present has the highest incarceration rate that costs taxpayers millions of dollars and continually has our county jails operating over their rated capacities.(Hess 2008). A significant number of the jails in the United States are overcrowded, and this has been a management issue which has been in existence for years. Jail overcrowding has become one of the major financial and controversial problem in the United States. The jail population is increasing rapidly, which has caused a lot of tension on the management team to be able to perform their duties efficiently and has raised a lot question by The increase population of inmates in many county jails has raised a lot

It is important that law reforms do not only address criminal act but rather look into the matter of incarceration and issues associated with it with urgency as to reduce the number of incarceration rate. Tough on crime policies over the past has sent a lot of people in jail, some harsh policies have been enacted in state and federal legislature which have led to longer sentences, and three strike laws which put people in prison three times regardless of how small of the offense. Judges should lessen the number of penalties imposed on offenders for non-violent crimes. Inmates population can be reduced by reforming sentencing laws ( O ' Hear 2016). The court should find other ways of keeping them in the society, sentencing like probation, and other correctional programs can help reintegrate offenders back into the society, reduce incarceration rate and as well reduce the pressure the correction board has to go through managing crowded jails. Barak Obama in his speech recently emphasized that overcrowded in jails is the incarcerating of high nonviolent offenders and American long history of discrimination in the criminal justice system (Bibas

Increasing pressure in jails has led the correctional system to apply restrictive housing such as solitary confinement, isolation, hole and so many others with the idea of reducing violent and making the jail safer. According to the Ohio Department and Youth and services (2015), Certain practices are not effective in managing the incarceration and accomplishing goals of making the youth learn from their mistakes. Studies have shown that these measures which have been applied in the correctional facilities have led to the violence behavior of inmates. Inmates who pass through these process have assaulted staff members and intimidated other young inmates. Studies have indicated that inmates who are in restrictive unit go through a lot of frustration, stress, angered and can develop, mature or solve the problem because they do not have the chance to communicate with another inmate which makes them feel isolated. Also, they are always fond of acting on impulse and making rational decisions. When this situation happens, it is tough for correctional staff to control them or better still provide treatment for them. Moreover, inmates tend not build a positive relationship with staff, because they a feeling of being treated unfairly. The act of violence by inmates has an adverse impact on the correctional staff. Much correctional staff, fear for safety for