Prison Population

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wbrenzfrl

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Business Finance

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Literature Analysis Instructions

The student will write a 10–12-page Literature Analysis on specific problem in criminal justice. It should not be a descriptive paper but one that critically examines the problems and the competing solutions. The student should make an argument if need be. The paper must utilize at least 12 significant, scholarly resources that are significant to the topic (current, relevant, credible, and each carries its weight) with a clear and meaningful connection between all the resources. The paper must properly follow current APA style. Detailed instructions can be found in Blackboard. If a student is struggling with current APA format, he/she may refer to the Additional Information folder for help.Organize and format your paper according to APA style.If you need more help understanding how to analyze scholastic literature consult the corresponding section in your APA manual.

Include the following elements in your paper:

Title page including a running head
Abstract and key words
Body

The body of the paper consists of all of the questions a person would ask if you mentioned the hypothesis to them. What is it I am researching? What is the current problem? What is the solution? What do my critics say about the problem and my solution? What does the literature say about the problem and my solution? What gaps in the literature will my solution address? If successful, what are the implications of my research? And a conclusion. Conclusion (Make sure you reflect back upon your thesis statement and make adjustments as needed.)

References

ATTACHED IS THE DRAFT. PRISON POPULATION IS THE SUBJECT.

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Literature Analysis: Topic Identification & Bibliography Template Proposed Topic: The rising prison population in the US Proposed Thesis Statement: The United States laws, politics and also morals are all underpinned by the values and ethics of Judeo-Christian. This is why the justice system of the country is set in a way to provide liberty, life, and happiness to the citizens of America through incarceration of the lawbreakers and violators of the peoples' rights. However, these efforts have led to the creation of the largest prison population in the world. Preliminary Bibliography National Research Council. (2014). The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and Consequences. Committee on Causes and Consequences of High Rates of Incarceration. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://johnjay.jjay.cuny.edu/nrc/NAS_report_on_incarceration.pdf Llamas, A., & Larson, J. (2016). Prioritizing restorative justice in United States prisons. Journal of Criminal Justice and Legal Issues, 2012. Retrieved from http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/162504.pdf Mauer, M. (2001). The Causes and Consequences of Prison Growth in the United States. SAGE Journals, 9-20. Retrieved from http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/14624740122228212 Morenoff, J., & Harding, D. (2014). Incarceration, Prisoner Reentry, and Communities. NCBI, 411-429. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4231529/ Pfaf, J. (2008). The Empirics of Prison Growth: A Critical Review and Path Forward. Retrieved February 2018, from Scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu: https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7290&cont e xt=jclc Travis, J., Western, B., & Redburn, F. (2014). The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and Consequences. Retrieved February 2018, from academicworks.cuny.edu: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/ & httpsredir=1&article=1026&context=jj_pubs Annotated Bibliography National Research Council. (2014). The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and Consequences. Committee on Causes and Consequences of High Rates of Incarceration. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://johnjay.jjay.cuny.edu/nrc/NAS_report_on_incarceration.pdf The council establishes that there were few prisoners in the period stability which was from the 1920s up to the 1970s, in the decades that followed, the number of incarceration in the US multiplied. The evidence from the research established that the normative principles that are used to justify incarcerations as the only response to crime are important in analyzing the increasing prison population in America. These principles are contained in the justice system and they are the determinants of who goes to prison and who does not. The public policies that dictate the appropriate use of the US prisons have failed to consider the costs and the benefits within this system, matters on criminal justice are only focusing on ideas of fairness, just desert, and justice without incorporate other important factors within the system. Llamas, A., & Larson, J. (1-26). Prioritizing restorative justice in United States prisons. Journal of Criminal Justice and Legal Issues, 2012. Retrieved from http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/162504.pdf Research by Llamas & Larsons (2012) establishes that the US prison system has been contradicting the mission of the justice department of the country. The fact that the system has neglected to focus on correcting most of the underlying problems associated with crime and providing effective rehabilitation to the to the prisoners, the prisons have failed to reduce recidivism and instead promoted the growth of the prison population. The increased incarceration rates have created other problems such as the development of private prisons. Llamas & Larsons (2012) try to establish that there is not enough that is being done to curb the growth of the prison population and expanding to the privatization of prisons is just a way of increasing the population Mauer, M. (2001). The Causes and Consequences of Prison Growth in the United States. SAGE Journals, 9-20. Retrieved from http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/14624740122228212 The unprecedented growth of the prison population is traced to the political developments and the changes that have been occurring in the sentencing practices of the justice system. Marc (2001), explores that in the 1960s the similar menace caused social division and crime politicization creating the shift from the sentencing model that had prevailed throughout the 20th century. The current sentencing practices have created constraints on the judges deciding the cases and the parole officials thereby decreasing the emphasis of examining special circumstances of both the offender and the offense committed. Morenoff, J., & Harding, D. (2014). Incarceration, Prisoner Reentry, and Communities. NCBI, 411-429. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4231529/ The author reveals that in the 1970s the population in the American prisons was usually around 400,000 and by 2001 it had gone up to 2.1 million creating the era of mass imprisonment. Each year, around 700,000 people are released and reintegrated back to the community and in these communities, they face a challenge of leading crime-free life. The integration mostly causes reentry of more prisoners and more so causes an increase in the level of crime and thus leading to incarceration of more individuals. The environment within the communities that are characterized by drug-related crimes have created a cycle whereby after the release from prison, the level of crime increases leading to more arrests. The research establishes that it is only through focusing on the cycle of reentry and minimizing crime in the community that the growth can be curbed Pfaf, J. (2008). The Empirics of Prison Growth: A Critical Review and Path Forward. Retrieved February 2018, from Scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu: https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7290&cont e xt=jclc Pfaff (2008) explores the growth in the prison population and the myriad of other social issues it has influenced the decline in the welfare state and the treatment of the minority citizens by the justice system. The far-reaching effects of the change in the prison population has been caused by the treatment of the minority groups by the justice systems. The author establishes that over the years there has been a revolution in the use of prisons within the American society. The rationalization of the punishment used, the hierarchical systems of the country and the penal infrastructure have contributed to the problem. Travis, J., Western, B., & Redburn, F. (2014). The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and Consequences. Retrieved February 2018, from academicworks.cuny.edu: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/ & httpsredir=1&article=1026&context=jj_pubs Their research determines that the growth in the prison and the jail populations within the country has been created by increased admissions and the high length of stay of many inmates. However, these two factors have also been determined to increase their complexity on determining their actual impact considering there are many reasons why a person can be put in prison and the various crimes committed have varying jail times. The author also points out that the correctional supervision in the communities inform of probation and also parole also have an impact on the size of the prison population. All the article listed above tell the same story of overcrowded prisons only that they have outlined different ways on the factors that have given rise to the growth in the prison population. These authors establish the anomalies in the system that are creating more problems in the efforts of protecting justice and the rights of the people. In further analyses, these publications will be further utilized to establish how the ethics and values of the Judeo- Christian are yet to be achieved by the US justice system.
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Running head: PRISON POPULATION IN THE UNITED STATES

Prison Population in the United States
Institutional Affiliation
Date

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PRISON POPULATION IN THE UNITED STATES

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Literature Review
Lawbreakers perform crimes at the expense of the innocent citizens and they end up in
prison. By being imprisoned the judicially ensures that harmful people are not exposed to the
citizens; it ensures that citizens are safe. It also serves as a punishment to ensure that recidivism
does not occur. It also serves as a lesson to the potential criminals. The society is changing its
structure as the prisoners are separated from their local environment. The economy is lowering
due to the prisoners who lack the freedom of investment or selling their labor. In politics, some
leaders are trying to interfere with the law by exerting their influence and power so that the
criminal justice system can rule in their favor or preference. To deal with this issues, researchers
and scholars have done literal works on the rising incarceration in the United States.
Background of the Rising Rate of Imprisonment
Travis, western and Redburn (2014) in their work provided a brief history of the rising
imprisonment rate in the United States. There was a noted stability in imprisonment rate in the
years between 1920 to early 1970s but in the recent past, the rate has more than quadrupled.
From 1973 to 2009 the federal prison population rose steadily from 200,000 to 1.5 million
declining slightly in 4 years that followed. Another 700,000 are held dairy in the local jails.
Recently the federal prison system has expanded continuously while the state imprisonment rates
decrease (Travis, western and Redburn, 2014). The United States rate of imprisoning is 5 to 10
times higher than in Western Europe and other democracies. This led to the formation of
committees to address the causes and consequences of the increasing rate of imprisonment with
the support of the national research council (2014). Their analysis has reviewed that there are
adverse effects on public policy and also to those imprisoned, to their respective families where
they come from and return after the jail term. Uses of imprisonment to lawbreakers are effective

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in ensuring a peaceful coexistence. Matters regarding how to treat criminals involve justice, just
deserts, and fairness. There is also the jurisprudence that guides the criminal justice systems on
issues of incarceration.
Causes of the rising prison population in the U.S
The rising prison population has been triggered by several factors each contributing its
substantial increase. According to Blackburn et al. (2014), some of the causes of the increase in
the rate of incarceration in the U.S is that after the Second World War the United States shifted
the practices of criminal justice, its policies and its laws from the local governments to the
federal government. From 1940 the criminal justice system employed harsher policies, practices,
and laws. The criminal justice turned to be more persistent than intermittent rather (Blackburn et
al., 2014). The federal government had more influence due to its utmost rule and influence on the
criminal justice system. It also had the resources to expand and support the rising costs of the
incarceration. Another reason is the racial discrimination and the exploitation of the minorities.
According to the study by Llamas and Larson (2012), they observed that throughout the history,
there has been a culture of discrimination where specific races were associated with crime. This
happened especially to the blacks and Mexicans who were seen as potential criminals due to
their race and being minor in the American context (Blackburn et al., 2014). Stereotypes and
prejudices became the ways of judging other than the use of set legal policies and practices.
Judges and criminal justice officials were also blinded due to the inborn culture of biases. This
increased the number of people imprisoned regardless of whether they were guilty or not.
Another reason is the war on drugs. Illegal drugs have been a major menace in the United
States. The study by Pfaf (2008) indicates that drugs have enhanced crimes due to their high cost

PRISON POPULATION IN THE UNITED STATES

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and the effect they bring to the consumer's mind. The reason for banning the consumption of
drugs is because they have dangerous effects on the health of the consumer and also they
interfere with their mental processes leading to other crimes such as rape. Lack of money to
purchase drugs can also lead to robbery. Due to all these...