Prison Violence

Prison Violence

Violence within America’s correctional facilities has become an increasing problem within recent years. With the largest incarceration rate in the world, it is only expected that we face these problems. Unfortunately facing the problems of overpopulated and violent prisons is an overworked and outnumbered correctional staff. With the rising of the prison population, the decline of the number of correctional staff, it is only inevitable that violence, within the world’s largest imprisoned population , increases in America’s prison systems.

With the growth of the prison population, the number of correctional officers has actually remained the same, or even decreased! So as the prison population within our country is increasing, the number of people who are overseeing our criminals is steadily decreasing. The most recent report done by the Bureau of Justice stated the ratio of prisoners per correctional officer within the jail system has risen from a 2.9 to an astonishing 4.3, and number of inmates per correctional officer in state and federal prisons has grown from 4.6 to 4.8 . In 1980 there were approximately 316,000 inmates held in state or federal penitentiaries, by the year 2000 that number went from 316,000 incarcerated felons to roughly 1.5 million inmates ! The growth of America’s prisons in the last ten to fifteen years has been phenomenal and has a huge part to do with the increase of violence inside our prisons. Putting three men in a room that’s only supposed to have two is going to cause strenuous tension amongst the prison population. Along with 51 percent of inmates being imprisoned for a violent crime, when put under pressure, these people will react violently . State correctional facilities are operating between 1% and 16% above the number of inmates they are allowed to house; while Federal prisons are operating under even more unfavorable terms, at 31% above facility capacity! I believe the results of overpopulated prisons can be seen in...

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