Mass Incarceration in California

Mass Incarceration in California

Due to the way the new laws are working in California, more people are starting to go to jail, or are at risk of going to jail for small, petty crimes that are not violent or severe at all. It is necessary always to follow the laws, which are continuously changing and evolving. If you are a victim of mass incarceration within California, I would recommend that you hire an experienced California criminal defense attorney, which you can find easily from the many ads that say to hire a "California personal injury lawyer near me." These ads lead to quality lawyers eager to help people. These attorneys recognize the problems associated with innocent people being charged with crimes, as well as people whose sentences are much longer than required, problems which contribute to mass incarceration. It is tough to change people's behavior, so even if laws that require a mandatory minimum jail sentence get removed, it is still very likely that this would not address the issue of mass incarceration. Regardless of the circumstance, an experienced criminal defense lawyer can help you fight your charges so that you do not end up getting found guilty of a crime that could potentially ruin your life.

Long Term Consequences

With mass incarceration, the worst offenders tend to get life sentences in prison without parole. Additionally, incarceration only makes life harder for individuals even once they have finished their time in jail. As employers are performing background checks on employees frequently due to the sensitivity of company information, people who go to prison as a result of a crime get fingerprinted, and this information is put on a criminal record, making it harder for people who have committed crimes in the past to get work and contribute to society. Incarceration has had a limited effect on attempting to reduce crime rates, and so mass incarceration should end permanently. Incarceration of a parent also reduces their teen's prospects for financial freedom, as it is harder for the teen to learn good habits when they have only seen the wrong side of life.

Ending Mass Incarceration In California

Getting rid of the mass incarceration problem is not going to be easy. It is going to require that we change the way that we see jail as a punishment. One way to do this is to convince society that they are spending a large amount of money on people that do not have to be in prison for their crimes, but could instead receive another punishment such as a fine or even community service.

It is important to emphasize when considering this that when people come out of jail, the majority of them do not want to change their behavior. This situation causes a huge dilemma within the way the US prison system was designed to work. There are currently many organizations and individuals working on modifying the present reality. Part of the issue is the mentality of how we see crime.

The escalating cost of this criminal-justice process is a strong element in contributing to the financial difficulties the US is encountering. The speed at which the US imprisons its inhabitants and the large proportion of incarcerated people that are Black indicates the nation's orientation toward containment and control as its primary modes of tackling the issues made by social, political, and fiscal inequities. The gain in incarceration cannot be explained through increased crime, as crime rates fluctuate independently of incarceration rates.