Flaws in prison system need fixing

Flaws+in+prison+system+need+fixing

With fighting, contraband, power mad corrections officers, and repeat offenders, this country has a real problem with its jails. The only way to fix America’s jails is to first identify the problems. This country needs everyone to work together towards a nationwide change.

Jails are significantly less structured than prisons. Prisons are for incarceration of a year or more and jails are for any lesser time, so inmates incarcerated on short sentences don’t experience the much needed structure. Jails are in need of structure for the safety of the inmates and the staff.

In the recent show “60 Days In,” viewers were given a glimpse into the surprising reality of jails. The inmates were told that the cameramen were filming a documentary. The only clear footage came from those cameras used by the cameramen, while the cameras built into the jail proved to be nearly useless. If this is a problem in one jail, it’s likely a problem in many. A fight ensued and no corrections officer appeared to stop it. The question forms: who is monitoring the cameras, if anyone? What use are the cameras if no one is ensuring the safety of the inmates?

The cameras are in place to help stop jail violence, but the fact that inmates in the same room are in on a variety of charges doesn’t help. Jail violence is a given. Inmates in jail on nonviolent charges are in the same rooms as murderers. If the system further separated inmates out according to the seriousness of their crimes, each inmate would be more protected.

Drugs are also a problem in jails. Contraband is anything that is against the rules of the jails. These rules can range from not being allowed an extra layer of foam in an inmate’s mattress to possession of drugs and alcohol. On “60 Days In,” one inmate tells the cameras that there are more drugs in the jails than on the streets.

In December of 2014, 16.2% of inmates were in jail on drug related offenses. In years past, these inmates would have been sent to an insane asylum, but because of cases of abuse, they are now sent to jail. While there are rehabilitation classes offered, they are not mandatory. Consequently, some inmates leave jail without rehabilitation and fall back into drug abuse. This continues the cycle of returning to jail as a repeat offender. These inmates need rehabilitation and help. There should be some sort of measure that exists to interfere in this harmful cycle that can be a resource for inmates.

“The only reason some of the girls went to those [rehabilitation] meetings was to socialize,” Emma Jackson, a former inmate in Pasco County, said.

Corrections officers are employed in the jails to assist in the control and rehabilitation of the inmates. However, many corrections officers, or C.O.s, abuse their power. They should be monitored just as much as the inmates in order to prevent abusive use of their power. Many inmates don’t report the problems out of fear. “What are the chances someone would believe me before a C.O.?” Jackson said.

The C.O.s aren’t the only problem in the jails; many of the inmates spend their days laying around in cells or watching TV in the main room. They are fed and cared for on a basic level. While there are jobs offered to the inmates, they are not mandatory. Required jobs would ensure that the inmates are tired and they would have less time to fight. It would also give them something productive to do and prepare them for entering the workforce upon release.

“[In] America’s legal system, we must face the reality that, as it stands, our system is, in too many respects, broken,” Attorney General Eric Holder said at the 2013 annual meeting of the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates.

By raising awareness of the problems within the criminal justice system, America can take the first step towards fixing the issues. Everyone should take this issue seriously, because the criminal justice system affects everyone.

 

(Names have been changed for the privacy for those interviewed.)