Jails across the country have become vast warehouses made up primarily of people too poor to post bail or too ill with mental health or drug problems to adequately care for themselves, according to a report issued Wednesday.

 

The study, “Incarceration’s Front Door: The Misuse of Jails in America,” found that the majority of those incarcerated in local and county jails are there for minor violations, including driving with suspended licenses, shoplifting or evading subway fares, and have been jailed for longer periods of time over the past 30 years because they are unable to pay court-imposed costs.

 

The report, by the Vera Institute of Justice, comes at a time of increased attention to mass incarceration policies that have swelled prison and jail populations around the country. This week in Missouri, where the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man by a white police officer stirred months of racial tension last year in the town of Ferguson, 15 people sued that city and another suburb, Jennings, alleging that the cities created an unconstitutional modern-day debtors’ prison, putting impoverished people behind bars in overcrowded, unlawful and unsanitary conditions.

 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/11/us/jails-have-become-warehouses-for-the-poor-ill-and-addicted-a-report-says.html

Hmmm. This is an interesting topic.

 

Thanks for sharing.

Color me shocked.

 

NOT.

Jails across the country have become vast warehouses made up primarily of people too poor to post bail or too ill with mental health or drug problems to adequately care for themselves, according to a report issued Wednesday.

 

The study, “Incarceration’s Front Door: The Misuse of Jails in America,” found that the majority of those incarcerated in local and county jails are there for minor violations, including driving with suspended licenses, shoplifting or evading subway fares, and have been jailed for longer periods of time over the past 30 years because they are unable to pay court-imposed costs.

 

County Jails are for Minor infractions...Prisons are for major infractions. Is it really shocking that the majority of prisoners in county jails are for minor infractions?

 

Some felons are held in county jails on behalf of the prison system for longer terms...but most there are there for relatively minor infractions and most spend less than 3 days in county jails.

 

As far as mentally ill being in local jails if that's so they don't stay there long, jails send them out to mental health facilities as quickly as they can.

When it comes to prisons it seems the driving factor in building more prisons is jobs. A congressman/woman gets elected by getting a prison built and employing the locals.

 

What do you need in order to fill prisons? Prisoners. How? You keep creating laws that fill prisons.

When it comes to prisons it seems the driving factor in building more prisons is jobs. A congressman/woman gets elected by getting a prison built and employing the locals.

 

What do you need in order to fill prisons? Prisoners. How? You keep creating laws that fill prisons.

 

CCA is one of the biggest lobbyists there is.

When it comes to prisons it seems the driving factor in building more prisons is jobs. A congressman/woman gets elected by getting a prison built and employing the locals.

 

What do you need in order to fill prisons? Prisoners. How? You keep creating laws that fill prisons.

No, you need to people to willfully break those laws. If I don't want to go to prison all I have to do is NOT break the law, it's as simple as that.

 

What new law has been enacted that shouldn't have been that has lead to imprisoning more people?

No, you need to people to willfully break those laws. If I don't want to go to prison all I have to do is NOT break the law, it's as simple as that.

 

What new law has been enacted that shouldn't have been that has lead to imprisoning more people?

 

I believe most experts say three strikes laws were responsible for the explosion of the prison population. Some might argue that those laws were intentionally written to be used against the non-white population. Regardless, those laws tend to round up black/brown folks at a very high rate that is not in correlation with actual population percentages.

I believe most experts say three strikes laws were responsible for the explosion of the prison population. Some might argue that those laws were intentionally written to be used against the non-white population. Regardless, those laws tend to round up black/brown folks at a very high rate that is not in correlation with actual population percentages.

If people of whatever color or economic background don't commit 3 felonies 3 strikes never becomes an issue.

No, you need to people to willfully break those laws. If I don't want to go to prison all I have to do is NOT break the law, it's as simple as that.

 

What new law has been enacted that shouldn't have been that has lead to imprisoning more people?

 

OF course you need people to break the law. Not the issue.

 

The issue is that it appears the driving force behind new law/new enforcement was always money.

No, you need to people to willfully break those laws. If I don't want to go to prison all I have to do is NOT break the law, it's as simple as that.

 

What new law has been enacted that shouldn't have been that has lead to imprisoning more people?

 

 

 

The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937.

Another issue where mindsets are at polar opposites on how to deal with those in poverty or mental health issues by easily segregating them from society. Yes, they have broken some law(s) and there needs to be some consequences. The issue becomes how to hand out those consequences? Placing them in jail is the easy way out and does not help those individuals in the least. Those violators, in general terms, will not remediate or change their behaviors because their belief they are fated to be there anyway and authorities are not fair to them. Where you and I would be scared or learn from it because of our mindset of you play/you pay.

 

There are not enough mental health facilities especially in rural areas to handle the need for the mental health issues. The petty crimes as described needs a different type of consequence besides jail for the first time offenders.

 

Not easy, but understanding socioeconomic mindsets would be a good start.

 

Nothing will change, however, if the only solution is to lock them up and let's segregate them and they will change their behavior. They won't, history has proved that over and over again. Let's just get tough with them doesn't work when that's what they expect and believe is eventually going to happen anyway.

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The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937.

Not really a new or recent law that was enacted to "Fill up" our prisons.

Arizona's immigration law was written by CCA lobbyists.

 

Prison Economics Help Drive Ariz. Immigration Law : NPR

Another issue where mindsets are at polar opposites on how to deal with those in poverty or mental health issues by easily segregating them from society. Yes, they have broken some law(s) and there needs to be some consequences. The issue becomes how to hand out those consequences? Placing them in jail is the easy way out and does not help those individuals in the least. Those violators, in general terms, will not remediate or change their behaviors because their belief they are fated to be there anyway and authorities are not fair to them. Where you and I would be scared or learn from it because of our mindset of you play/you pay.

 

There are not enough mental health facilities especially in rural areas to handle the need for the mental health issues. The petty crimes as described needs a different type of consequence besides jail for the first time offenders.

 

Not easy, but understanding socioeconomic mindsets would be a good start.

 

Nothing will change, however, if the only solution is to lock them up and let's segregate them and they will change their behavior. They won't, history has proved that over and over again. Let's just get tough with them doesn't work when that's what they expect and believe is eventually going to happen anyway.

 

So what would your suggestion be for those that repeatedly commit crime? Because even in cases of most felonies very very few first time offenders get sentenced to actual jail time. Repeat misdemeanor offenders will get maybe a year sentence with all but maybe 7 days probated and then get probation for the term of the sentence.

 

People that are in jail for any real length of time are habitual criminals in almost every case.