Effects Of Prison Overcrowding

Prison overcrowding has been a problem in the U.S. recently at the local, state, and federal levels. One of the reasons that prison overcrowding has become such a problem is because of policies such as mandatory prison sentences for violent and non-violent offenders. President Obama has been speaking about the issue of why non-violent offenders are being held in prison for so long and how releasing them can better the economy and lessen the stress on the Corrections Systems. The high figures in the United States are caused by imposing punishment rather than rehabilitation as the standard for "tough on crime" created in the 1980s. Some of the suggestions for the issue of prison overcrowding have been to build more prisons both public and

Ontario prisons have reached 98.5% capacity which is its highest in six years. Some of the worst overcrowding is in, “Toronto, Windsor, London, and Niagara regions which have been chronically overcrowded for many years. Toronto’s Don Jail was at 117% capacity, the Windsor Jail was reported at 111% capacity and London Jail at 105% capacity. Typically those detained in provincial jails are awaiting bail or trials, or they are serving shorter sentences” (marxist.ca). Just like the U.K., Canada is experiencing the problem of overcrowded cells. They are packing three inmates in cells that are only meant for two and some inmates are forced to sleep and even eat on the cell floor. Canada has just recently passed tough-on-crime laws which will increase their prison population by an estimated 1500 inmates by next year. The lack of proper prison facilities, the reduction of resources for programming and services, and the restricted living spaces are creating a dangerous and unsafe situation for both inmates and guards. Inmate on inmate crime has increased as well as abuses by prison guards, as well as violence inflicted on prison guards and other prison workers. Howard Sapers, the federal Correctional Investigator compares recent overcrowding issues to the 1971 Kingston Penitentiary riot, “…the prison was largely destroyed, two inmates were killed, and six guards were taken hostage but eventually released unharmed. Lack of work, recreational time, poor conditions of living, ineffective complaints processes, and lengthy cell confinement were the main grievances that gave rise to the Kingston riot” (marxist.ca). Those are the same problems that Canada is having today and it can result in going back in time to when prison riots were a common occurrence. This criticism is also being raised by the Ontario Public Services Employees Union (OPSEU), which