Critical Thinking, Ethics, and Civic Responsibility

Overcrowding in prisons and jails is a problem that the United States and other countries have been working on for awhile. Operating budgets have been cut as well so jails and prisons receive less money than they used to. Each year incarcerated people cost the tax payers approximately 27.5 billion dollars a year.

To reduce California's jail and prison population they created a bill that reduced the sentence for low level drug offenses. Now instead of going to a state prison for up to three years the person getting charged would have to spend up to a year in a county jail.

Another idea that has been put out there is to privatize jails and prisons. By doing this the government would save a lot of money while private companies make money. The downside to this is that security may not be the best since it may not be up to government standards. It would be hard to see what happens inside a private prison since the inmates could be treated unfairly, and it may not be as safe from escapes and hostage situations.

"Jail Overcrowding." Jail Overcrowding. N.p., n.d. Web. .

"A Simple Solution to the Serious Problem of Prison Overcrowding." Ella Baker Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. .

"Criminal Justice: Pros & Cons of Prison Privatization: Ashworth College Community." Recent Posts. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. .