Placing a drug addict in prison will not cure their addiction. Addicts need rehabilitation and proper treatment, something they are not receiving in prison. Drug addicts need a drug-free place to cure their addiction, and that is not what they receive. With billions of tax dollars being set aside to fund prisons, only the smallest fraction is spent providing substance abuse treatment to those who really need it. More attention needs to be brought to individuals with drug addictions in prison. If improved substance abuse treatment was provided, addicts would not be getting arrested and coming back to prison, or living off government subsidies and using millions of government tax dollars.
While the U.S. has only five percent of the world’s population,
…show more content…
Throughout the course of a year, the United States prison system costs taxpayers $63.4 billion in total expenses. The cost of caring for just one prisoner in the state of New York is anywhere between fifty thousand to sixty thousand dollars a year, but what is that money going towards? The answer is not drug treatment. To put it into perspective, there are roughly 2.4 million people behind bars in the United States (“The Cost,” 2012). Out of those 2.4 million people, fifty percent of the male federal population and fifty-eight percent of the female federal population are behind bars for a drug offense (Shively, 2015). Out of the almost seventy billion dollars spent on prison every year, only 1.9 cents of every dollar goes towards substance abuse treatment (Sack, 2014). With nearly fifty percent of jail and prison inmates addicted to drugs, more focus needs to be put on rehabilitation rather than leaving prisoners to go through …show more content…
Placing individuals in prison to kick their drug habit is not going to work because prison isn’t a drug-free place. When it comes to the drug trade in prison, it’s as active as the one outside prison walls (Sack, 2014). The drug trade in prison is run by gangs and in California, they are the number one cause of prison violence (“Drugs Inside,” 2010). The hard truth is selling drugs is prison is ten times more profitable than selling them on the streets (Shively, 2015) The use of needles to take drugs in prison is a major factor in the spread of disease (Kirchner, 2015). Drugs being brought into prison leads to behavior problems, fights, riots, and even deaths (Shively, 2015). In an Ohio prison, dozens of inmates fought over a package of drugs that had been dropped over the prison walls by a drone (Kirchner, 2015). Drones are not the only way drugs make their way into prisons. Packets can be launched over walls with paintball guns and homemade launchers know as, “spud guns” (“Drugs Inside,” 2010). Drugs can be left in bathrooms where inmates clean, and red heroin can even replace the pimento in an olive. Prison gangs also put
Correctional program writing nowadays is at a level of efficiency that surpasses earlier outlooks. In territories all over the United States, there are several curriculums that use research-based curriculums to teach, instruct, and inspire inmates. Disappeared are the days of hit-or-miss execution of curriculums that seemed good, but over and over again just occupied time for the inmates. The previous evolution happened for several reasons (Corrections Today, 2010). The largest wake-up demands was the claim composed around thirty years ago. The statement made was not anything works in corrections systems, mainly rehabilitation. Even though this commonly revealed report was taken from its context, it did in detail carry some notice to the mystery that several penitentiaries were not operational as change
As offenders are diverted to community residential treatment centers, work release programs and study release centers, the system sees a decrease or stabilization of the jail population. While the alleviation of overcrowding is a benefit it is not the only purpose of diversion. A large majority of crimes are committed while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Studies have shown that more than half of all individuals arrested in the United States will test positive for illegal substances (NCVC, 2008). Efforts to reduce crime through incarceration usually fail because incarceration does not address the main problem, the offender’s substance abuse.
As you might already be aware there is a ballot initiative on this upcoming November’s election about drugs, and drug treatment. This measure is called Proposition 36. If this measure were to pass, state law would be changed, so that certain non-violent adult offenders who use or possess illegal drugs would receive drug treatment and supervision in the community, not prison. Right now California is ranked number one in the nation for its rate of imprisonment for drug offenders. If Proposition 36 passes, California could become number one for its treatment for drug offenders. The measure also provides state funds to counties to operate the drug treatment programs. Additionally, studies have shown that drug treatment is a far more effective than prison in reducing future criminal activity. Robert Roseman, a 51-year-old heroin addict from Sacramento says, “I was always able to get drugs in prison…all you’re going to learn in prison is to do crime better.”
When envisioning a prison, one often conceptualizes a grisly scene of hardened rapists and murderers wandering aimlessly down the darkened halls of Alcatraz, as opposed to a pleasant facility catering to the needs of troubled souls. Prisons have long been a source of punishment for inmates in America and the debate continues as to whether or not an overhaul of the US prison system should occur. Such an overhaul would readjust the focuses of prison to rehabilitation and incarceration of inmates instead of the current focuses of punishment and incarceration. Altering the goal of the entire state and federal prison system for the purpose of rehabilitation is an unrealistic objective, however. Rehabilitation should not be the main purpose of prison because there are outlying factors that negatively affect the success of rehabilitation programs and such programs would be too costly for prisons currently struggling to accommodate additional inmate needs.
Mandatory minimums for controlled substances were first implemented in the 1980s as a countermeasure for the hysteria that surrounded drugs in the era (“A Brief History,” 2014). The common belief was that stiff penalties discouraged people from using drugs and enhanced public safety (“A Brief History,” 2014). That theory, however, was proven false and rather than less illegal drug activity, there are simply more people incarcerated. Studies show that over half of federal prisoners currently incarcerated are there on drug charges, a 116 percent percentage rise since 1970 (Miles, 2014). Mass incarceration is an ever growing issue in the United States and is the result of policies that support the large scale use of imprisonment on
Prison contemplative programs are also of great help to both prison inmates and staff. These contemplative programs include yoga, meditation and prayers for contemplation. Through such programs, both prison staff and inmates benefit a lot especially when it comes to relieving stress. In most countries and especially America, majority of the prisoners are dealers of illicit drugs. It is logical that most drug addicts engage in criminal activities. Therefore, drug treatment programs in jails and prisons are a useful tool for rehabilitation and reformation of inmates into better people who can be productive once their jail term ends. However studies show that currently in America, only a small proportion of inmates requesting for drug treatment actually receive it (Listverse,
In recent years, there has been controversy over mass incarceration rates within the United States. In the past, the imprisonment of criminals was seen as the most efficient way to protect citizens. However, as time has gone on, crime rates have continued to increase exponentially. Because of this, many people have begun to propose alternatives that will effectively prevent criminals from merely repeating their illegal actions. Some contend that diversion programs, such as rehabilitation treatment for drug offenders, is a more practical solution than placing mentally unstable individuals into prison.
Today, half of state prisoners are serving time for nonviolent crimes. Over half of federal prisoners are serving time for drug crimes. Mass incarceration seems to be extremely expensive and a waste of money. It is believed to be a massive failure. Increased punishments and jailing have been declining in effectiveness for more than thirty years. Violent crime rates fell by more than fifty percent between 1991 and 2013, while property crime declined by forty-six percent, according to FBI statistics. Yet between 1990 and 2009, the prison population in the U.S. more than doubled, jumping from 771,243 to over 1.6 million (Nadia Prupis, 2015). While jailing may have at first had a positive result on the crime rate, it has reached a point of being less and less worth all the effort. Income growth and an aging population each had a greater effect on the decline in national crime rates than jailing. Mass incarceration and tough-on-crime policies have had huge social and money-related consequences--from its eighty billion dollars per-year price tag to its many societal costs, including an increased risk of recidivism due to barbarous conditions in prison and a lack of after-release reintegration opportunities. The government needs to rethink their strategy and their policies that are bad
...ked to rehabilitate drug abusers and we have an alternative which is treatment and people who work in corrections facilities see that treatment works why aren’t we using it? If we can lower the prison population and save money in the long hall why don’t we? If we can save even 20% of first time offenders and lower crime isn’t that worth it even if it cost a little more money up front? If it’s worth it to you and it’s worth it to me we have to make it worth it to politicians. Politicians are afraid of looking like they are not hard crime and treatment for someone who committed a crime somehow that translates into being soft on crime. So as a society we need to ask ourselves do we want more of the same insanity or do we stand up and vote for people that are willing to do what’s right in the long hall for all of us even if it means having to defend what they believe?
We cannot afford to keep using the same approach in hopes of diminishing our drug problem in the United States. In a study posted on RAND.org, the author Jonathan P. Caulkins compares many methods we can use to help with drug crime. The first graph compares federal mandatory minimum sentences, conventional enforcement at all levels of government, and treatment of heavy users. Conventional enforcement prevented around thirty kilo grams of cocaine from being used, while federal mandatory minimums prevented around forty kilograms from being used. Treatment of heavy users blew both of the other methods out of the water.
Drug violators are a major cause of extreme overcrowding in US prisons. In 1992, 59,000 inmates were added to make a record setting 833,600 inmates nationwide (Rosenthal 1996). A high percentage of these prisoners were serving time because of drug related incid...
The states and United States government contribute billions of dollars to prisons; where, the majority of offenders are substance abusers. However, are they really getting the help they need? Here is a little history on drug abuse. According to David Musto (1987) drug abuse has been around for approximately 100 years.
The “Tough on Crime” and “War on Drugs” policies of the 1970s – 1980s have caused an over populated prison system where incarceration is policy and assistance for prevention was placed on the back burner. As of 2005, a little fewer than 2,000 prisoners are being released every day. These individuals have not gone through treatment or been properly assisted in reentering society. This has caused individuals to reenter the prison system after only a year of being release and this problem will not go away, but will get worst if current thinking does not change. This change must be bigger than putting in place some under funded programs that do not provide support. As the current cost of incarceration is around $30,000 a year per inmate, change to the system/procedure must prevent recidivism and the current problem of over-crowed prisons.
Many people idealized the relevancy of living in a civilized world, where those who break the law are reprimanded in a less traditional sense of punishment in today’s standard. Instead of just doing hard time, programs and services could and should be provided to reform and rehabilitate prisoner. Despite standard beliefs, many individuals in prison are not harden criminals and violent offenders, many of these people suffer mental illness and substance abuse Hoke
Suffering from an addiction is punishment enough, sending drug addicts to jail is not the solution. Addicts are suffering already by not having a place to stay. Most of the time addicts do not remember where their family is located at and they need help to get better.That is why I am saying that addicts should go to rehab instead of prison.