Introduction
When a person commits a crime, the police and the representatives of the criminal justice system take a number of steps to identify and solve a problem in a short period. Incarceration is one of the forms of punishment that is globally applied to punish law offenders, reduce crime ratings, and ensure public safety. Each country has its specific approach to combatting criminal behaviors and establishing different forms of control over the population.
In the United States, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division are examples of public safety organizations. They are involved in reporting crime rates, comparing the effectiveness of incarceration methods, and evaluating social behaviors due to recent COVID-19 restrictions (Jennings & Perez, 2020).
In this term paper, attention will be paid to the current incarceration rates in the United States and globally and the main characteristics of incarceration and public safety in the U.S. context. The analysis of the connection between public safety and incarceration will prove the ambiguous nature of incarceration reduction due to a variety of economic, political, and psychological changes in modern society.
Current Incarceration Rates and Costs
Today, the rise of mass incarceration is observed in many countries. The United States remains one of the world’s leaders in incarceration rates in terms of its total number of people in jails and per capita (Chamie, 2022). For example, in the country, about 630 people out of 100,000 are in prison, meaning approximately 2 million citizens in total (Chamie, 2022). In comparison, the lowest incarceration rate, no more than 90 prisoners per 100,000 population, is observed in most European countries, like Denmark, Germany, France, and Italy (Chamie, 2022).
During the last several decades, China has reached the second place after the United States, with about 1.7 million prisoners, outrunning Brazil (0.8 million), India (0.5 million), and Russia (0.5 million) (Chamie, 2022). Looking at the global level of incarceration, over 11 million is the current number of the estimated prison population (Chamie, 2022). Despite the intention to promote stability and safety, the presence of people in jail cannot be ignored.
In addition to the increased number of imprisoned people, one should admit the price the government and the country should pay for each criminal. It is not cheap to create appropriate conditions for law offenders, and the development of new prisons, appropriate living conditions, and human resources have to be properly examined. According to Gifford (2019), such factors as constructing expenses, operating activities, and social productivity measure the costs associated with incarceration.
On the one hand, the benefits of incarceration should cover any level of cost because of the possibility of saving human lives, predicting property destruction, and reducing money losses. On the other hand, criminals underline their rights even in jail and expect to have fair treatment.
For example, correctional expenditures cost about $50 billion annually, and the government usually spends about $35,000 each year to incarcerate an average prisoner (Gifford, 2019). There are additional costs related to mass incarceration, namely lost inmate productivity (up to $18,000 annually) and collateral costs (up to $45,000) (Gifford, 2019). These numbers cover the conditions in public jails only, and private jails do not usually publish their real incomes and expenses.
Although most data prove the inevitability and high cost of incarceration, recent social changes and the pandemic restrictions promote positive changes. For example, the United States observed a slight decline in federal prisoners, from 1.5 million in 2019 to 1.2 million in 2020 (Carson, 2021). The number of prisoners with more than one year of sentence has also decreased from 1.3 million in 2019 to 1.1 million in 2020, showing that the total state/federal imprisonment rate has declined by 13% (Carson, 2021).
COVID-19 is used to explain some changes in the criminal justice system. Delays in trials have been observed because of a lack of human resources and the inability to continue their traditional operations. At the same time, the number of prisoners who died under the federal or state correctional authorities’ jurisdiction has increased by 46% (Carson, 2021). The reasons for such changes vary among people, but it is wrong to neglect that COVID-19 isolation has its impact on criminal behaviors and incarceration. All these statistics are not stable and continue to change each year, proving the importance of understanding incarceration reasons and contributing factors.
Incarceration Causes and Outcomes
The Department of Justice is responsible for determining and explaining the conditions under which people can be arrested and sent to jail. Compared to detention, which means a temporary holding of a person accused of crimes or waiting for their sentencing, incarceration is a long-term confinement of the already sentenced offenders (Turney & Conner, 2019). As more than two million people are currently under penal control, researchers want to clarify the causes of their behaviors and the decisions to commit crimes, even being aware of possible consequences (Esparza Flores, 2018).
For example, Massoglia and Remster (2019) underline the connection between health and incarceration and introduce behavioral risk factors like substance abuse and mental disorders due to violence. Gender and race inequalities provoke additional discussion about social justice and recidivism risk (Esparza Flores, 2018). Finally, socioeconomic disparities, including housing problems, poor education, and low social engagement, can provoke increased criminal behaviors in certain population groups (Esparza Flores, 2018; Massoglia & Remster, 2019). A distinguishing feature of these linkages is that all these contributing factors may become the outcomes of incarceration in society, affecting interpersonal relationships and public safety.
When a person crosses the law, people want to believe that there is some reason for such behavior. One of the common explanations is the inability to cover personal needs due to financial instability, poor education, or other problems. Incarceration means that the crime has already been committed, and enough evidence has been found to prove someone’s guilt.
The relationship between unemployment and incarceration rate is evident: when a person does not have an opportunity to achieve what is wanted, he/she turns to crime, which results in incarceration (Esparza Flores, 2018). After serving time in jail, it is not always easy for individuals with such experience to find a good job and social support (Massoglia & Remster, 2019). As a result, recidivism occurs, and socioeconomic problems become an outcome of incarceration, as well as its cause.
Crimes may also be committed because of unstable health conditions, like depression, psychosis, or post-traumatic stress disorder. Stringer (2019) admits that about 37% of imprisoned individuals have a history of mental health disorders: 24% of them have depression, 17% – with bipolar disorder, and 13% – with personality disorder.
A former administrator of the Federal Bureau of Prison, Thomas Fagan (2017, as cited in Stringer, 2019), underlines that most people are locked up with their mental problems instead of being properly treated and healed. As a result, criminals do not have enough opportunities to manage their psychosis or other behavioral changes and continue suffering from them in jail.
Diminished social positions, hypertension, and depression are consequences of incarceration that decrease human abilities to understand and maintain public safety (Weidner & Schultz, 2019). In other words, no or insufficient attention is paid to prisoners’ mental health problems, which can be an outcome of incarceration and its cause.
Finally, despite the intention to create and support democratic freedoms and equality in society, racial and gender biases continue to affect human life. Racism and sexism are two serious public problems in the United States and many other countries across the globe (Esparza Flores, 2018). Historically, Blacks and Hispanics have already overrepresented the prison population and affected the formulation of a common attitude (Esparza Flores, 2018).
The concept of the color of justices has been commonly discussed in many research projects. For example, Sawyer and Wagner (2022) found out that Black Americans make up about 38% of the incarcerated population while they represent only 12% of the U.S. total population. Similar ratings are observed in gender-based findings: the number of female incarceration rates is higher compared to males due to financial obstacles and housing obligations (Sawyer & Wagner, 2022). All these disparities show that gender and race can be a cause of confinement, provoking unnecessary and harmful biases in modern society in terms of public safety.
Main Characteristics of Public Safety
One of the major goals of the criminal justice system and law enforcement is to ensure public safety in today’s society. According to Maslow (1943, as cited in Chalfin, 2022), safety is a basic human need. On the one hand, the government should provide citizens with safe living conditions and promote the creation of strong and fair communities. On the other hand, police officers are usually empowered to maintain control and prevent crime or disorder as a significant part of public safety values (Chalfin, 2022).
The inability to create a clear and specific definition of public safety provoked new critical situations. For a long period, a misunderstanding of the concept explained the insufficiency of police and public services. Instead of focusing on the problems of publishing and excessive policing, the police were involved in protecting citizens against predators and controlling unsafe streets (Garland, 2023). Most people accept public safety as protection against harm, which might include crimes, disasters, and other threats to human life. Thus, from the criminal justice standpoint, the first critical element of public safety is protection against crime.
During the last several decades, researchers and professors have been involved in developing new theories and approaches to minimize life risks and ensure that law enforcement creates benefits for people. There is an idea that properly invested and trained police can reduce both crimes and arrests (Chalfin, 2022). As soon as the number of crimes decreases, the need for incarceration will be minimized. People must feel safe on the street and at home, but most of them do not know what it actually is.
However, the nature of crime and violence is not always easy to predict. Today, some individuals consider violent power “an instrumental tool, a source of status, and a means of survival” (Garland, 2023, p. 53). Such attitudes provoke public unsafety, social disorder, and poor communication. In other words, people lack a proper understanding of what it means to live in a safe community. As such, another characteristic of public safety is an adequate and all-round education.
Finally, public safety is determined by the way how people behave and the decisions they make in different situations. It is not enough to rely on some theories and definitions but to comprehend what makes a safe living. Citizens rely on the police because these representatives know the law and follow orders. They detect and punish criminals who break the law in a variety of ways.
Public safety may be threatened by unauthorized immigrants who are not in the system and are free to do what they want (Orrenius & Zavodny, 2019). Formerly incarcerated individuals may also create dangers and harm to public safety because they have already been out of the system (Massoglia & Remster, 2019). Correct behavioral norms should be followed by all people regardless of their history, current status, or other factors. Therefore, living according to particular social standards is also a characteristic of public safety.
Relation Between Public Safety and Incarceration
Taking into consideration the elements offered for public safety and current incarceration rates and changes, the relation between these two concepts becomes evident. Jim Parsons, vice president of the Vera Institute of Justice, thoroughly examined the impact of incarceration on human health, families, and society. He concludes that incarceration does not make modern communities safer (as cited in Olson & Anderson, 2020). Public safety consists of at least three elements, namely protection, education, and collaboration (behavior). Incarceration is a process when a person is imprisoned because of committing a crime.
Although there is a thought that harsh control over current criminals may prevent new crimes, no protection guarantees are given (Chalfin, 2022). Incarceration has nothing in common with promoting education and collaboration to enhance safety; on the contrary, it negatively affects people’s opportunities (Esparza Flores, 2018). When a prisoner has a family and certain responsibilities, incarceration only worsens educational gaps and deprives children of financial support and economic stability (Weidner & Schultz, 2019). Incarceration is just another form of control that the government and the police use to complete their duties.
Society feels safe because it is aware that a dangerous criminal is deprived of freedom and is under legal control. There is a belief that individuals who commit violent crimes should be in jail for the sake of public safety (Sawyer & Wagner, 2022). People rely on their feelings and positive emotions that justice has been achieved. Still, evidence reveals that the level of crime does not determine the possibility of recidivism.
Sawyer and Wagner (2022) admit that rearrest rates among violent criminals are low, whereas age plays an important role. It is said that the risk of violent behaviors is high in adolescence and early adulthood (Sawyer & Wagner, 2022). With age, people are able to evaluate their actions and decisions and realize that crimes do not bring any good to their lives. In this case, incarceration does not contribute to public safety but deprives adults of sharing their experiences (both negative and positive) with a younger generation. Instead, new recommendations are developed to prove the necessity of reducing incarceration as one of the possible determinants of public safety.
Incarceration Reduction: Pros and Cons
The analysis of the main characteristics of public safety and incarceration shows that the best expected outcome for society is to ensure the reduction of arrests among the population. However, even this change may be associated with certain advantages and disadvantages. One of the evident benefits of the decrease in the prison population is the possibility of saving money for other social needs (Gifford, 2019).
In addition, mass incarceration affects families in terms of increased emotional stress, interpersonal conflicts, employment difficulties, and financial strain (Turney & Conner, 2019). Its reduction contributes to the elimination of family-work problems and the stabilization of social relationships.
Finally, there is a significant health change related to prison life and the prediction of severe personality disorders. Incarceration may provoke chronic conditions like cardiovascular disease, weight gain, hypertension, and cancer that cannot be properly treated in prisons (Massoglia & Remster, 2019). Fewer people in jail means more opportunities to focus on treatment and predict harm to health, which is a part of public safety.
At the same time, incarceration reduction may be a cause of new concerns and questions because people do not get enough protection against criminals and their destructive behaviors. Despite a variety of attitudes toward imprisonment and the role of social distancing, incarceration remains the main form of punishment (Olson & Anderson, 2020). When people understand that they cannot break the law, and if they do, they will be punished, there is a chance to reduce the desire to do something wrong.
Another disadvantage is the impossibility of controlling the activities of individuals without documents. For example, in the United States, many noncitizen immigrants continue their activities without legal registration (Orrenius & Zavodny, 2019). Incarceration is a necessary tool to predict inequality and maintain fair treatment because all people should be within the same system. If the requirement is not followed, law enforcement must take action. As the level of migration is high today, incarceration rates cannot be reduced.
Conclusion
In general, the theme of incarceration rates and public safety in the context of criminal justice has been thoroughly discussed and analyzed in this paper. First, the evaluation of current incarceration rates shows that many Americans are now in jail because of different reasons. The causes of why people break the law vary, including poor living conditions, mental health problems, immigration, and other issues that challenge public safety.
Second, attention should be paid to the conditions under which prisoners are treated. Financial aspects, funding difficulties, and interpersonal relationships need to be properly explained to predict the progress of public insecurity. Finally, health complications affect the promotion of public safety, and incarceration is one of the reasons for chronic and mental health diseases’ progress.
All these facts prove the connection between incarceration and public safety and underline the worth of the latter. People want to live safe lives and rely on their government and the police to maintain order and legal standards of behavior. In the United States, the criminal justice system is complex, but it allows citizens to understand and distinguish between what is right and what is wrong.
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