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Why do people get incarcerated more than once?

Taylon P Mcvay
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Composition ll
Professor White
March 5, 2023
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Prison population build up.

The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. There are currently 2

million people in the United States that are impersonated or in jail. There are rising amounts of

numbers over the last 50 years of people being put here. The Government has been changing the

sentencing and law policy but, no changes in crime rates which can tell us why there has been

such increase in prisoners. With the growth of prisoners this has caused results in prisons being

overly crowded. Maybe we should all pay attention to the fact that incarceration is not effective

when it comes to achieving public safety. If prisoners were more educated maybe, they would be

less prone to reenter the system. If when prisoners were released from jail, and we gave them

resources to help better themselves and guide them on a new life trail maybe we wouldn’t have

so many re offenders.

History of Mass Incarceration

Seeing that the U.S is known for being the largest incarcerator in the world is very

heartbreaking. The policies that shape our situations today come from long ago, closely to when

our country was founded. In the most recent history incarceration started with tough on crime,

law and order, and war on drugs polices, which were all made by President Nixon and

established by Ronald Reagan.

The outcomes of going to jail.

First and for most gaining a place of employment this is troubled for many people

because employers have a hard time trusting you if you have a criminal background. You also

will be limited on your housing options due to background checks and the negative effect you
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might have on one’s rental property because of your social status. Being incarcerated reduces and

limits your lifetime goals and earnings that you have now prolonged due to law.

Studies have shown that more than half of people that have been incarcerated have been in there

more than one time. Breaking this cycle can be very difficult. All these outcomes really affect the

way prisoners see life. They are at the point in their life where they see it as, when they get out

they have nothing to live for. With they have a I don’t care attitude and do not put any effort in

their life to move forward and grow from this point of their life. Mass incarceration is rising due

to the number of repeat offenders plus new offenders.

Reducing the chances of going back to jail. If the United States wanted to reduce the

amount of re incarceration in Americans, they could put out the efforts to help them when getting

released from either jail or prison. One way to reduce these cycles is providing education. This is

a way incarcerated people could find employment and plan for there future ahead. There is

research that provides information that shows 43 percent of inmates who attended some types of

educational programs were less likely to be impersonated more than once. With this being said

they could also be more likely to finding good jobs upon there release date. This means

educational programs at prisons or jails is very important to have.

Next, is maybe the thought of decreasing the probation fees and jail fees. These are few

that are due to the state that you are Incarcerated in which is another very challenging hill that

can also set you back in many ways. This debt can be very hard to get rid of and doesn’t help

when you are already struggling fresh out of jail. Maybe eliminating these fees would also be a

step forward at helping people get back on their feet and not want to be re convicted.

Finally, we could provide them with more support for social services. The main people

that are in these situations have had mental or abuse health issues. Without treatment of the right
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things, it can very much affect your way of life. If we provide a social service that supports and

guided, you fresh out of prison it can help you address and overcome these problems.

If the United States put In as much effort to help better our citizens as they did to try and

lock them up we would have a better chance of making this country a better place. People that

are locked up and thrown away for things that are not really being related to criminal activity,

they are given up on for no reason. We are ruining the lives of people that don’t have bad

intentions and we are making it way harder for them to find their selves and live a good life.
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References

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Darroll, H. (2022, November 23). Three key criminal legal reform takeaways

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