The Corrections Department in the United States has experienced some changes and other defining influences over the last decade which have changed the operation of the American prisons. However, in a number of respects, the prisons in America have largely remained as they were several decades ago where inmates arrive, occasionally leave, while others stay on for long. Further, the staffs in the correction facilities experience the endemic problems of corruption, violence as well as shifting policies as they have done over the years. More so, the physical facilities in these institutions are still in need of repairs and renovations whereas even where new facilities are opened, they continue to get rapidly filled and carry a capacity without their means. This problem is not unique to prisoners and the ordinary staff alone. The administrators in the correction facilities also experience daily challenges in the statutes and policies which keep evolving as well as new case law which fundamentally shifts both the content as well as the enforcement of policies and procedures. Inadequate finances also continue to hamper efforts to streamline the sector in the criminal justice department. Be that as it may, all is not lost. Indeed, the department has experienced several changes in a quest to transform. Several aspects of the prisons in America are different from how they were long ago. I examine the most significant change in the Corrections within the last 10 years.
I consider the growing prison population as the most significant change in the correction department within the last 10 years. The size of the inmate population in American prisons has continually been on the increase and the skyrocketing number of individuals under incarceration impacts heavily on the operations of the corrections facilities. This has further added to the strain that is already suffered among inmates as well as in the staff within the facilities and the increasing operational costs. Statistics indicate that inmate population increases by 2 percent on an annual basis. It is not only the number of inmates who are increasing but also the rate of incarceration in the nation has increased largely. In contrast to the year 2000 when around 684 in every 10,000 adult Americans had been imprisoned, by mid-2008, around 762 of the same number had been behind bars. Much as the inmate population may have been on the increase, the most dramatic of the increase has been with respect to female inmates. The female inmate population registered a 24.7 % percent growth between the year 2000 and 2008 as compared to 15.2 percent in the case of male inmates. It is also worth noting that the changes have been wide and varied and include: increased emphasis on security in the facilities, integration of new technologies in the deportment and increasing costs of operations among others.
References
Tewksbury, R., DeMichelle, M., & Golder, S. (2006). Significant others visiting inmates:. Journal of Crime & Justice , 101-118.
West, H., & Sabol, W. (2009). Prison inmates at mid-year 2008. Washington, DC:: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
