Assignment 5: Senior Seminar Project - NO PLAGIARISM

Assignment 4: Data Collection

CRJ 499: Undergraduate Capstone in Criminal Justice

August 11, 2019

Assignment 4: Data Collection

Overcrowding in prisons or correction centers is one of the problems that have attracted the attention of many researchers. Several researchers have tried to explore this particular issue in detail. This paper, therefore, seeks to analyze the existing data concerning this specific issue to be able to review the problem after collecting reliable data.

The essential data that will aid my research is secondary data. I have already collected several secondary data. These data sources include charts and statistics. The statistics show that there have been increased cases of overcrowding in many prisons and correctional centers in the US. These data and statistics indicate the large estimated number of prisoners and offenders being held in US prisons over the past few years. The reports from various agencies such as the Bureau of Justice Statistics also concur with these findings. This indeed indicates that there is a problem of overcrowding in most prisons and correctional centers in the US.

The data sources, which include charts and statistics, are relevant to the problem in that they show the extent of overcrowding in the prisons and correctional centers. These data also show the negative impacts of overcrowding on inmates. The statistics are also relevant in that they show the trend of increase in the number of inmates being held in prison over the past few years.

Statistics indicate that the US has an approximate prison population of 2.1 million. This is according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. This equates to approximately 481 people who are incarcerated per 99,000 of the population. The problem of overcrowding has become a serious issue in many U.S. prisons. Over 17 states reported that they were operating at over 100 percent capacity at the end of 2013 and 2014.

The data below indicates that the US is ranked number 113th in the world in terms of overcrowding in the prisons in the year 2018. The data also indicates that most of the US prisons were operating at an average capacity of 103.9%. This is according to statistics from Forbes.

The following charts are also useful in my research:

References

Gabriel, A. (2018). Nigeria and United States Prisons: A comparative Analysis of Mass Overcrowding. J Foren Psy, 3(129), 2.

Robinson, M. (2018). A Case Study of Overcrowding in a County Jail in the Southeast United States (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University).