Reis Penna
According to The Sentencing Project, “From 1980 until its peak in 2009, the total federal and state prison population of the United States climbed from about 330,000 to more than 1.6 million – a nearly 400% increase” (TSP). During that time period crime rates were also falling. In recent years, states have been working to reduce prison populations. The Decarceration Project analyzed five states efforts towards reducing the populations of their prisoners, and the strategies they used that can be applied to future efforts by other states. The five states involved in the study were Connecticut, Michigan, Mississippi, Rhode Island and South Carolina.
The first strategy the states engaged in were to invest and form justice reforms to help incarcerated individuals reenter their communities successfully. This included aid in arranging housing and employment for incarcerated individuals. Setting them up for success helps reduce the chance of them ending up incarcerated again.
The next strategy was to work to reduce prison admissions. This had a main focus on reducing crime, and additionally reducing criminal penalties based on their seriousness. Some of the states also removed some of the mandatory minimum sentences for certain crimes. There was also some investing into alternative forms of correction other than prison, through community programs.
Additionally, incarcerated individuals were opportunities to meet with participating community outreach programs as well as employers before their release. This allowed individuals to get a step ahead in terms of finding success in life outside of prison.
In order for that step to work, the five states also increased the amount of prisoners released. Some of the states were able to change programs to evaluate prisoners release approval before they were eligible for release, so by the time they were eligible, the process was much quicker. This was one of the few strategies put into place to avoid the barriers of working to release prisoners, in efforts to make the process much more efficient and doable. The releasing authorities were also provided with coaching and given chances to build relationships and trust with incarcerated individuals before their release, making the process easier.
Lastly, strategies were put into place to reduce the amount of time incarcerated individuals serve in prison before eligibility for release. Creating new systems of analyzing behaviors and correctional aspects of individuals convicted of crimes can assist in their transition back into society.
Some of the main takeaways when debriefing the efforts of these five states are that funding is very necessary in these reforms. In my opinion, investing into these reforms is much more worth it, as any individual is worth more as a contributing member to society, instead of being incarcerated in prisons where there is already too much money invested. It will be very worthwhile to take money away from prisons, and invest it into community outreach programs and other programs to help incarcerated individuals find success after release. This topic is very complex, and even in this domain the aspect of race wasn’t even a focus yet. There is plenty of work to be done, but strategies and projects like this are a step in the right direction.
Citation:
Decarceration Strategies. (2018, September). Retrieved November 13, 2019, from The Sentencing
Project website: https://www.sentencingproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/
Decarceration-Strategies.pdf?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=e117e163-75c0-4e69-a9a7-dca599d76aa3
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