Problems with Jails

With the number of people being incarcerated and just a few jails, there are a myriad of problems that jail facilities run into with regard to the facility itself as well as the people in the jail.  Space, recruitment of officers, rising crime rate, and lack of support from the community have become issues.

Basically, the problem of overcrowding is the greatest problem that jails and prisons are dealing with today.  Based on a survey of about 200 law enforcement personnel by EPIC Solutions in San Diego, California, overcrowding is a fact and prevalent problem.  Crime rates are rising and when asked about their opinions about how to deter a specific number of crimes, it’s almost always in keeping the offender locked up.

Insufficient funding comes into the equation in that, there’s already a scarcity in money to make more jails and prisons and if there ever is money, more walls, more bars and more guards are the priority instead of delegating funding to programs that help in the rehabilitation of the prisoners.

Based on a Bureau of Justice Statistics, one of the major problems in jails is medical problems.  From their study, more than a third of the inmates are suffering from a medical problem.  There are about 5% suffering from cancer, paralysis, stroke, diabetes, liver problems, kidney problems, STDs, hepatitis, tuberculosis, or HIV.  What’s more, around one in eight jail inmates have reported being injured since admission to jail.

With the lack of participation from the community, problems of jails will just continue to be pressing and become even bigger.