Any suggestions on how to solve the overpopulation problem in prisons today ........?

Question

without letting them back on the streets because there is no room for them, which is how they are dealing with it now?

Answer 1

For one thing, we can end the bull sh1t war on drugs...
I say that we should legalize drugs. It's ridiculous to imprison people for drug use. It wastes space that could be used to imprison people who violate the rights of others. We will have much more jail and prison space if we do the following:

Like I said, legalize drugs. This action alone will provide a great deal of jail and prison space. Think of all the users and dealers who are taking up space in our jails and prisons.

Set up free clinics where addicts could go for a designated number of "hits" and unlimited sterile needles. This would cost much less than what is spent on housing addicts in the jail and prison system and funding the ridiculous war on drugs. Also, think of all the money that would be saved by reducing the spread of disease via the use of dirty needles.
Much of the crime (murder, burglary, theft, etc...) is a direct result of drugs being illegal. Many people are murdered when addicts don't have the money to pay dealers. Many addicts resort to stealing in order to fund their habits. The list goes on. By providing addicts with the drugs their bodies require, we would decrease the chances of them creating debts with dealers, and resorting to committing crimes such as those listed above, thereby creating a huge reduction in crime and increased space in the jail and prison system.

And, before someone says something really clever such as, "I don't want a junkie doctor," please reconsider your logic. Alcohol is legal, but employers generally don't allow their employees to perform their duties while intoxicated. Likewise, it's illegal to perform certain duties while intoxicated, just as it's illegal to operate a motor vehicle while intoxicated. There's no reason why the same can't apply to drug use.

Another action that can be taken to create more jail space is to legalize prostitution. It's legal to have sex at no charge. Why shouldn't the opposite be legal? All of the arguments against prostitution are ridiculous. Disease is spread by sex, not just by sex for money. There's a strong possibility that there are more women who are abused/murdered by husbands than by pimps since logic suggests that married women are in greater number than prostitutes. And the issue of morality is subjective and shouldn't be legislated. Legalize prostitution and tax it. By taxing prostitution, we can make everyone's piece of the "tax pie" smaller. There are those who will probably say that prostitutes will simply work "under the table". True, there probably would be those who do this. However, there are people in all walks of life who do as such. In my opinion, this isn't a valid argument against the legalization of prostitution. I think the positives of legalizing prostitution outweigh the negatives.

We don't have to limit ourselves to legalizing certain activities in order to free up jail and prison space. The sentencing guidelines for many offenses need to be changed. It's ridiculous to waste jail space by incarcerating someone who, for example, has been convicted of driving while their license is on suspension or revocation- regardless of whether or not the individual is a habitual offender. There are people whose licenses are suspended simply because they couldn't afford to pay insurance on their motor vehicle. Many of these same people live too far from their jobs to walk or ride a bike and do not know anyone who is willing or able to transport them to and from work. What are these people suppose to do? Quit working and be hungry and homeless? No. They risk driving to provide for themselves and for their families. Some get caught. And if they cannot afford insurance, common sense dictates that they cannot afford the fines imposed which need to be paid in order to get their licenses back and avoid jail time. And these are some of the very people who we incarcerate. We jail people for such nonsense and then wonder why our jails are so crowded that we're constantly relocating inmates.

And why in the world do we jail parents for not paying child support? If the purpose is to motivate them to pay, how are they going to pay child support while incarcerated? Work release? Well, seeing as how that will take quite a while since the Department of Corrections garnishes their "share" from the inmates wages, who knows how long the so called "dead beat parents" will be sitting in jail taking up space that could be used to house criminals who steal, assault, etc...

And what about probation/parole violations? Did you know that not having a legal residence is a probation/parole violation? There are people in jail and prison right now who have served the time sentenced to them but are not released simply because they have no place to go and are waiting for space to become available in halfway houses. Why bother with such nonsense? Why not allow people a given period of time to obtain a legal residence? And, even if they don't find a legal residence, why incarcerate them? Why not order community service or something else that would benefit society rather than cause problems?

Our taxes pay to house and care for inmates. Why are we so quick to provide support to people who could be functioning as assets to society? In my opinion, no one should be incarcerated for violating probation/parole. If someone has violated their probation/parole by returning to his/her former criminal activities then THAT should be the issue. Time should be permitted for finding a legal residence, gainful employment, etc... But probation/parole violation should not be an offense that carries jail/prison time, even if the individual is at fault. It's totally asinine that we incarcerate people for such things as neglecting to pay fines, court costs, and restitution, for missing appointments with probation/parole officers, for lacking a legal residence, for lacking gainful employment, and so on, while on probation/parole. These people are sitting in jail/prison while our taxes could be paying for people who truly need to be incarcerated to occupy their "spots".

Answer 2

Others here have posted great ideas....

Decriminalize recreational marijuana use and allow it to be legally retailed and taxed. I would almost go so far as to say decriminalize the majority of drugs....but there are a lot of other legal and social elements that would need to be addressed if this were done that I won't get into here. Legalizing marijuana would not require much legal and social changes elsewhere, thus it would be a relatively quick and easy first step. Other victimless crimes should also be decriminalized and, when appropriate, taxed and regulated. People who are not truly a danger to society certainly don't need to be using up tax dollars and prison space....and the additional tax dollars to be gained by legalizing these actions certainly is not a negative.

Create "inmate" military battallions (with adequate psych examinations for all candidates) that still ensure the necessary level of security for these individuals, but also both puts these inmates into productive use and teaches them the many beneficial values the military often does (discipline, responsibility, etc.). This experience would also help them to acquire skills and open doors to opportunities they otherwise wouldn't have, thus it could possibly prevent future violations once they are released, in turn having a beneficial effect on future overcrowding.

Quit using tax dollars to make life easier for those being punished. Instead of huge recreational rooms and spaces, install more cells where these rec rooms are (more cells = less overcrowding), or instead of rec rooms and gyms and such have libraries and classrooms (make it miserable = slight chance they will not return).

Think of how much relief our prison systems would be given through just these few ideas.....

Answer 3

Yes, you go back to the way it was done in the Bible. The Bible has no provision for the prison system we have today. The Bible only has 4 ways to deal with those who need to be separated from society. " Cities of Refuge" Numbers 35: 11,12, 22-28 "Capital Punishment" Romans 13: 1-4 "Corporal Punishment" Deuteronomy 25: 1-3 " Restitution" Exodus 22:1-4 If these four things were practiced there would be no need for jails, except to hold people awaiting trial. ( the cities of refuge held people awaiting trial in God's plan

Answer 4

We just can't seem to get them a way. If the Rockets win than we can succesfully roam through the Yahoo Answers Basketball section without swarms of bandwagon Lakers fans. Lets hope the boys from Clutch City get the job done today. We can finally clearly post and answer in this section without running into swarms and swarms of Lakers bandwagoners if the Rockets win. Lets Go Rockets! Lets hope the Clutch City Kids get it done lmao @ King(I Own Alpha Wolf)'s answer

Answer 5

I watched a documentary about prison overcrowding in Florida. They had a group chained together heading for their cell block, walking past the tennis couts and the basketball courts. Maybe they should turn prisons into prisons rather than country clubs and there would be fewer problems.

Answer 6

The repeat violent offenders/ criminals should be shipped off to fight in the middle east. Hey..fighting and violence... that's what they're into. That way our prison population will be less violent, and the inmates wouldn't be forced to side with prison gangs and commit crimes, that will only increase their stay.

Answer 7

Legalize all drugs, then federally legislate and regulate them. Same way you do with cigs and alcohol, which are just as bad for you as any street drug. Kills the illegal drug market right there, which knocks out a big portion of crime.

Answer 8

put the death penalty in force and use it after the criminal has a fair trial and is found guilty.

Answer 9

1.Send them to war in Iraq,let them die over there instead of our young ones that are dying.
2.The ones on death row go ahead and have them put to death and advance the ones that needs to be on death row,and have them put to death and keep the cycle going until it's down to a minimum instead of being maxed out.

Answer 10

yep, stop convicting pple who are innocent. that isn't to say that some aren't, but let's be real many are innocent.

Answer 11

better lawyers.

PD, ur going to jail

good lawyer, you may not serve as much time.