The criminal justice and correction system has been vigilant in the past in its mandate to ensure that law and order is maintained and those who breach the law are held accountable. However, what has been of major concern among researchers, scholars, policy makers and the general public has been the rates of incarceration if the United States of America ( Clear & Frost, 2015) . Research reveals the fact that over 2 million citizens of the United States are currently serving a wide array of prison sentences for a myriad of crimes committed ( Clear & Frost, 2015) . This statistic accounts for approximately 7 percent of the population of the US making it the country with the highest incarceration rates in the globe.
Research delineates that state and national policies have largely contributed to the rates of imprisonment that have been recorded in the past 40 years and found to be increasing ( Clear & Frost, 2015) . For instance, the elimination of indeterminate sentencing in favour of determinate sentencing has significantly increased the number of individuals who have been imprisoned. Moreover, policies to impose harsher punishments upon drugs and violent crime suspects has contributed to the growing number of inmates ( Clear & Frost, 2015) . The costs associated with the expansion of the penal system are significantly high which calls for remedial measures to ensure that the effects of high incarceration rates are curbed from the onset.
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The state should consider reviewing and revising the sentencing policy to ensure that alternatives such as indeterminate sentencing are reinstated given they will play a critical role in reducing the rates of incarceration ( Clear & Frost, 2015) . Additionally, reforms to the long sentences regime need to be made given the fact that inmates sentenced to life in prison continue to increase causing strain on the already cash strapped justice and penal department ( Clear & Frost, 2015) . Additionally, community reform programs should be enforced in all jurisdiction to ensure that community based probation and parole systems are set up to prevent re-entry of individuals into prisons.
References
Clear, T. R., & Frost, N. A. (2015). The punishment imperative: The rise and failure of mass incarceration in America . NYU Press.
