More than 30 million people walk through a jail or prison in the world each year. Nearly one fifth of those people do so in the U.S. So who are these people being held by authorities, and for what reasons? Are we incarcerating them as a way to protect them from themselves and others, or simply setting them aside, in our attempt to reject that their actions, and hold to our failing as a society to provide people with basic living necessities? There are certain groups of people who tend to be disproportionately sentenced to time in prison; this does not only point at our failings as a society but also of the hold we have on past ideologies.
The large number of people incarcerated consist of two major groups: people of color, and victims of poverty. It is unfair for a person to be sentenced to a higher likelihood of jail time because of a situation they were born into. As a nation we have failed as we have focused on the problems after they have occurred. Instead of doing so we should being to focus on preventative programs, that will lower crime rate and give back into our economy and socially in a positive manner.
One important thing we can begin to do is begin to invest more in educational services. Schools provide with more than just a learning experience, they also provide child care, making it easier for working parents to continue working when their child is at school. Investing in younger generations is a way to deter negative experiences and lack of education that will lead to larger consequences. (i.e. finding support systems in gangs, not having funds to attend college, heavy drug use, and other illegal and debilitating outcomes).
Valuing the quality of life and success is outrageously important, and sidelining projects and attempts to do so because of the time and money spent should not be a factor. Despite that we are also, or should be, morally obligated to providing a better future of all our children. Quality education will eventually give back to our nation, as people who receive education are less likely to commit crime and instead will be out in the real world investing in our economy. The returns of this time of investment would change the society we live in. Dismantling systematic racism and the unescapable cycle of poverty would immensely benefit not only our younger generation, but our country as a whole.
The only way we can lower our imprisonment rates is if we prevent people from getting into that sort of situation in the first place.
