Valladolid 1

Hannah Valladolid
Kevin Davis
Government 1
26 October 2016
Smart on Crime
In the past decade, Americans have come to realize that their tough on crime approach,
initiated in the nineteen eighties, has not been effective in stopping crime. As a result, the call to
be smart on crime has grown significantly. People are tired of hearing stories of prisoners who
were radically mistreated by prison guards and of ex-convicts who have returned to their
criminal ways. While crime may never cease to exist, the way society combats crime does have a
significant impact on its frequency. The United States has the highest prison population rate in
the world, a recidivism rate that is entirely unacceptable, and a society that lacks opportunities
for ex-convicts to start anew. For the proliferation of a thriving nation, it is essential to reform
the American prison system.
The United States has an incarceration rate that surpasses that of all other countries.
According to a publication from the International Centre for Prison Studies, The United States
has the highest prison population rate in the world, 716 per 100,000 of the national population
(Walmsley). This means that 0.716 percent of the United States population is incarcerated. While
this number may seem small, it is astronomical compared to Indias 0.030 percent prison
population rate (Walmsley). Putting all this in more manageable terms, out of every twenty-eight
children in the United States, one has a parent in prison (Ames). This is equivalent to having one
child who must deal with the reality of having a parent in prison from each typical public school
class. Clearly, this system doesnt just affect those who must live within a prisons concrete
walls. A bulletin from the United States Department of Justice remarked that at the end of 2014,
6.85 million individuals were under the supervision of the U.S. adult corrections system (Kaeble,
et al.). This includes adults incarcerated in prisons and local jails, along with adults on parole or
probation. With an estimated 325 million inhabitants, this amounts to one in fifty U.S. residents
under the jurisdiction of the prison system (US Census Bureau). The impact of the United States
prison system is immense and inescapable, therefore it is indispensable that the system be made
smaller and more efficient.

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A major contributor to Americas high incarceration rate is its unacceptably high
recidivism rate. Recidivism, the measure of ex-convicts who return to prison after release, is at
an all-time high. In 2005, the five year recidivism rate of prisoners from 30 states was measured
at 76.6 percent ("Prisoner Recidivism Analysis Tool"). This is arguably a 76.6 percent rate of
failure for United States prisons. The point of prison is to rehabilitate members of society so that
they will not commit another crime. Unfortunately, Americans have come to view the prison
system as one of revenge and punishment. Perhaps the American prison system should be
modelled after the prison system of Germany. According to 60 Minutes reporter Bill Whitaker,
The main objective of German prisons is rehabilitation, not retribution. Germany spends less
money on prisons, but gets better results. Their recidivism rate is about half the U.S. rate. If
American prisons yielded the same results as German prisons, not only would the prison
programs be successful, they would also be decreasing the prison populations in the long run by
decreasing the amount of ex-convicts that are expected to return. This is proven yet again by
Germany. Although the U.S. population is quadruple the population of Germany, the U.S. prison
population is at least 30 times more than Germanys (Turner and Travis). These numbers are
directly impacted by the varying recidivism rates. The prison system must be reformed to
decrease recidivism, effectively generating increased efficiency.
One of the greatest factors in the high recidivism rate in the United States is the lack of
opportunities available for released inmates. There exists a social stigma against those who were
once imprisoned, those with criminal records, that makes it difficult for ex-convicts to find jobs.
The Illinois State Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform acknowledged that
one of the biggest contributors to recidivism is the inability of released inmates to find lawful
employment (Heaton). Unable to find legitimate jobs, newly freed men and women must find a
way to make ends meet. For some, this means returning to a life of crime. It's hard for exoffenders to rejoin the community, stay out of trouble and become productive citizens if nobody
will hire them. Too often, they cycle in and out of prison, at enormous cost to society and to
taxpayers (Chicago Tribune). Many ex-convicts would not regress to criminal behavior if they
knew another way to live. Beyond the difficulties of finding a job or a house, released inmates
must readjust to freedom. Some have spent decades imprisoned, have spent twenty three hours a
day confined in a small room from which they are afforded no luxuries. Society changes quickly,
especially if you are not around to experience the transformations. The process of reintegration is

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made more unmanageable by certain prison practices. For example, those who have experienced
solitary confinement may have prolonged intolerance to social interaction and impaired ability to
assimilate into the community after being released from prison (Grassian 333). Rather than
preparing people to become responsible citizens of the community, prisons cripple prisoners
ability to become a working piece to the machine of society. Prisons should release prisoners as
individuals who are not detrimental to the well-being of other individuals. The prison system
does not currently meet this expectation.
Some argue that in order to fight crime effectively, the current degree of severity within
the prison system must be maintained. There is a belief that in attempting to relieve our prison
populations, we increase the number of criminals out on the streets, thereby sacrificing public
safety. This argument sounds reasonable before knowing that changes in sentencing and parole
policies and practices, not changes in crime rates and patterns, are the principal cause of the
vastly increased numbers of people in prison (Petersilia and Tonry 6). A decrease in
imprisonment does not necessarily mean an increase in crime, just as an increase in incarcerated
persons does not decrease crime rates. Other opponents of prison reform attack the aspect of
helping former prisoners find employment. They feel that these ex-convicts have wronged
society and deserve no aide. Instead, they should realize that, in theory, these men and women
have already paid their debts to society. On the societal view of prisons, Angela Y. Davis
remarks, The prison therefore functions ideologically as an abstract site into which undesirables
are deposited (16). There is a tendency to forget that imprisonment is only meant to be
permanent in the most outrageous of cases where rehabilitation over any length of time appears
far-fetched, impossible. Prisons are not supposed to be the final answer to problems revolving
around crime; they are only meant to be part of the solution.
The United States has high incarceration and recidivism rates and few opportunities for
released prisoners to escape the cycle of crime. For the proliferation of a thriving nation, it is
essential to reform the American prison system. The problems plaguing the prison systems arise
from the fundamental rules that govern it. Americans see prisons as a place where wrong-doers
are kept, and the prison system itself fosters growth of the prison population. By reforming the
prison system, the government will save billions of dollars in American tax dollars. Better yet, a
reformed prison system will save lives.

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Works Cited
Books
Davis, Angela Y. Are Prisons Obsolete? Ed. Greg Ruggiero. New York: Seven Stories,
2003. Print.
Periodicals
Ames, By Michael. "Captive Market." Harpers Magazine. Harpers Magazine
Foundation, Feb. 2015. Web. 19 Sept. 2016.
<http://harpers.org/archive/2015/02/captive-market/2/>.
Editorial Board. "Crime, Prison, Joblessness. Repeat." Editorial. Chicago Tribune.
Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2016. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.
<http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-illinois-raunerprison-expunge-recidivism-edit-0524-jm-20160523-story.html>.
Stuart Grassian, Psychiatric Effects of Solitary Confinement, Access to Justice: The
Social Responsibility of Lawyers 22 (2006): 332-333. Washington University
Journal of Law and Policy.
<http://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1362&context=law_journal_law_policy>.
Turner, Nicholas, and Jeremy Travis. "What We Learned From German Prisons." The
New York Times. The New York Times, 06 Aug. 2015. Web. 19 Sept. 2016.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/07/opinion/what-we-learned-from-germanprisons.html?_r=0>.
Websites
Heaton, Rodger A. Illinois State Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform
Final Report: Part I. Rep. The Illinois Commission on Criminal Justice &
Sentencing Reform, 11 Feb. 2015. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
<http://www.icjia.org/cjreform2015/pdf/CJSR%20Final%20Report%20Part%20I
%201-4-2016.pdf>.
Kaeble, Danielle, Lauren Glaze, Anastasios Tsoutis, and Todd Minton. Correctional
Populations in the United States, 2014. Rep. no. NCJ 249513. Ed. Lynne

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McConnell and Jill Thomas. Bureau of Justice Statistics, Dec. 2015. Web. 17 Oct.
2016. <https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cpus14.pdf>.
"Prisoner Recidivism Analysis Tool 2005-2010." Bureau of Justice Statistics. Office of
Justice Programs, n.d. Web. 08 Sept. 2016.
<https://www.bjs.gov/recidivism_2005_arrest/>.
Tonry, Michael, and Joan Petersilia. "Prisons Research at the Beginning of the TwentyFirst Century." Crime and Justice: A Review of Research 26 (1999): 1-12.
National Institute of Justice. National Institute of Justice. Web. 6 Sept. 2016.
<http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/184478.pdf>.
US Census Bureau. "Population." US Census Bureau. U.S. Department of Commerce, 17
Oct. 2016. Web. 17 Oct. 2016. <http://www.census.gov/topics/population.html>.
Walmsley, Roy. "World Prison Population List (tenth Edition)." (201): n. pag. Asian and
Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators. International Centre for
Prison Studies, 2013. Web. 7 Sept. 2016.
<http://www.apcca.org/uploads/10th_Edition_2013.pdf>.
Whitaker, Bill. "Privacy, Weekend Leave, Keys...This Is Prison?" CBSNews. CBS
Interactive, 3 Apr. 2016. Web. 19 Sept. 2016. <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/60minutes-germany-prisons-crime-and-punishment/>.