Prison overcrowding is an issue that many states, especially California, are affected by.

It
is caused by the insufficient space for prison inmates. Prison overcrowding occurs when the
prisoners are not released in a timely manner or not enough deaths of the inmates occur and new
inmates are being brought in. Prison populations should be reduced by changing the legal
system and the amount of time served in prison by reducing sentences for specific crimes or
incorporating innovative ideas in lieu of time behind bars.
California takes in so many inmates that they dont have enough space to house these
inmates in safe conditions. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
(CDCR) is the largest prison system in the United States. The website, Office of Governor
Edmund G. Brown (n.d.) says, due to the large amount of people incarcerated in California
prisons, all 33 CDCR are at or above maximum operational capacity, and 29 of those prisons are
so overcrowded that they are housing more than 15,000 inmates in conditions that pose high
safety risks, namely, prison areas never designed or intended to house inmates. Rooms such as
common areas, prison gymnasiums, day rooms, and program rooms with about 1,500 inmates
sleeping on triple bunks create significantly overpopulated areas which can pose and health
procedural issues.
With all those inmates being housed in rooms where the normal programs are supposed
to be held, the inmates are losing out on getting the help and assistance needed to make it in the
real world. Without the inmates getting the proper help, they are sent back into the real world

and are expected to behave and not break the law again. Given those circumstances it does not
seem possible for them to create a new life for themselves. Without an education it does not
leave many job opportunities open for them. Also, over 40% of all people leaving prison will
reoffend and be back in prison within three years of their release. Alternatives to prison such as
drug and mental health courts are proven to confront the underlying causes of crime (i.e., drug
addiction and mental illness) and help prevent offenders from committing new crimes.
(Alternatives to Incarceration in a Nutshell 2011) With the way the prison system is now many
are not receiving the proper help and tools needed to succeed in the real world and it poses a
huge risk for the general public putting these criminals back on the street.
Another huge concern is what these inmates are exposed to while in prison that can make
them even more unstable upon release. Evans (2014) writes an estimated 49,000 state prisoners
were sexually assaulted during their incarceration. There were 27,300 incidents of inmate-oninmate sexual abuse and around 27,100 incidents of sexual misconduct by a staff member. In
total, about 9.6% of state prisoners were believed to be sexually assaulted. While incarcerated
inmates are exposed to being sexually assaulted and then not even receiving the right help in
prison to deal with the emotions that come with that. Making the public at risk for these released
inmates to take that aggression out on an innocent citizen.
If California could find an successful way to keep inmates out of prison it would benefit
communities, families, and taxpayers in general. The cost to keep one person in federal prison is
$28,000 for only one year. Alternatives to prison are much cheaper and would save taxpayers
millions. Also, keeping people incarcerated keeps families separated, sometimes for decades.
Alternatives to prison keep families together, in their neighborhood and jobs, and allows them to
earn money, pay taxes, and contribute to their neighborhood. (Alternatives to Incarceration in a

Nutshell 2011) It would make more sense if Americans were paying that money to get these
inmates the help they needed and into society where they can contribute to the economy. Instead
they are being locked up for the amount of time appropriate for their crime and then sent back
out to just repeat the same crime again, or in some cases an even more horrific crime.
The state of California needs to find a way of keeping inmates from returning to prison.
If the inmates are being released and within a few years they are committing another crime, what
good is that for the communities. Recidivists may return to prison multiple times. This is called
churning, churning turns into a public safety problem in terms of new crimes and an unfortunate
future for those past inmates who keep returning to prison. As the knowledge continues to grow
about which programs are successful at reducing recidivism and the type of offenders most likely
to benefit, one must make an equal effort to understand how readily available the programs are,
to examine the contents in which they can be delivered, and how best to utilize them for the
purpose of maximizing a reduction recidivism. (Taxman 2013)
The only way for states to decrease their prison budgets substantially is to reduce the
inmate population and then reduce the operating capacity and related costs. Some states already
have some different approaches to the way they handle released inmates that are still committing
some crimes. South Carolina increased the punishment for certain violent crimes while
restructuring controlled substance offenses to provide community supervision options for first
and second time offenders. Some states have even expanded earned time credits to some
inmates who have completed programs designed to reduce recidivism. (Henrichson &Delaney
2012)
Recidivism is the best strategy to keep these inmates from returning to prisons. Many
states have stepped up their efforts to reduce the amount of crime that can potentially happen and

violations of probation and parole. Reducing recidivism offer a significant amount of savings.
The most effective reentry planning begins by preparing the inmates for their release as soon as
they enter prison, by using a thorough screening instrument that helps staff identify priority
areas for intervention and develop management plans (Henrichson & Delaney 2012).
Since much of the recidivism occurs when offenders return to prison for technical
violations, breaking the administrative rules of their community based supervision, several states
are using meaningful but less expensive consequences. Some states are sen providing financial
incentives for agencies that reduce recidivism, including California (Henrichson & Delaney
2012).
While it does seem crazy for Americans to be paying so much to keep these inmates
incarcerated, it makes even more sense to actually start helping them rather than hurt them more.
If the inmates received the proper help while incarcerated we could keep them from returning,
which would keep the prisons from getting so severely overcrowded, and it would help the
economy by releasing the inmates back into the world, ready to get jobs and be proper American
citizens, then in time Americans wouldnt be paying so much in taxes every year for the same
inmates churning in and out of jail.

References

Evans, K. M. (2014). Crime, prisons, and jails. Detroit, Mich: Gale.

Henrichson, C., & Delaney, R. (2012). The Price of Prisons: What Incarceration Costs
Taxpayers. Retrieved from http://www.pertrusts.org/~/media/legacy/uploadfilees/pcs_assets/
2012/httpwwwveraorgdownlaodfile3495thepriceofprisonsupdatedpdf.pdf
Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.-Newsroom. (n.d.). Retrieved January 7, 2016, from
http://www.gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=4278