Prison overcrowding in the United States

Prison overcrowding in the United States is a condition that occurs when the number of inmates in a correctional facility exceeds its designed capacity. Over the last 40 years, the number of persons held in prisons and jails in the United States per capita has more than quadrupled, with the total proportion of incarcerated people now surpassing 2.3 million. This issue, although existing for many years, gained its prominence during the United States' War on Drugs, which placed significant responsibility on the individual stated for mitigating the prison overcrowding issues with limited financial resources. This was further complicated by the passage of draconian sentencing and parole schemes in the mid-1970s by the state and federal legislators that were designed to keep the increasing proportion of people in prison for decades. Moreover, federal prison populations may increase if states adhere to federal policies, such as mandatory minimum sentences. On the other hand, the Justice Department provides billions of dollars a year for state and local law enforcement to ensure they follow the policies set forth by the federal government concerning U.S. prisons. Prison overcrowding has affected some states more than others, but overall, the risks of overcrowding are substantial and there are solutions to this problem.

The Great Depression witnessed the mushrooming of crime rates as individuals resorted to crimes for survival. Although incarceration rates steadily rose from 1929 to 1970, they drastically increased with the introduction of Nixon's War on Drugs which mandated stricter sentencing. Nixon's War on Drugs was a steady growth in the crime rates and reports concerning the prevalence of drug abuse and drug-related crimes, with lawmakers around the country enacting stringent mandatory minimum sentencing laws directed at severely punishing the manufacturing, usage, and sale of drugs, among other crimes. The issue of prison overcrowding was further compounded with the enactment of the Three Strikes Law. The enactment of these laws was rationalized to the public through presenting it as an effective way of deterring irredeemable criminals from committing future crimes by putting them in very long sentences.

It was estimated in 2018 that there were a total of 2.3 million inmates incarcerated. Around 1.3 million of those inmates were incarcerated within the State Prison systems. The U.S. incarceration rate is twice that of China, and is at 103.9% of capacity. In comparison, Haiti is the most overcrowded at 454.4%.

Colorado is one of the many states dealing with the prison overcrowding issue. According to the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice (2019), "The Colorado prison population is expected to increase by 20.5% between fiscal years 2018 and 2025, from an actual year-end inmate population of 20,136 to a projected population of 24,261." The greatest agreed upon factor to prison overcrowding is parolees who re-offend by violating their parole supervision. Colorado saw an increase of 8% from the fiscal year 2017 to the fiscal year 2018 for parolees who returned to prison for technical parole violations.

Although offenders are being released, many may have not responded to enacted rehabilitation tactics to prevent continued illegal activity. This often leads reoccurring offenders back into the prison system. There has been an increase in waitlisted or lack of specialized programs such as drug rehabilitation, or education. Some convicts are not eligible for parole, which further extends incarceration times.

Another cause of prison overcrowding is the lack of effective rehabilitation programs for offenders upon release. Proper rehabilitation programs act as deterrents for many released inmates from committing further crimes, leading to a high rate of recidivism. The increase in waitlists and the lack of specialized programs, including drug, alcohol, and intoxicated driving courses detrimentally impact the ability of inmates to receive adequate rehabilitation. Furthermore, the nature of certain crimes does not allow the possibility for parole, resulting in extended or life sentences that ultimately lead to long-term overcrowding.

The rise of overcrowding has resulted in many issues such as:

Prison overcrowding could create a range of consequences that have become prevalent in the world today. First, prison overcrowding could affect resources per prisoner. The more inmates that are admitted, the fewer resources there are to distribute. Due to the lack of resources, inmates may be forced to spend large amounts of time doing nothing rather than becoming engaged in an activity. The amount of resources continues to reduce as more prisoners are admitted, and social support services become more limited. With a small amount of space and resources within the prisons, prisoners progress more slowly through the steps to release, and their numbers accumulate more quickly. The combination of those two factors could lead to the prison system slowing down, and prisoners' progress would also begin to move slowly. If the prisoners' progress is slowed, then their exit is slowed as well. This will heavily increase overcrowding and results in a facility reaching maximum capacity at a faster rate.