Prison reforms are crucial in ensuring that the criminal justice system achieves its goal of correcting behavior and integrating the offenders back to the community. Some of the criminal justice system issues include inmates’ needs, mandatory minimum sentences, and mass incarceration. Hence, the need for policy changes that have an impact at the federal and state levels. Currently, the First Step Act and Assembly Bill 183 among the policies aimed at reducing mass incarceration and addressing the racial disparity in correction facilities.
Current Policy Trends
One of the recent policy changes is the First Step Act, which aims to reduce the prolonged prison sentences at the federal level. This law focuses on inmates’ reentry back into society (Cohen, 2019). Members of the Congress from both the Democrat and Republican parties were concerned with the increasing federal prison population. Thus, the need for a law grants early prison release and reduced prison sentences in the future. Titles I-111 of the First Step Act defines the criteria for risk and needs assessment applied in all Federal Bureau of Prisons (Cohen, 2019). Federal prisons have to classify the risk of re-offense and identify the prisoners’ risks and needs, thus putting them in appropriate rehabilitative programs. This law asserts that low- and moderate-risk inmates can earn and apply for credits by participating and completing the recidivism-reducing programs and training that take up to ten days (Cohen, 2019). As a result, the suitable inmates will transition from prison facilities to home confinement or halfway house. After assessing the inmates’ health, the correction facilities should invoke a medication-assisted program to improve their health outcomes. Under this law, inmates have a “safety valve,” meaning that they can be free from mandatory minimum sentences if they meet criteria such as brief criminal history, lack of usage of violence or weapons, or exclusion of high-ranking officers in the criminal acts (Cohen, 2019). The First Step Act addresses drug offenses by reducing the sentences for inmates who have a few cases of past convictions. For example, a person with three counts of drug offenses will receive 25 years instead of life imprisonment (Cohen, 2019). This change will result in reduced sentences in the future.
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The First Step Act replaces the Fair Sentencing Act and provides better drug offense and prisoner sentencing solutions. One of the controversial issues that led to the Fair Sentencing Act's formulation was the disparity between crack and powder cocaine offenders. Initially, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 put the ratio of crack to powder cocaine statutory penalties as 100:1; later on, the Fair Sentencing Act changed the ratio from 18:1 (Bjerk, 2017). The legislators and the human rights bodies considered the Fair Sentencing Act as a fair policy. This law reduced the prison sentences for crack cocaine offenders by 17 months (Bjerk, 2017). Since most crack cocaine offenders were black people, this law was perceived as a step towards racial equality. The Fair Sentencing Act also created the “safety valve” for crack cocaine offenders. However, this law failed to adequately address the racial disparity in crack and cocaine powder offenses and the minimum mandatory sentences. For instance, the offenders who had been sentenced before the law was implemented were subject to the 100:1 statutory penalties (Cohen, 2019). Under the First Step Act, the drug offenders can earn “good time credits,” meaning that they can be released early from correction facilities if they behave well while being incarcerated. Another benefit of the First Step Act is allowing the inmates to participate in vocational and rehabilitative programs that will earn them early release and ease reentry into the community (Cohen, 2019). The First Step Act separates the penalties for drug offenders from gun charge offenders to reduce prison sentences. The reforms under the First Step Act ensure that there is fairness in the corrections system.
The ban on private prisons is another emerging trend in the corrections. Nevada passed the Assembly 183 bill, which stated that every private correction facility would be under the state and local governments (Nevada Electronic Legislative Information System [NLIS], 2019). The law insisted that only the state and local government employees will be in charge of issuing the core correctional services. Besides, the Department of Corrections has to set terms with the private entities to ensure that the prisoners' health and safety (NLIS, 2019). The private entities can host prisoners in case the public correctional facilities are overcrowded. Hence, the state government will assess the inmates’ housing, medical, custody, and mental health treatment requirements. Under the new law, the offenders will have access to vocational training, treatment of substance abuse or mental health conditions, and transitional housing (NLIS, 2019). For-profit prison facilities have been overlooking the health and social needs of the prisoners. This law will address this problem.
Assembly Bill 183 is replacing the initial law that supported the growth and establishment of private prisons. President Bill Clinton signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which promoted the privatization of correction facilities (Munoz, 2018). Dubbed as the “war on drugs,” and tough on crime policy, this law aimed at increasing the presence of law enforcement officers in neighborhoods and funding of private prisons to resolve rising mass incarceration. The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act reinforced the three-strikes, which resulted in increased convictions even among the petty crime offenders (Munoz, 2018). As a result, the private prisons grew since they rely on the prison overcrowding and budgetary constraints of public corrections facilities. Assembly Bill 183 ensures that the state of Nevada does not have private prisons. The companies that host prisoners have to agree to the terms set forth by the state government.
Analysis of Current Trends
The First Step Act and Assembly 183 will address the increased mass incarceration and racial disparity in correction facilities in the current settings. Among the pressing concerns is the mass incarceration of black men, prolonged prison sentences, and the disparity between crack and cocaine powder offenses. The First Step Act addresses the gaps evident in the Fair Sentencing Act by ensuring that inmates have eligibility for early release and reentry into communities (Cohen, 2019). Besides, the law eases the penalties that the “three strikes” law enlists. Under the First Step Act, the inmates who have more than three convictions, including drug offenses, can receive 25 years of imprisonment instead of life sentences (Cohen, 2019). This law has more benefits than the Fair Sentencing Act since it addresses the crack-powder cocaine disparity and the mandatory minimum sentences.
Assembly 183 has advantages over the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 since it abolishes the private prisons. CoreCivic and GEO Group have been seeking to maximize their profits by lobbying for legislation that favors prison terms and bribing judges to gain contracts (Munoz, 2018). As a result, the privatization of inmates resulted in increased mass incarceration and mistreatment of inmates. While in private correction facilities, the prisoners are forced to work for long hours without healthcare services. Assembly Bill 183 resolves these issues by abolishing private prisons. The law also requires the director of private prisons to provide a roadmap for prisoners' reentry into the community (NLIS, 2019). This strategy reduces the risk of reoffending. Also, Assembly Bill 183 requires private prisons to provide the inmates’ needs and how they are meeting them. This law addresses the racial discrimination and mistreatment of prisoners in private prisons.
Overall, Assembly Bill 183 and First Step Act are among the current policies that will improve the living conditions and state of criminal offenders in correction facilities. These laws ensure that the federal and state prison attend to and assess the inmates’ needs and risks. First Step Act ensures that inmates are placed in centers to attend to their health and social needs. Also, the law provides a plan for the reentry of prisoners into communities. Assembly Bill 183 stops the rise of private prisons, which are used to mistreating inmates. This law improves the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which punished petty crime offenders. Admittedly, both Assembly Bill 183 and the First Step Act are vital in addressing state and federal prison facilities' challenges.
References
Bjerk, D. (2017, April 25). Mandatory minimum policy reform and the sentencing of crack cocaine defendants: An analysis of the Fair Sentencing Act. Journal of Empirical Legal Studies , 14 (2), 370-396. https://doi.org/10.1111/jels.12150
Cohen, D. M. (2019). Justice, not jailbreak: The context and consequence of the First Step Act. Victims & Offenders , 14 (8), 1084-1098. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2019.1671287
Munoz, T. (2018). The rise of mass incarceration and the private prison industry: 1970s-present. Undergraduate Theses , 165. http://commons.cu-portland.edu/theses/165
Nevada Electronic Legislative Information System [NLIS]. (2019, February 18). Assembly Bill 183 overview. https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/80th2019/Bill/6286/Text
