The Consequences of Mass Incarceration

1. The state and/or local economy

a. Unemployment and the state of the economy go hand in hand. When the economy is suffering, unemployment is high, incarceration increases and vice versa. When incarceration rates are high, the regular workforce is depleted. Once released, those who were incarcerated are looked on less favorably, thereby increasing the unemployment rates.

b. Unemployed individuals then turn to crime once again and are most likely to be re-incarcerated. This impacts the economy by using more services, increasing costs and causes unemployment rates to rise higher. Secondly, the high rate of incarceration leads tomore prisons, which leads to more jobs, but at what price?

c. When unemployment rates rise, crime rates usually rise. This has a direct impact of cost to local communities who then have to fund more resources to prevent or deter crime.

Solution/Response

Educate employers as to the benefits of hiring persons who were formerly incarcerated. Encourage employers to "take a chance" and hire. More resources should be added to retrain or reintegrate formerly incarcerated individuals so they are more marketable for employers.

2. Urban communities

a. With mass incarceration, more people incarcerated are being sent home with less preparation to reenter society. When they are less prepared, they will have difficulty finding jobs, housing and stability. However, this is not unique to urban communities but rural as well.

b. Mass amounts of formerly incarcerated persons will drain what little resources communities have and cause increases in costs for programs that may be in effect.

c. Re-arrests will occur and many will be returned to prison when the formerly incarcerated cannot find programs, jobs or housing.

Solution/Response

Simple. Incarcerate less. Rehabilitate more.

3. Families/children of those incarcerated

a. For children, foster care increases. Because of mass incarceration, children are placed in Foster Care because the parents are incarcerated.

b. The incarceration of a family member or parent adds stress to an environment that is already traumatized, or straddled with poverty. It increases the poverty level by reducing the income for the family by incarcerating the parent.

c. Family connections that once may have been close, are strained when the incarcerated parent returns home. If grandparents provide the childcare, they may not want to relinquish it upon the return of the parent which further causes stress.

Solutions/Response.

Create and fund more programs for reentry back to the family environment. Include the entire family for the program to help with the transition.

4. Those in prison for crimes related to drug use/abuse

a. Americans spend billions of dollars to incarcerate non-violent offenders who are only a detriment to themselves. Much needed tax revenue that could fund educational programs is diverted to the prison system to house persons addicted to drugs.

b. Black men are admitted to State Prisons more than white men, however white men use drugs more frequently. Harsher penalties exist for drugs such as Crack then for the drugs typically used by white men.

c. Incarcerating Drug Offenders quadruples the prison population at alarming rates, further increasing the costs for incarceration. Drug use is still prevalent inside prisons and therefore does not correct or rehabilitate the offender which then causes the offender to recidivate once released.

Solution/Response

Simple. Do not incarcerate those afflicted with drug/substance abuse problems. Instead, rehabilitate, educate and correct the problem from its root cause. Cure the drug addiction. Recidivism will not happen when the affliction is cured. Incarcerating does not cure the affliction, it only increases it.

5. Those in prison for relatively long terms (e.g.: 5-10 yrs.)

a. Incarceration costs increase as the person grows older. An individual who is 40 or 50 years old and is incarcerated for 10 years, may develop health problems associated with growing older eg. Heart Disease, Prostrate or Breast Cancer etc. Costs to incarcerate a healthy individual may be $40,000.00 per year but when complicated with health problems, the cost may rise to $70,000.00 or higher. This is a direct impact on the prison system as well as the individual who is incarcerated.

b. Incarceration for longer periods affects those incarcerated psychologically by being away from their families or children for longer periods of time.

c. The longer the individual is incarcerated, the more challenges they face and can damage their prospects of rehabilitation, reintegration or treatment.

Solutions/Response

Incarcerate less for non-violent offenders and increase programs that will help with rehabilitation, reintegration or treatment of afflictions or addictions.

6. The society as a whole

a. Society is affected because fewer individuals are available for the workforce and once reentered into society, are less likely to be hired in stable and productive employment areas. Most have no alternative but to use social service programs such as Welfare or Disability which further strains the economy and society.

b. Mass incarceration also weakens the community social organization such as family formation, the workforce and interaction between neighbors.

c. Mass incarceration may increase crime and threaten the public safety that it was intentionally designed to protect.

Solutions/Response

A greater collaboration between policy making officials, Child and Welfare services, educational and job training programs and mental and public health agencies should occur to help with the negative effects of incarceration and reentry into society. New polices should be implemented to help formerly incarcerated individuals and their families overcome the obstacles they face when reentering into their communities.

Sources: http://www.sentencingproject.org/PublicationDetails.aspx?PublicationID=319