Effects of Overpopulation in Prisons

I chose to do my blog on the effects of the overcrowding problem that many of our prisons are facing today.

Research has indicated that overcrowding has three types of effects on the daily prison environment. First, there is less of everything to go around so the same space and resources are made to stretch even further. The opportunities for inmates to participate in self-improvement and rehabilitative programs (such as academic, employment and vocational training) are curtailed. The lack of work or work opportunities leads to inmate idleness, often reinforcing the saying that idleness breeds discontent and disruptive behavior. In addition, lack of resources can apply to anything an inmate might need to use. This can range from washroom availability to library books to television lounge seating. The unavailability of resources can have dual consequences. One of these consequences is the frustration or unpleasantness of being limited or denied a resource, and the other is the fact that competition and conflict over limited resources often lead to aggression and violence. The second effect of overcrowding is on the individual inmate's behavior. Crowding creates stress and this, in combination with other factors in a prison setting, can heighten the adverse effects of crowding. The way an inmate chooses to deal with crowding stress generally tends to be methods, which do not enhance the health of the inmate. The impact on social relations and interaction has been considered one of the most important effects of prison overcrowding. Findings have indicated that in crowded situations there is more aggression and competition for resources, less cooperation and more social withdrawal. Also, social withdrawal in response to crowding manifests itself in various ways. Adopting a defensive or guarded attitude is one method of withdrawing, which by its nature decreases the quality of social interaction. Similarly, topics that dominate conversation in crowded settings tend to be less personal or self-relevant, even among well-acquainted people. The third effect involves a combination of the correctional system's inability to meet the increased demand for more space and the resulting harm to individual inmates. In an attempt to cope with the limited space available and the resulting overcrowding, there has been a strong tendency to misclassify offenders. To a certain degree overcrowding has resulted in offenders being classified on the basis of the space available rather than the security level and programs most suitable for the offenders. This problem exists despite the fact that the offender classification process for security purposes is standardized. It has not been uncommon to find inmates classified as medium security incarcerated in maximum security institutions, while other inmates were in medium security facilities who would previously have been considered candidates for maximum security. However, the effects of misclassifying offenders due to overcrowding extend beyond the immediate consideration of there being too little space and too few resources. It also leads to slow progress through the corrections system and consequently to slow exit, which in turn continues or increases the overcrowding problem. If the assignment of inmates is carried out solely on the basis of available space, inmates are being manipulated to meet the requirements of the corrections system rather than the environment and programs being modified to meet the requirements and needs of the inmates. This results in poor programming for inmates, which hinders their progress. Also, misclassification errors can result in inmates being labeled in a manner that carries strong negative implications. At this point the cycle starts all over again demonstrating a link between the amount of space available or the number of inmates per room, and the various measures of personal and institutional strain.

 Most studies indicated that crowded conditions could be reasonably well tolerated for short periods, but in terms of a long term crowded environment, prisons contained unusually high concentrations of the stress-inducing features. Crowding affects more than a selected few inmates within the prison environment. Crowding has been described as an interactive variable, which can sometimes cause, sometimes result from, or sometimes exacerbate the impact of other conditions. No matter how the variable is classified, it produces a range of outcomes. Also, rates of suicide and other forms of violent death have been found to be higher during periods of overcrowding as have increased rates of violence and other disciplinary infractions. Although many negative effects of crowding have been identified, overcrowding does not affect all prisons uniformly. For example, it has been reported that larger institutions with younger inmates tend to be more affected by crowding. Moreover, substantial individual differences in responses to crowding have been found among various racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups.

1. http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2011/0630/Better-ways-to-end-prison-overcrowding-than-just-releasing-inmates

2. http://packedprisons.blogspot.com/2008/09/effects-of-prison-overcrowding-on.html

3. http://www.ehow.com/info_8072258_effects-prison-overcrowding.html