Mass Incarceration Paper (10 PAGES APA)

Mass Incarceration: First Step Act Reforms

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Mass Incarceration: First Step Act Reforms

The United States has the highest percentages of prison population. For a country that accounts for about 5% of the world population, figures show that it holds about 25 % of prison population. (Michelle, 2015) As reports show the drastic reduction in the rate of crime, there have been a rise in the number of incarcerations mostly alluded to unfair policies on sentencing and granting of bail. Mass incarceration is a cancer that causes major dire consequences in the social, economic and racial spheres across the country. It has cost the taxpayers colossal amounts of money and also disproportionally hurt communities and families of colored people. (Jean, 2018) There have been an increase in the number of people held before trial, over criminalization of activities and more harsh punishments on less serious criminal activities.

Hope is not lost however as there has been the enactment of transformative legislative reforms to counter mass incarceration and reduce its negative effects. One of this legislation which signed into law by President Trump in December 2018, is the First Step Act. This piece of legislation provides major reforms in the criminal justice system focusing on reforms in prisons and sentencing at federal level. The major notable reforms is the increase of judicial discretion in sentencing and prisoners would be allowed take part in “evidence-based recidivism reduction programs”. This paper will focus on the impetus for criminal justice reform and will focus on the reforms contained in the largely bipartisan-supported First Step Act.

Mass Incarceration in the United States ; Economic Theory

The incarceration rates in the United States of America have significantly increased over the last three decades. (U.S.Census Bureau, December 2018) The growing increase in incarceration rates is mainly attributed to the lack of proper reforms in the criminal justice system, given its political inclination. This has raised significant concerns regarding the mushrooming populations of incarcerated individuals besides the socioeconomic and racial disparities that come with criminal convictions. Reports reveal that crime and the growing incarceration rates are significantly expensive for the taxpayers as they place significant constraints on the public budget. Punishments, with precision to incarceration, remains an aspect that is equally costly for the offenders as it significantly reduces the level of attachment between the perpetrators of heinous crimes and their family members as well as the community. Several measures have been construed with the cardinal intent of reducing the growing recidivism rates. Given this, one of the significant measures placed by the criminal justice system lies in the incarceration of the offenders for life, an approach that criminologists have often inferred to as incapacitation. This approach, as adduced in the views of various research studies, is significantly costly as it significantly decreases the labor market's productivity, affects the well-being of the family, and increases the publics' budget.

The period that an offender spends incarceration, as well as their experiences in correctional facilities, may significantly influence recidivism. Prison reforms and sentencing, in this case, remain the fundamental trajectories of the criminal justice reforms that draw an understanding of these effects. According to the economic theory, the longer prisoners spend in correctional facilities, the higher the risks that come with detachment from their communities, family members, and work. The prisoners are, therefore, vulnerable to the acquisition of skills that may increase their attempts to commit more crimes. Contrarily, sentences that encourage behavioral and substance abuse programs, recidivism prevention initiatives, and job training programs play a fundamental role in reducing the criminal activities of the prisoners following their release. Conclusively, it is evident that sentences that last longer uniformly help in reducing the increasing rates of crime, an observation coined in the economic theory.

Fundamentally the need for reforms within the criminal justice system lies in the fact that half of the federal detained inmates are primarily detailed for drug offenses. This has the public eyebrows significantly regarding the element of criminalization as more individuals are sentenced for non-violent offenses-often considered as victimless crimes. This argument supports the discussions emerging that drug offenses related to the consumption and the possession of substances may not be remedied through incarcerations-establishing the essence of rehabilitation outside the criminal justice system. Given the nature of the emerging issues, it is evident that criminal justice requires reforms, with one of the main decisions established lying in the need to define the activities that are perceived as criminal. The schools of thought that support the legalization of drugs decry instances of overcriminalization, a controversial issue establishing the need and essence of reforms. It is argued that in the event that the scope of overcriminalization means that some of the prevalent crimes may surprise the offenders. This, therefore, establishes the need for the establishment of a post-correctional experience of the offenders that are currently considered as a fundamental aspect of the overall criminal and justice approach. (Gill, 2018)The advocates of the former offenders have alluded to different concerns, with some establishing the challenges in making transitions for the repeal of the new method.

A set of other advocates equally believe in finding remedies from the local communities, citing the role played by the Church as well as civic organizations. Current programs, as alleged by a set of these advocates, are mainly focused on serving the former offenders through training programs and not-for-profit entities that fund these initiatives with the intent of removing the taboos regarding the incarceration of offenders for an extensive period. It is also cited that there is the need for the state to hold conversations with faith-based organizations on the measures that may be used in addressing the issues circumventing the criminal justice system. Most fundamental is the need to ensure that citizens, as well as their neighbors, should provide tolerance to the incarcerated or the former offenders. This, therefore, calls for the Church to make contributions towards recognizing its universal role in bringing together the society while, on the other hand, ensuring that the dignity of human beings is upheld.

The Beckerman theory is suggested in predicting criminal elements within the society so as to address the increasing risks that come with recidivism.It remains fundamental in the prediction of the risks of recidivism among the incarcerated criminals who may once more re-enter the society. (Beckett, 2016)This model builds on a seminal work with an economical connection on the need to cut down on the resources that the state uses in the incarceration of criminals. The fundamental goal of the model lies in addressing the growing cases of long sentences through the reduction of future incidences of crime. Generally, it is essential to note that the economist has a vital role to play in contributing to the discussions on criminal justice reforms. This denotes the need for economists to gain awareness on some of the prevailing social as well as scientific adages that fail to address the growing instances of incarcerations. Secondly, economists, as well as the elites within the society, need to focus on the need to harness good intentions in an effort directed towards the achievement of the established goals. Tougher as it seems, there is a need to accentuate human behavior remains complex. It is widely rooted in the self-interest of a section of individuals who make it extremely challenges to underscore the essence of policy measures that are fundamental in reforming the criminal justice system. All the stakeholders within the society, therefore, need to collaborate in the achievement of the established goals.

Justice Reforms; the First Step Act

The First Step Act, as enshrined in the laws that were passed by the 115th Congress needs to be informed by the responses of economic theories and literacy into the establishment of evidence-based initiatives in correctional facilities.(Wendy, 2019) It is first essential to note that the prevalence of some of the unintended outcomes mainly supports the demands for a solid base of evidence that supports the judicial actions, a view that is imbued in the economic theory. Reforms within the context of the law mainly denote the inclusion of varied elements that are put together within the intent of upholding human dignity. Some of the significant and widely known reforms include the expungement of restraints on the pregnant prisoners, the prohibition of restrictions regarding the use of a solitary form of confinement for the juveniles, and the increase of access to feminine hygienic products. (Samuels, 2019) Given this, there is a need to focus on some of the common areas of reforms in the judicial system:

i. Reforms in Prisons.

As provided in the First Step Act, an incentivized system for offenders need to be established to allow them to participate in evidence-proven recidivism reduction initiatives. Given this, it is alleged that one of the consequential incentives lies in the provision of time credits for the eligible prisoners to correct their behaviors. Time credit equally allows the offenders to get into pre-release custody, residential reentry, and home confinement. This model allows the offenders to reduce the higher prevalence of recidivism to receive a time ward of 10 days every 30 days to participate in some of the deserving programs. However, those deemed as below the minimum risk rates are subjected to a 15 days time award for 30 days to participate in the established activities. The initiatives mainly include the addition of phone as well as visitation privileges, increased commissary spending levels, the transfer to a nearer facility to the prisoner's residence, access to emails, and some of the fundamental incentives as deemed fit by the Bureau of Prisons.

ii. Sentencing Reforms

The federal law has made efforts directed towards lowering the mandatory minimum cases of drug offenses, providing the judges with additional discretion to sentence criminals with low-criminal histories to low imprisonment. This remains evident in the retroactive law established in 2010 that was designed with the intent of reducing the disparities in sentencing for offenses that involve crack and cocaine. Before the emergence of this act, second felonies of frug offenses required the federal judges to make sentences of at least 20 years; however, currently, a mandatory of 15 years is allowed. Given this, individuals convicted with the third felonies regarding the use of drugs and who would face the charges of a life sentence now look at a minimum of 25 years in sentence. This reform plays a fundamental role in increasing the discretion of the judges during sentencing to understand if an offender has a drug history. Besides this, offenders convicted of drug crimes mainly sentenced before the Fair Sentencing Act established in 2010 have the capacity of requesting their resentences, efforts that increase the capacity for those with cocaine and crack convictions to reduce their sentences.

iii. Reforms on Anticipatory Reentry

The First Step Act denotes the need for criminals to be placed close to their residences, a radius of 500km from their primary homes. On the other hand, the law establishes the need for the Bureau of Prisons to enable the prisoners to obtain their birth certificates and other government identification documents before they are released to the community. These changes have significantly impacted the post-incarceration results, efforts that have moderated the element of physical separation from family members and the community. This, therefore, enables the offenders to establish approaches of establishing attachments with the community following their release.

Possible Effects of these Reforms.

It is anticipated that reform in these laws will cut down significantly on the number of offenders by up to 10%, efforts that will positively impact the offenders and society. On the other hand, the laws will direct focus on the establishment of criminal corrections in an effort directed towards reducing the increasing levels of recidivism. Since the population of incarcerated individuals is projected to have hit a 90% rate, there is the likelihood of the increase of offenders reentering society. This is anticipated to significantly increase the element of skilled labor in the market place while equally reducing the levels of criminal activities among the former offenders.

The law currently gives cognition to incentives for the former offenders, an aspect that is inconsistent with the element that the offenders are irrational and criminal in type. The established incentive structures are, however, limited to the devised recidivism reduction programs. An instance of this is evident in the placement of the offenders close to their homes and families, an essential aspect of increasing the levels of connection between the offenders and the community. The law equally assists the prisoners in the obtaining of their identification documents before their reentry into the community, an element that is important for the captives seeking reemployment. Economists would, therefore, regard the reforms as fundamental in increasing the familial ties as well as the labor market connections while on the other hand, reducing the levels of crime in the future.

Conclusion

In Conclusion, it is imperative to note that sentencing reforms, as defined in the First Step Act, are fundamental in leveraging on the public budget, with this playing a role in the reflection of justice as opposed to punishment. The reduction of longer sentences is, therefore, perceived as fundamental in the reduction of the levels of recidivism among the cases reported of substance abuse as opposed to the other common forms of crimes. These efforts may, therefore, help in the reduction of the public budget and the allocation of the resources that would have been used in prisons in other projects. The laws, therefore, help in the preservation of families until the offenders return to their homes.

References

1. Michelle Ye Hee Lee, “Does the United States Really Have 5 Percent of the World’s Population and One Quarter of the World’s Prisoners?,” Washington Post,April30,2015 > https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/04/30/does-the-united-states really-have-five-percent-of-worldspopulation-and-one-quarter-of-the-worlds-prisoners/.

2. Gill, M. (2018). Threading the Needle: The FIRST STEP Act, Sentencing Reform, and the Future of Criminal Justice Reform Advocacy. Federal Sentencing Reporter, 31(2), 107-111.

3. Samuels, J., La Vigne, N., & Thomson, C. (2019). Next Steps in Federal Corrections Reform.

4. “Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1,2018,” U.S.Census Bureau, December 2018,

https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=PEP_2018_PEPANNRES&prodType=table .

5. Jean Chung, “Felony Disenfranchisement: A Primer,” The Sentencing Project, July 17, 2018,> https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/felonydisenfranchisement-a-primer/ .

6. Beckett, K., Reosti, A., & Knaphus, E. (2016). The end of an era? Understanding the contradictions of criminal justice reform. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 664(1), 238-259.

7. Wendy Sawyer and Peter Wagner, Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2019,Prison Policy Initiative,November, 2019, https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2019.html .