What factors contribute to high correctional populations? What impact do drug laws have on them?
What will be an ideal response
Prisons and jails now have about 1.6 million prisoners in custody—an increase of about 225,000 inmates from 2000 to present. There are several factors that affect prison and jail populations. First are arrests for drug use. Other commonly cited factors for high incarceration rates include truth-in-sentencing laws, violence on television and in the movies, and a general deterioration of morals and the family. A philosophical shift about the purpose of incarceration also contributed to prison crowding. In response to the apparent failure of rehabilitation policies, the now-prevailing philosophy sees prisons as places to incarcerate and punish inmates in an effort to deter crime. This philosophy has resulted in get-tough sentencing practices (including mandatory sentencing laws), which contribute to rising prison populations. Legislators have essentially removed the word rehabilitation from the penal code while focusing on fixed sentences.
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