The United States is made up of five percent of the world's population, but is comprised of about a quarter of the worlds incarcerated. Approximately twenty percent of the newly incarcerated yearly have violated parole and great majorities are non-violent offenders. In “U.S. Prison Population Dwarfs that of Other Nations,” Adam Liptak states “The United States has, for instance, 2.3 million criminals behind bars, more than any other nation, according to data maintained by the International Center for Prison Studies at King's College London.”
Americans are arrested for things as minor as using drugs or writing a bad check. Residing someone to a prison should be our last alternative because it’s costly and can raise risk for future …show more content…

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) suggests more than fifty percent of ex-prisoners will be back in prison within three years, unless solutions are put into practice. Overcrowded prisons leave prisoners susceptible to many issues due to being closely confined with a variety of people from different backgrounds. There are increased chances of passing on illnesses and diseases amongst each other, due to the sharing of bed spaces and sanitation facilities. This also has an effect on increased aggression and frustration, not only amongst the inmates but staff too. These factors are the igniter for riots, abuse, and assault, which doesn’t help with the struggles of maintaining disciplinary problems with minimal staff. Senator Webb (Webb, 2009), makes many points throughout his article that show just how serious the United States prison problem is. He brings up the topic of the danger it puts the prison staff in. Guards and inmates in a similar way are in jeopardy and treatment efforts are put on hold as wardens see a rise in hostility and wrongdoing. A packed cell and no private time raise the odds that inmates will react in anger, intimidating the guards. Correctional administrators concur that crowded prisons result in greater pressure, disturbance, and irritation among the inmate population, which leads to conflicts and violence. With the mass increase of prisoners