The Prison System And Its Potential For Change
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Politics and Activism

The Prison System And Its Potential For Change

How society forgets about those who fell off the tracks.

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The Prison System And Its Potential For Change
Rebecca Beaulieu

I just recently read a book by Avi Steinberg called "Running the Books," which reflected on and told the stories of his years as a librarian in a Boston Prison. While the general work of a prison aims to take away a person's possessions and isolate them from the outside world, a library seems like an odd resource for the inmates to have access to. I found it very interesting that of all the things the inmates don't have access to, they can check out books and magazines. Steinberg's perspective was new and involved in a way that other stories I have seen or read about prisons were not. He became involved in catering to inmates, working as their boss, and learning how to communicate with them effectively. This got me thinking. Was the library at the prison meant to help inmates pass the time, or was it really meant to give them something? Why include a library in prisons? Is the purpose of a prison even useful in our society?

In the United States, the number of people incarcerated has been steadily rising. The rates of incarceration in the United States are far above any other country at 698 per 100,000 people. The next closest rate is Rwanda at 492 per 100,000 people. There were less than half the number of people incarcerated in 1980 as compared to 2013. Reasons for incarceration range from drugs, violence, public order, and property offenses. As the numbers rise, what is the prison's goal?

Prisons were made with four major purposes in mind: retribution, incapacitation, deterrence and rehabilitation.

Retribution is punishment for crimes against society. Taking away a person's freedom is a way of making them pay a debt to society. If crime went unpunished, our society would be way more chaotic. While we all have freedoms in the United States, it makes sense to take away that basic right when rules are broken and crime is committed.

Incapacitation refers to removing people who have committed crimes from society as a safety for innocent people. Whether a crime is violent or drug-related, removing the perpetrator from the community does have the means to take away some of the gun violence and shut down a drug-dealing business. While it doesn't always work that way, taking people off the streets can benefit the community they came from.

Deterrence is pretty straight forward, as prisons serve as symbols of correction: it's a place that you don't want to end up. Prisons provide warnings about people thinking about committing a crime and discourages them from breaking the law (or so it should).

Rehabilitation is about changing the citizens that get put in jails so that they may leave in a better place than they arrived. That's why a lot of prisons have educational courses, job skills training, counseling, and that's probably part of why libraries in prisons exist. However, with the increasing number of people in prisons today, are prisons achieving their goals? Or is the system failing the inmates when it comes to helping them get back on their feet?

In his book, Steinberg talked about Pimps, drug users, gang members; all of whom had different backgrounds and reasons for being there. Some of them really wanted to change their lives. One man started planning his life, with goals of going to culinary school and owning a restaurant. Another started writing a book about his life as a pimp. Sometimes their past caught up with them, and when they left the prison they ended up dead in a matter of weeks. Sometimes they couldn't do anything about their situation and would return to their criminal activities as soon as they left, just to come back a few months later on new charges. Steinberg talked about them all like they were human beings just like us, which the prison system does not acknowledge as soon as the word "criminal" gets tacked onto their files.

The system isn't perfect. We do have to hold criminals accountable for their actions, but where do we draw lines? How can we deter crime in the first place?

I don't have an answer to this. Our prison system is flawed and the drug laws are causing people to enter the system for minor charges. The criminalization of drugs has elevated the war on drugs and put people behind bars for possession of marijuana alongside people charged with attempted murder. Isn't there a way to make our community safer and help people who have made mistakes without putting everyone potentially dangerous behind bars?

In a way, the library is a perfect example for how a prison needs to function in society. It's full of books, where inmates can pass the time learning about people and places. They can read magazines and keep up with current events. They can take classes and work on improving as a person. In his book, Steinberg made this out to be as complex as it sounds. He had to work alongside the inmates and quickly learned about the line between friend and boss. He was there to prevent illegal activity yet gave the inmates access to a world of knowledge where they could read about whatever they want.

Our prison system must sit on this boundary. It needs to hold criminals accountable but also has to acknowledge that they are all human beings and have the potential to change. There must be a balance between rehabilitation and punishment, and a better effort to prevent young people from getting involved in crime in the first place.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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