A Discussion of Mass Incarceration Land of the Free?

Mass Incarceration Incarceration rates: the ““estimated number of inmates under the jurisdiction of state or federal prisons or held in local jails per 100,000 U.S. residents,” (Kaeble, Glaze, Tsoutis, & Minton, 2015, p. 10).

Global Rates (2014) Source: Walmsley, R. (2015). World Prison Population List (11th ed., pp. 1-15, Rep.). Institute for Criminal Policy Research.

How America Compares Second in the world (Walmsley, 2015, p.2) U.S. population accounts for 5% of world population; 25% of world’s prison population (NAACP). Over 2.2 million individuals incarcerated in U.S. in 2014 (Kaeble, Glaze, Tsoutis, & Minton, 2015, p.1)

Who’s Incarcerated? Female incarceration is up 50% in less than two decades (Walmsley, 2015, p.2) Over half of women in federal prison are “serving time for drug crimes (Carson, 2015, p. 17). “60% of people in prison today are people of color,” (“Trends in Corrections,” 2015). 97% of incarcerated persons are serving sentences longer than one year (Carson, 2015, p. 17). 15% of prison population has mental health needs (Torre, Kennard, Eslinger, Lamb & Pavle, 2010, p. 1).

How Oklahoma Compares http://www.prisonpolicy.org/global/ http://www.prisonpolicy.org/profiles/OK.html Oklahoma is operating prisons at 102% maximum capacity (Carson, 2015, p. 12).

What Can Be Done?

Therapeutic Jurisprudence

Therapeutic Jurisprudence (cont’d) “…the study of the law’s impact on psychological well-being,” (Winick & Wexler, 2001, p. 479) Focus on reducing recidivism by addressing the underlying problems contributing to an individual’s criminal behavior (Winick, 2002, p. 1055). Includes : Drug Courts Mental Health Courts Veteran’s Diversion Programs Female Diversion Programs Many different manifestations of these courts nationally, but created with the same goal

How It Relates to Social Work Researchers have suggested using the social work values to create the normative framework of therapeutic jurisprudence, (Madden & Wayne, 2001, p. 487). NASW Code of Ethics states that “Social workers’ primary goal is to help people in need and to address social problems,” (2008) If the statistics are correct then this problem is clearly a social justice issue and one that warrants our attention.

References Carson, E. A. (2015). Prisoners in 2014 (Rep.). Retrieved March, 2016, from U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics website: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p14.pdf Criminal Justice Fact Sheet. (2009-2016). Retrieved March, 2016, from http://www.naacp.org/pages/criminal-justice-fact-sheet Kaeble, D., Glaze, L., Tsoutis, A., & Minton, T. (2015). Correctional Populations in the United States, 2014. Retrieved March, 2016, from U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics website: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cpus14.pdf

References (cont’d) Madden, R. G., & Wayne, R. H. (2001). Constructing a normative framework for therapeutic jurisprudence using social work principles as a model. Touro L. Rev., 18, 487. Torrey, E. F., Kennard, A. D., Eslinger, D., Lamb, R., & Pavle, J. (2010, May). More Mentally Ill Persons Are in Jails and Prisons Than Hospitals: A Survey of the States (Rep.). Retrieved March, 2016, from Treatment Advocacy Center and National Sheriffs' Association website: http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/storage/documents/final_jails_v_hospitals_study.pdf

References (cont’d) Trends in U.S. Corrections. (2015, November). Retrieved March, 2016, from http://sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/inc_Trends_in_Corrections_Fact_sheet.pdf Walmsley, R. (2015). World Prison Population List (11th ed., pp. 1-15, Rep.). Institute for Criminal Policy Research. Winick, B. J., & Wexler, D. B. (2001). Drug treatment court: Therapeutic jurisprudence applied. Touro L. Rev., 18, 479.