Prisoners are the most overlooked and underrepresented populations all over the world. In most countries, prisoners have no right to vote during general elections; while in some, they have limited capacities to contribute to national dialogues (Lehrer 2013). The world is grappling with an increase in the number of people incarcerated in the prison systems. In the United States, there has been a significant increase in the number of prisoners over the past two decades. Ever since the US stepped up its efforts in combating crime through the introduction of policies, increasing the number of arrests, increasing the length of minimum jail terms and improving surveillance techniques and investigative methods, there has been a dramatic increase in arrested offenders (Lehrer 2013). The number of prisoners has shot up from 314,000 in 1979 to over 2 million prisoners in 2013 (Lehrer 2013). Currently, the United States hosts nearly a quarter of all people behind bars in the world.
The number of prisoners currently incarcerated is a direct testament to the impactful work and results achieved by police officers and their agencies. However, this number is exceedingly high and does not correspond to a significant increase in crime rates (Lehrer 2013). Proposals have been suggested that are aimed at decreasing populations within the prison justice system. The proponents of these proposals argue that there has been an increasing rate of arrests in the country without a corresponding decrease in crime rates to match the arrests. Also, some proponents say that the prison systems do not effectively achieve their mandates in reforming prisoners. This is evidenced by the high (67%) recidivism (repeat offenders) rates in the US (Lehrer 2013). Additionally, prison systems have been touted as warehousing schemes that offer mere incarceration for people without an active contribution to their overall productivity (Lehrer 2013). This has allowed prisoners to seek some comfort as they serve out their sentences before resuming criminal activities once released.
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The need to help prisoners reintegrate into society as reformed people are captured in the theory of classic correctional theory: deterrence, incapacitation, retribution, and rehabilitation. The government, through an act of parliament ascended to by President Donald Trump, passed the First Step Act 2018 (CRS 2019). The act is touted as a significant step towards correctional services reforms that target to reduce the size of prisoner populations in federal prisons. The First Step Act is based on three meaningful objectives: reforms for prisoners to become more productive, modifying minimum lengths of sentences for federal offenses, and reauthorization of the Second Chance Act of 2007 that provides a strikes counts for first-time offenders (CRS 2019). The policy requires the Department of Justice to come up with a risk and needs assessment system that will be integrated by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) for use (CRS 2019). The assessment criteria provided by the DOJ will assess the risk of recidivism for prisoners, develop appropriate programs and training aimed at improving the skills of prisoners to help them become more productive. Prisoners who participate in such programs get incentives such as time credits that will allow them to move to Residential Re-entry Centers or earn home confinement earlier (CRS 2019). However, some offenses are not covered in the policy; such as espionage, terrorism, sexual crimes, repeat felon in possession of firearms and human trafficking. Such prisoners, however, earn other bonuses such as additional visitations (CRS 2019).
Provisions of the policy cover specific areas of reforms as well. For instance, minimum sentences involving drug charges were reduced from 20 years to 15 years for people with one prior and from life imprisonment to 25 years for people with two priors; in cases involving drug-related crimes (CRS 2019). It also allows judges to set sentence rulings below the recommended minimum sentence thresholds for offenders. Some regulations in the Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2018 were incorporated from the same act in 2007. Grants and training programs such as the Grants for Family-Based Substance Abuse Treatment, Careers Training Demonstration Grants, Adult and Juvenile State and Local Offender Demonstration Program, Community-Based Mentoring and Transitional Service Grants to NGOs, and a pilot program that aims at allowing certain elderly and terminally ill prisoners to serve out the rest of their sentences in home confinement (CRS 2019). The primary aim of these programs is to increase the rates of reformers, reduce recidivism, and reduce the number of people incarcerated.
Social policies implemented are meant to cover specific individuals or groups of people that are at-risk or marginalized in society. The First Step Act is aimed at covering people that are underrepresented and overlooked in the community. Prisoners are the primary targets in the policy. The policy seeks to help prisoners reform by equipping them with skills and education to allow them to obtain gainful employment once they leave prison (Dream Corps 2019). It also targets community members who live around prisons. The members are involved in recreational activities and health programs structured to improve the mental, physical, and emotional health of inmates. This helps provide a smooth transition of inmates into mainstream societies. Some minor aspects of the policy contributes to the wellbeing of the Bureau of Prisons officers who receive certain benefits and bonuses for excellent implementation of the plan; and allows for family members who are directly affected by the direct and indirect actions of a prisoner to become entitled to grant funds to help them improve their quality of lives (includes children and spouses of domestic violence offenders, drug abuse offenders and child abuse offenders) (Dream Corps 2019). The populations covered by the policy are mainly overlooked because correctional services and the prison system are widely dismissed and gain limited discussions in public forums. Also, information regarding the system is limited, and the affected individuals are unable to raise public awareness due to their limitation in numbers or general freedom (Dream Corps 2019).
Department of Justice is given direct access rights to all funds from Treasury to undertake the complete implementation of the policy. The DOJ will receive $75 million in every financial year for the next five years (FY2019-FY2023) (CRS 2019). According to the financial plan proposed by the Senate, the Bureau of Prisons will receive 80% of the funds allocated for the policy (CRS 2019). The BOP is mandated to oversee the direct implementation of the funds in all federal prisons and correctional institutions to ensure that the intended benefits of the program have an impact on all prisoners. The BOP is tasked with allocating funds for various uses within the prisons, some of which includes; grants and training funds, purchase of equipment and professionals hiring, engagement of community members and revamping of correctional units preparing prisoners for re-entry into society (CRS 2019).
The First Step Act prisons reforms policy is targeted at reducing prison populations and reducing recidivism. The plan will, therefore, have a maximum impact on the conditions and living situations of prisoners in general. Although policies target specific populations in their entirety, this particular reform places certain considerations and requirements as to eligibility criteria for entry into the program. Prisoners will benefit through skills development and training, thereby increasing the probability of gainful employment once they are released. Therefore, rather than recede to old habits for survival, released prisoners will be able to seek legitimate ways of earning their livelihoods (Gurman 2019). Prisoners will also gain time credits for ethical conduct and can convert them to obtain early release from mainstream prisons into re-entry institutes and home confinements (Gurman 2019). This ensures that prisoners become willing to participate in gainful activities while in prison and earn educational and informative materials while incarcerated. Prisoners get to interact with their family members more often, and those near releases are introduced to re-entry programs that help them interact with community members and understand their changes before release (Gurman 2019). The policy mandates that the BOP assists prisoners seek relevant documentation such as identity cards before their impending release. Other benefits that accrue to prisoners include the right to petition courts to reduce their sentences based on the new mandated minimum sentences that were imposed, access to grants and funds for families of inmates affected by the inmates’ actions before arrest and prisoners can request for home confinements and statutory releases for consistent portrayal of ethical behavior and prisoners with low-risk offenses (Gurman 2019).
Although the objectives and targets of the policy are wholesome and cover a wide range of issues, it has significant gaps that would undermine its effectiveness once fully implemented. First, the eligibility criteria for prisoners into the program is dependent on an assessment carried out by the BOP through an algorithm. The algorithm generally analyzes a prisoner’s conduct and prescribes points that determine their risk levels. The algorithms, however, do not factor in specific considerations such as racial differences in arrests based on priors (African-Americans are more likely to be arrested but not more likely to commit a crime) (Gurman 2019). Hence, the algorithm should include such factors as sexual differences, mental health assessments, and propensity to commit crimes. Second, the president’s stand on prison systems has always been ‘harsher punitive remediation.’ This stance may affect budgetary allocations as dependent on the president’s commitment to the policy (Gurman 2019). Therefore, the funding for the system should be placed under the ‘mandated’ category as a standing charge in the budget.
References
CRS. (2019). The First Step Act of 2018: An overview. Congressional Research Service. Retrieved from: https://crsreports.congress.gov on 6 th August 2019.
Dream Corps. (2019). First Step to Second Chances: A guide for people leaving federal prison under the First Step Act. Retrieved from https://firststepact.org on 6 th August 2019.
Gurman, S. (2019). Justice department set to free 3,000 prisoners as criminal-justice overhaul takes hold. The Wall Street Journal. Web.
Lehrer, E. (2013). Responsible prison reform. National Affairs. Web.
