Cailin Frusti

Professor Chlebos
Intro to Corrections
23 November 2016
Problems Facing Corrections

1. Using my research, the biggest problem facing corrections is prison overcrowding.

According to Penal Reform International, data shows that the number of prisoners

exceeds official prison capacity in at least 115 countries. This statistic shows that prison

overcrowding is not only an issue here in the United States, but also in nations around the

globe. Prison overcrowding can lead to other effects, such as prison violence and an

increase in suicides committed by the inmates. This issue also weighs a financial burden

on the correctional officials, and even taxpayers. The more inmates that are housed, the

more taxes are allocated to housing these inmates. Money is being taken from other areas

of corrections, such as rehabilitation programs, to house the obscene number of prisoners

taken in, increasing the amount of overcrowding.

2. The second biggest problem facing corrections is the understaffing of the correctional

facilities. With the rise of prison overcrowding, there should also be an increase in

staffing. However, due to budget cuts aligned with prison overcrowding and housing

inmates, there has not been enough financial resources to staff more correctional officers.

In states such as Alabama, the state officials have turned to closing facilities to relocate

the employees to an understaffed prison, therefore not spending more money on

employees. In this case, Alabama officials closed one community work center, which

housed 240 inmates and had 27 employees, to have the 27 employees work at a nearby

prison which was overcome with violence due to being understaffed (Associated Press,
 2016). This only creates more overcrowding for the prisons that the inmates of the closed

facility are being sent to, only creating more problems. This is only a temporary solution

to a long-term problem.
3. The third biggest problem facing corrections today is the lack of rehabilitation programs.

California is one of the states that has witnessed the budget cuts in rehabilitation

programs within prisons, cutting off such resources from the inmates who need these

programs to get back on their feet and out into the real world Officials plan to chop $250

million a year from rehabilitation services, more than 40% of what the state now devotes

to them and this policy will take place over a four year plan in the state of California

(Rothfeld, 2009). Some inmates rely on these programs to help them get parole or an

early release from prisons. Others need them to help rehabilitate themselves from

whatever it may be, such as drugs. Inmates who actively participate in such programs

tend to be less violent, which is also a rising problem in corrections.

Works Cited
Associated Press. (2016, November 08). Alabama Shifting Officers to Understaffed Prison.
Retrieved from: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/nov/8/alabama-shifting-
officers-to-understaffed-prison/
Penal Reform International. (N.d.). Overcrowding. Retrieved from:
https://www.penalreform.org/priorities/prison-conditions/key-facts/overcrowding/
Rothfeld, Michael. (2009, October 17). As rehab programs are cut, prisons do less to keep
inmates from returning. Retrieved from: http://articles.latimes.com/2009/oct/17/local/me-
rehab17