Introduction
Globally, the issue of crime has impacted the implementation of legislation meant to help in the maintenance of law and order. There are so many factors that contribute to the committal of crime whose aftermath is arrest and imprisonment. For the longest time, incarceration was a means of targeting particular ethnic communities that were either unwanted or considered a threat. Hence the populations of search ethnic groups are identified to be higher compared to others. It evident that imprisonment has not in any way helped in reducing issues of crime within countries, on the contrary, the number of inmates tend to rise over years demanding more space to lock-in criminals. Like in the case of California State the need to keep law and order contributed to the construction of more prisons purposely to help fight crime by ensuring that any unlawful activities do not go unpunished. Other measures used by other states include the training and hiring of more men in blue who can be deployed in ungoverned places for patrol and stay on the watch of activities taking place. In 1982, James Wilson and George Kelling invented the Broken window theory which portrayed the disorder and unlawful activities within neighborhoods that are high contributors to the occurrences of possible serious crimes. For purposes of ensuring the crime diminished within particular regions and around the country of the United States, the broken window policing promotes use of authority in guarding or patrolling and facilitate arrest for unlawful acts that include vandalism, trespassing and graffiti so as serious crimes can be tamed just by the presence of authorities in the neighborhoods.
The prison system in America is among the institutions that collaborate with various departments including Homeland Security, the Court, law enforcers, the state and federal government among others. It is constitutional to punish lawbreakers by locking them in prisons in order to facilitate order and help reduce incidences of crime around the country. The use of correctional facilities, on the contrary, has not been effective due to the increase in a number of prisoners and congestion within these centers. Hence the uses of other forms of punishment like restitution, probation, and community service among others. The period at which prisoners spend in the correctional facilities depends on the offense done since they are differentiated with how serious the crime is. Misdemeanor offenses face a shorter jail term compared to the severe crimes that may go up to a lifetime in prison or death sentence. According to Claudette Pendleton (2017), the United States in 2006 was identified to have a bigger number of incarcerations worldwide. For instance, the studies showed that 7.2 million individuals were on probation, parole or locked in and 2.2 million of those were incarcerated. It is out of the desire to reduce the population in the prisons and crime rate that pose the question of which methods to be applied. In reference to Katharyne Mitchell’s (2010) article on ‘ungoverned space: global security and the geopolitics of broken windows,’ the use of the theory identified earlier with additional strict measures in New York helped in the reduction of the population of prisoners and crime activities. It is identified that under the reign of mayor Guliani around 1990, there was a push for zero tolerance to all kinds of minor crimes that catalyzed eruption of severe criminal activities. As a result, harsh measures were deployed to ensure that misdemeanors inform of any anti-social or malicious activities were tamed. The aftermath of all this was a decrease in criminal activities and population of prisoners, a clear indicator that strict measures that are followed can and have worked in states like New York. The trends in New York are still alive today with its strict laws applied in every area both urban and outcasts of the cities have facilitated a drop in criminal activities. Various other states are making use of different measures relevant to them. For instance, as outlined by Ruth Wilson Gilmore (1999), from 1984, the State of California has come up with more correctional centers of about twenty-two in number. Besides addition in the number of prisons in California, its federal government looks into adding four more and expanding the existing ones. The vision of additional prisons was to ensure that the capacity of the lockdown facilities was in a position to embrace more than two hundred thousand inmates.
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As mentioned earlier, there are numerous factors that have led to the increase in criminal activities, arrest, and imprisonment. Gilmore, argues that the scarcity of job opportunities has seen most individuals involving themselves in activities that are considered anti-social that lacks morality, hence embrace in unacceptable practices in order to source income for a livelihood. The geopolitics of broken windows identifies some communities to have a tendency in involving themselves in various misdemeanor activities that are outlined as offensive. For instance, it is most likely to find graffiti in African American communities, hence the deployment of police guards in such areas may mainly focus on such. Idling of gangs among the blacks and Latino also has promoted the need to ensure these communities do not in any way engage in possible criminal activities and therefore the constant use of police patrol enhances tight security and guard. From the study of prisons in the United States, the populations of African America and Latino individuals are higher than the numbers of whites. The disparity in the race of prisoners raises the issue of targeted communities or possible activities that these communities involve themselves in. While it may not be political or racial discrimination, studies have shown that some of the individuals from these ethnic groups have for a long time participating in criminal gangs that engaged in serious offenses. As a result, most of the time, they are targeted because of the perception of possible criminal activities committed within their neighborhoods. On the contrary, some of them are locked in for lack of economic stability that could have helped them pay bail fee or hire a good attorney. Hence the only option left is incarceration. Besides anti-racism, the other explanation for prison expansions in most states in America is the target of economic development and to generate potential profit. While the government uses millions of money to sustain prisoners, wardens, their medical bills, meals and other workers in prisons, it is evident that it earns a good income from bail money among other court fees. As a result, most communities rely on correctional facilities for income used on corporate, governmental, and household purposes.
While the basic idea behind prison expansion is to keep criminals from the society and facilitate correctional measures, scholars identify the growth of incarceration facilities as a radical restructuring geared towards allocating solutions to the existing socio-economic challenges geographically. Therefore, every strategy revolving around the existence of prisons is both politically organized and societal fear of crime. Back to the broken window policing, some analysts and citizens feel it has failed to fulfill its original vision mostly because of poor administration of law and order by patrolling policemen. For instance, as elaborate by Heather Mac Donald (2014), the police mishandling of a citizen who was caught selling untaxed cigarettes which is a misdemeanor ended up dead due to a health condition he had. Eric Garner resisted arrest and as a result, the officers pulled him down to the ground by his neck and the victim succumbed to a cardiac arrest since he was asthmatic. Despite the fact that according to law, Garner was in the wrong lane, his inability to allow a smooth process for arrest was no good reason for use of extreme force considering that he was unarmed. For these same reasons, broken window policing must be structured in a manner that facilitates safety for both citizens and law enforcers. On the other hand, while Garner’s activities were not of a felony, enforcement of laws that deter the practice of sale of untaxed products contributes to the outbreak of intense crime activities like sale of illegal drugs and weapons. Hence it is important to have the policies that clarify what is expected of citizens.
Law enforcement and use of broken window policing have been identified to be of great help in foreign affairs and security. For instance, the involvement of American soldiers providing peacekeeping in war-torn areas like Iraq has contributed to the possible decrease in violence and attacks. On the other hand, the existence of American soldiers in territories that are not their own has contributed to the increase in resistance and rebellion from citizens of the country people and issues of attacks observed advancing risks. The moves to invade Iraqi territory under Bush’s regime enhance the need to deal with the issues of war in the Middle East. On the other hand, occurrences of terror attacks in the Mid-East region were not only a concern to the surrounding but a global issue that affected every foreign country. Geopolitics of broken windows ideally targets regions that are prone to antisocial and unlawful activities (Tuathail, 2010). While it has enhanced security measures, it has also been a way to target a given set of individuals who are perceived to be living in certain conditions that are identified as a catalyst for possible crime eruption. Generally, the strategies of implemented policies in every region have successfully facilitated the reduction of criminal activities. While some states directly use the theory outlined by Wilson and Kelling, others like New York have made use of strict measures to ensure the order is sustained and cases of insecurity minimized. As highlighted by the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy (2018), the use of broken windows policing has not only been the core reasons for the reduction of criminal activities but the collaborations with other relevant institutes including law enforcers. For instance, like in New York, the police administrators have been so strict and imposed every skill allocated to ensure misdemeanor offenses were hindered which also is a strategy to ensure adverse criminal activities were tamed.
Conclusion
Prisons are designed to keep criminals from the society and impose possible tactics that can help them stay in-line with the law. Besides, denying them freedom of movement, prisons are meant to ensure that the rest of the society is safe from felonies committed by the criminals responsible. Various tactics have been implemented geared towards reducing cases of crime and prison populations. For instance, the use of broken windows facilitated a decrease in criminal involvement in states like New York. For purposes of ensuring that law enforcement worked, every associated stakeholder has to play their roles significantly. Besides enhancing clear and strict measures, other states like California have facilitated the expansion and construction of prisons. Incarceration has worked for some felonies but is considered an extreme move for misdemeanors.
References
Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy. (2018). Broken Windows Policing . Retrieved April 29, 2018, from CEBCP: http://cebcp.org/evidence-based-policing/what-works-in-policing/research-evidence-review/broken-windows-policing/
Donald, H. M. (2014, December 17). How Broken Windows Policing Puts Fewer Men in Prison . Retrieved April 30, 2018, from Time: http://time.com/3638183/eric-garner-nypd-broken-windows-policing/
Gilmore, R. (1999). Globalisation and US prison growth: from military Keynesianism to post-Keynesian militarism. Race & Class , 40 (2-3), 171-188. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/030639689904000212
Jefferson, B. (2016). Broken Windows Policing and Constructions of Space and Crime: Flatbush, Brooklyn. Antipode , 48 (5), 1270-1291. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/anti.12240
Pendleton, C. (2017, September 29). How Does the U.S. Prison System Work? Retrieved April 29, 2018, from Classroom: https://classroom.synonym.com/how-does-the-us-prison-system-work-12078350.html
Tuathail, G. (2010). Localizing geopolitics: Disaggregating violence and return in conflict regions. Political Geography , 29 (5), 256-265. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2010.01.011
