Incarceration prevention refers to a variety of methods aimed at reducing prison populations and costs while fostering enhanced social structures. Due to the nature of incarceration in the United States today caused by issues leading to increased incarceration rates, there are methods aimed at preventing the incarceration of at-risk populations.
Prison population and cost to society
Between 1998 and 2010, prison populations in the United States rose dramatically. This resulted in overcrowded facilities; increased expense to taxpayers; and potential loss of public funding for other community safety activities. Between 1982 and 2007, corrections expenditures increased by over 250 percent and in 2007 expenditure was over $74 billion. In 2010, the number of youths in detention facilities was 61,423. By the end of 2012, approximately 2,228,400 individuals were incarcerated in jails and prisons, about 4,781,300 individuals were under some form of community supervision (such as probation or parole), and a total of approximately 6,937,600 individuals were under some form of correctional supervision (1 in 35 adults). The average cost of the incarceration of an individual in 2012 was approximately $31,286 per year with a range of $14,603 to $60,076. As of October 2015, the United States has the second highest incarceration rate in the world with 698 per 100,000 population. Compared to other locations, 55% of countries and territories have prison rates lower than 155 per 100,000 population. The average cost of incarceration rose to $31,977.65 in 2015.
Factors contributing to incarceration rates
Substance use disorder prevention or treatment Between 1980 and 2005, the number of inmates incarcerated for drug-related crimes increased by 1,000 percent. In 2012, sixty-five percent of inmates reported a substance addiction or dependence issue. Seventy-eight percent of violent crimes and eighty-three percent of property crimes involved drugs. A greater amount of money is spent on incarceration than on prevention and treatment, despite research showing that treating drug addictions is more cost-effective than incarceration. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a full year of drug treatment costs approximately $4,700 compared to over $30,000 for a year of imprisonment.
Mental health access/treatment According to statistics produced by the U.S. Department of Justice in September 2006, over 45% of federal prisoners, 56% of state prisoners, and 64% of jail inmates are diagnosed with mental health problems. This suggests a direct correlation between a decrease in mental health services and facilities and an increase in mental health diagnoses in the prison system. A decrease in mental health funding has taken place on both the state and federal level, especially in changes in block grant funding as part of the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1981. The statewide support for mental health services has also seen significant cuts and has barely accounted for annual inflation. The overall shift from institution-based care to a community-based care model was one that many mental health advocates welcomed; however, the funding appropriated to support such programs was much less than initial estimates and has had a significant impact on the ability of the community care based model to be successful in providing adequate mental health treatment to those in need.
Education
68% of state prison inmates did not receive a high school diploma. Research indicates that schooling significantly reduces criminal activity. A significant portion of the effect of education on crime can be attributed to an increase in wages associated with schooling, suggesting that an increased level of education funding will result in decreased criminal activity.
Factors involving race
There are many factors that have direct connections with the rises in the incarcerated population, many of which relate to structural and societal biases that exist in America today. As it relates directly to race, the practice of racial profiling regards policies and personal biases that target minority racial groups and contribute to a greater proportion of minorities being incarcerated compared to the general population. Currently, over sixty percent of inmates in the United States are people of color. These practices have existed in the American Criminal Justice system for decades and although may have gained attention in recent years, still find ways to increase the likelihood of certain demographic groups receiving negative attention from the likes of law enforcement.
The war on drugs and longer prison sentences Beginning in the Nixon administration, the war on drugs resulted in stricter drug laws including longer prison sentences for drug use and possession. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that the drug offender population in federal prisons rose by 63% from 1998 to 2012 and they accounted for 52% of federal prisoners by 2012. 35% of these drug offenders were not reoffenders or had minimal criminal backgrounds. In relation, mandatory minimum penalties have contributed to mass incarceration. The United States Sentencing Commission found that in 2016, 67.3% of offenders charged of a crime with a mandatory minimum penalty were convicted of a drug offense. The commission also found that in 2016, the average sentence length was 110 months in prison compared to 28 months for those charged of a crime with no mandatory minimum penalty.
Incarceration prevention Incarceration prevention refers to a variety of methods aimed at reducing prison populations and costs while fostering enhanced social structures for the improvement of society. Incarceration prevention can take place in any of three stages: Primary Prevention, Diversion, or Recidivism Prevention.
Prevention Primary prevention is an attempt to reduce the risk of behaviors that potentially lead to incarceration. The initial stage in this model includes looking at system wide or systemic approaches that ensure people have consistent social and structural interactions.
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