The influx of drug-related criminals is the main cause of overcrowding in most correctional institutions across in the United States and specifically Texas. Offenders' numbers related to other crimes such as homicide, robbery, and burglary have remained steady over the number of years, but drug-related offenders are increasing leading to a high number of them behind bars in prisons across Texas. The problem is captured in a study by the state government which found out that six of ten prisoners in the state and federal facilities are convicted of drug possession or drug abuse charges. As such, this means that the war on drugs in the United States is an ongoing battle, which is far from being won since as the prisons are filled with offenders, while others are still engaging in drug-related activities. The illegality of drugs makes them a nightmare to the prison system since everyone wants to try them. The high returns associated with drug dealing further makes it impossible to stop or prevent ships of drugs from other countries such as Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico.
The fact that there are a significant number of people who want to do drugs even if they know that they are illegal means that it is a major problem for the Texas criminal justice system. The state of Texas shares a long border with Mexico and most state officials argue that the border has become a transit point for drugs from Mexico into the United States. The prevalence of drugs in the streets of Texas is nightmare for the state government as it means that drug abuse and possession crimes are always high. The overcrowding of prisons violates the United States Constitution, which states that all citizens should live in decent conditions. Such conditions are unheard of in a state where the number of prisoners is more by 19% of the average capacity which the prisons should carry. The problem of overcrowding in prisons is made worse by financial hardships experienced by the state government meaning that it is impossible to build new prison facilities (Mohammad, & Fulkerson, 2015). The ever growing inmate population is causing problems as the state cannot afford to keep such a large number of prisoners nor can it afford to let them continue dealing in drugs.
The major reason why the prison numbers never go down is that the inmates are never rehabilitated or integrated into the society, and thus after being released they still go back to the old life. Prison authorities fail to realize that the main point of taking drug offenders to prisons is rehabilitation and ensure that they go back to the society as law abiding citizens. Many of the offenders leave the prison facilities with nowhere to go or nothing to do meaning that they are still tempted to go back to their old lifestyle (Moore, & Elkavich, 2008). Such unsuccessful tactics have led the justice system to start developing new ways of fighting the war on drugs since the current ways of stopping the vice do not seem to be working.
Proposals for Overcrowded Prisons
Sending Fewer People to Prison
Dealing with the overcrowding problem in the state of Texas needs the collaboration of efforts between the state and federal governments. For instance, the system needs to come up with a way of ensuring that not all offenders including the ones with minor offenses go to prison. It would be unfair to assume that the offender who was found using the drugs is to blame the same way as an offender who was found trafficking the drugs or selling them on the streets. Most of the inmates in the state prisons are petty offenders who were found in possession of small quantities of normal drugs. Coming up with a system that deals with petty offenders can help in reducing the number of inmates, which would save the state government significant resources. One way of dealing with such petty offenders is to make them perform community work or send them to correctional facilities instead of sending them to prison.
The justice system in the entire United States needs to change and start focusing on rehabilitating and changing the behavior of the prisoners instead of just forcing them into overcrowding facilities. As such, there should be a system that focuses on helping the convicted prisoners who improve their behaviors while in prison to be released under supervision (Pitts, Griffin, & Johnson, 2014). Such measures can go a long way in ensuring that the population of the prisoners is reduced and the money used to accommodate them is used in other ways.
Sending Foreign Offenders Back To Their Countries
Historical studies show that soon after the Cuban revolution, many unhappy Cubans started to leave country to the US and they settled in the state of Florida. It soon became evident that Castro had forced the boat owners to carry with them inmates of prisons in Cuba who were convicted of drug dealing as well as drug abuse. As such, the period was characterized by an influx of foreigners in the United States most of them who settled in Miami Florida and Texas. The current drug menace has been blamed on the influx of immigrants into the country most of them dealing with drugs. One way of reducing the overcrowding in the prisons is to make sure that foreign offenders are taken back to their countries (Pitts, Griffin, & Johnson, 2014). For instance, Texas has a large number of Mexicans since the state borders Mexico, and thus most of the inmates from Mexico should be sent back.
Focusing on Rehabilitating the Drug Offenders
As mentioned above, the overcrowding in prisons can be attributed to the current state and federal laws, which dictate strict imprisonment terms even for the minor drug-related offenses. The prisoners should be given at least a year in a rehabilitation center since, without counseling, they still will return to their old ways. Minor drug offenders should be initiated into drug rehabilitation centers instead of imprisonment to ensure that they change their behaviors. The lengthy prison sentences should only be used on the notorious drug criminals who usually traffic and sell them into the United States. The war on drugs should not focus on the offenders but should start with the cause of the problem, which are the countries of origin. Such countries are mostly located in South America and include Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Panama, and Mexico (Cook, 2002). As such, the US needs to ensure that the war on drugs is taken even to other countries through foreign policy measures to reduce or eradicate the entry of drugs in the US.
Conclusion
The war on drugs in the United States and more so in Texas seems to have been lost because instead of reducing, it has resulted into prison overcrowding. The state and federal judicial systems are focusing most of their efforts on arresting and imprisoning the drug users instead of rehabilitating them. Overcrowding in prisons is causing a major problem since it is illegal in the United States Constitution. The best ways to solve the problem including sending fewer people to prison by employing other correctional measures for minor offenders, sending convicted foreigners to their countries and rehabilitating the drug users. Such measures are construed to reduce the rate of recidivism, which is attributed to a high number of prisoners in Texas.
References
Cook, P. J. (2002). Drug War Heresies: Learning from Other Vices, Times, and Places by Robert J. MacCoun and Peter ReuterWhy Our Drug Laws Have Failed and What We Can Do About It: A Judicial Indictment of the War on Drugs by James P. Gray. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 21(2), 303-306. doi:10.1002/pam.10032
Mohammad, F., & Fulkerson, G. (2015). The “War on Drugs”: A Failed Paradigm. New Approaches to Drug Policies, 229-249. doi:10.1057/9781137450999_14
Moore, L. D., & Elkavich, A. (2008). Who’s Using and Who’s Doing Time: Incarceration, the War on Drugs, and Public Health. American Journal of Public Health, 98(Supplement_1), S176-S180. doi:10.2105/ajph.98.supplement_1.s176
Pitts, J. M., Griffin, O. H., & Johnson, W. W. (2014). Contemporary prison overcrowding: short-term fixes to a perpetual problem. Contemporary Justice Review, 17(1), 124-139. doi:10.1080/10282580.2014.883844
