Incarceration Of Americ The United States - 1487 Words

Incarceration in America The United States has the largest prison population in the world. The U.S.’s path to our over population has been decades in the making. â€Å"The United States makes up about 4 percent of the world’s population, and it accounts for 22 percent of the world’s prison population.† (Lopez). Prison over population is a growing concern within our society creating and contributing factors include longer sentences, rising costs, prison gangs, rapes, racism and mental health issues. As the crime rate in America increases the amount of convictions increase. There are many reasons and a wide range of factors why people within our society commit crimes which leads to incarceration. â€Å"Reasons for committing a crime include greed,†¦show more content†¦Many prisoners cannot read or write above elementary school levels. The most common crimes committed by these inmates are robbery, burglary, automobile theft, drug trafficking, and shoplifting. Because of their poor educational backgrounds, their employment histories consist of mostly low wage jobs with frequent periods of unemployment. People must make a choice between long-term low income and the prospect of profitable crime. Gaining further education, of course, is another option, but classes can be expensive and time consuming. While education can provide the chance to get a better job, it does not always prevent crimes from being committed.0 Easy access to handguns is another factor many criminologists consider key to making a life of crime easier. Many firearms used in crimes are stolen or purchased illegally (bought on what is called the black market). Firearms provide a simple means of committing a crime while allowing offenders some distance or detachment from their victims. By the beginning of the twenty-first century firearm use was the eighth leading cause of death in the world. Similarly, the increased availability of free information on the Internet also makes it easy to commit certain kinds of crime. Web sites provide instructions on how to make bombs and buy poisons. Easy access, however, will not be the primary factor in a person s decision to commit a crime. Other