Corrections controversy - Mass incarceration. Law Essay.

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Mass Incarceration
Although the United States of America’s (USA) crime rate is dropping gradually, the USA is among the countries with the largest number of incarcerated individuals. In particular, the USA has more people in state and federal prisons than some of the nations with a significant population such as India and China. Mass incarceration in the USA correctional facilities is a problem since it is a burden to the taxpayers. In 2018, a report generated by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) showed that American prisons and jails had about 2.2 million adults in 2016. In other terms, it meant that for every 100,000 residents of the USA, around 655 of them were in prison (Kann). Even though criminals should not be left free in the streets, mass incarceration is a significant problem in the USA, which should be eradicated.
In the past 40 years, the incarceration rate in the USA has quadrupled. The prison population increased from 200,000 – 1.5 million from 1973 – 2009. Moreover, approximately 700,000 individuals are usually held in jails daily (Travis et al. 3). The USA system of federal prison continues to expand today instead of reducing despite the decline in the rate of crime in the country. From 2006 – 2011, the number of inmates decreased by 10% in ten states. In 2012, approximately 25% of the inmates from different parts of the world were held in the USA prisons. In every 100 adults, one is in jail or prison. The rate of incarceration in the USA is 5 – 10 times high as compared to that of other democratic countries globally (Travis et al. 3). Specifically, Drew Kann argues that if the American prison population was an urban area, it would be among the top ten based on its high number of people. The Prison Policy Initiative reported that around $80 billion is spent on the USA correctional facilities annually. Consequently, as shown by the data above, mass incarceration is a significant problem that can retard economic growth if left unaddressed for an extended period.
In my opinion, one of the most effective solutions to mass incarceration is the reform of monetary bail. Theoretically, the American judicial system functions on one primary principle, which states that suspects are innocent until the court proves them guilty. For this reason, about 65% of people in the USA prison have not been sentenced to the crime they committed. In other words, the majority of individuals in jail are in pretrial detention. As such, the mass incarceration can be reduced by giving such people bail so that they can wait for their conviction when out of jail. However, criminals who pose significant dangers to society should not be released for the s...