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******************** ***************** As discussed in this module, the United States has an extremely large number of citizens currently incarcerated, both at the federal and state levels. Are high rates of incarceration really a problem?  If so, what are some of the secondary problems or concerns that may be generated by high rates of incarceration? ************************ Student Response #1 *************************** In the United States, the rate for arrests for drugs are exceptionally high especially at the federal level. There are a lot of problems that occur with high incarceration rates–including overpopulation. This suggests malfunction in the criminal justice system. We can see that overcrowding leads to humanitarian concerns. Let’s think logically here, the overcrowding of prisons not only cause physical problems (such as spread of disease), but mental problems that can lead to self-harm and/or suicide. According to the powerpoint, we notice that drug law offenders take up a lot of space in prisons. Another thing that factors into the overcrowding of jails, is the phenomenon known as the school-to-prison pipeline. This is the disproportionate tendency of minors and young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds

to become incarcerated. That being said, it does mostly have an effect on minority groups in the United States. Studies show that the U.S. alone has the highest rate of overcrowding. Overall, in my opinion, there should be alternatives to committing a petty crime, than immediately going to jail. I do not believe people should not spend an outrageous amount of time in jail for petty crimes. ************************ Student Response #2 *************************** Yes. I 100% believe that high rates of incarceration are an issue. I am also a Sociology major and one of my classes looked at incarceration in depth. What we found was that the rates of incarceration between blacks and white were unproportionate despite the fact that they commit crimes at similar rates, referring to drug crimes specifically. This leads to discrimination and our current political climate is a result of that. I’m not saying high incarceration rates solely caused racial tensions but it does add to it. gh incarceration rates can also cause public distrust of the justice system. Like we discussed in the lecture, people don’t have so much faith in the criminal justice system now and I can’t help but wonder if this is why. Purchase the answer to view it