Ayesha A.’s Post

Did you know that out of 11,158 people released from federal prisons, only HALF who could find employment AFTER 14 YEARS?!!??! Those who did report employment, the average reported income was $14,000 (!?!?!?). “After an average of 14 years post release, most individuals were underemployed with a median income of $0”. https://lnkd.in/gS-nDaKy Read that again. More stats (John Howard Society): One in five (20%) people are released from jail into homelessness. Another study shows 30% of people released are released to no fixed addresses. This year, another report (Locked Up and Locked Out) highlighted that out of 150 people who had been incarcerated, half of them lost their housing. Nevermind the trauma experienced from documented inhumane conditions inside. To sum up: after incarceration, people have no work (or live in dire poverty), no housing. Ford announced today in his Safer, (..) Municipalities Act that his plan to deal with encampments and “public drug use” is through $10K fines and incarceration. Not housing, not liveable social assistance rates, not rent controls… nope. just displace and criminalize. Incarceration is NOT the solution. Sources: Government of Canada, John Howard Society

Prison Overcrowding in the UK: Using the 5 Whys to Address the Real Problem🐘 The UK’s prison system is at breaking point. Despite plans to create 14,000 more spaces by 2031, the justice secretary warns this may still fall short. Overcrowding is not just logistical—it reflects systemic failings. 🌟Using the 5 Whys approach, we can uncover the root causes and explore meaningful solutions. 1. Why are prisons running out of space? Incarceration rates are increasing faster than capacity due to longer sentences and tougher sentencing policies. Answer: Capacity cannot keep up with demand. 2. Why are incarceration rates rising? A "tough on crime" approach has prioritised punitive measures over rehabilitative alternatives like community-based sentences. Answer: The system defaults to incarceration. 3. Why does the justice system rely on punitive measures? Public and political pressure demand immediate, visible responses to crime, equating justice with punishment. Answer: The cultural narrative favours punishment over prevention. 4. Why are preventative measures deprioritised? Prevention requires long-term investment, which is less appealing in short-term political cycles. Answer: Budget constraints favour reactive solutions like building prisons. 5. Why aren’t root causes addressed? Crime is treated as an individual failing rather than a societal issue tied to poverty, inequality, and mental health. Answer: A siloed approach overlooks the systemic drivers of crime. A Broader Public Sector Pattern This crisis mirrors inefficiencies across the UK public sector, where symptoms—not causes—are addressed. In the NHS, resources focus on crisis management (e.g., hospital bed shortages) rather than preventative care. Similarly, in criminal justice, the focus is on building more prisons instead of tackling root causes like poverty and mental health. This short-term thinking perpetuates inefficiency and wastes resources. 🔑 Recommendations 1. Shift the Narrative: Replace “tough on crime” with “smart on crime,” prioritising prevention and rehabilitation. 2. Invest in Communities: Address poverty, unemployment, and mental health. 3. Expand Alternatives: Use community-based sentences, diversion programmes, and restorative justice. 4. Rehabilitate, Don’t Just Punish: Equip prisons to reduce reoffending through education, job training, and mental health support. 5. Break the Political Cycle: Build cross-party consensus for long-term reform. Conclusion Prison overcrowding isn’t about space—it’s about systemic failure. Whether in justice or healthcare, focusing on symptoms over causes creates inefficiency and undermines effectiveness. Until we rethink justice and public systems to address root causes, we’ll remain stuck in a cycle of reactionary policies that fail to create lasting change. What are your thoughts? How can we shift from reactive to proactive approaches? Let’s discuss. #RootCauseAnalysis #5Whys #Leadership #SystemicReform #Ikigai

Do check out the Supreme Court of India’s “Prisons in India: Mapping Prison Manuals and Measures for Reformation and Decongestion” developed by the Supreme Court’s Centre for Research and Planning. The report among other things underscores the urgent need to humanize India’s prison system and align it with constitutional and human rights principles. Key Insights from the Report: 1. Reforming Archaic Practices: • Many prison manuals retain colonial-era provisions, such as caste-based assignment of tasks and classification of prisoners based on social status. This perpetuates historical hierarchies and inequality. • The report advocates for removing stigmatizing terms like “menial” or “degrading” to describe essential work and treating sanitation services as valuable institutional contributions. 2. Overcrowding Crisis: • India’s prisons operate at an alarming 131.4% occupancy rate, with 75.8% of prisoners being undertrials. • The report calls for measures like relaxing bail conditions, expanding open prisons, and using community service as an alternative to incarceration to reduce overcrowding. 3. Fair Wages for Prison Labor: • Prison wages range from ₹20/day in Mizoram to ₹524/day in Karnataka. While some states align wages with minimum labor standards, others fall drastically short. • The report emphasizes the need for equitable pay to uphold dignity and incentivize rehabilitation. 4. Focus on Vulnerable Populations: • Women Prisoners: Advocates menstrual equity, the right to reproductive choices, and equal access to non-domestic work opportunities. • Mental Health: Highlights the lack of adequate screening and support for prisoners, particularly those suffering from substance abuse and mental illnesses. 5. Strengthening Legal Aid: • Suggests expanding access to prison legal aid clinics, addressing gaps in representation, and creating dedicated legal panels to expedite appeals for underprivileged prisoners. 6. Leveraging Technology for Reform: • Proposes integrating the e-Prisons platform with judicial data systems for real-time updates and enhanced efficiency. • Explores the potential of electronic monitoring as a humane way to address overcrowding. 7. Judicial and Administrative Reforms: • Recommends consistent use of alternatives like probation, plea bargaining, and community service to reduce unnecessary incarceration. • Stresses the importance of speedy trials, noting significant delays at various stages of criminal proceedings. Will be interesting to see if these findings and recommendations remain on paper or are actively implemented and monitored. For one, there is no dearth of reports on prison reforms in India. #PrisonReforms #WomenInPrisons #AccessToJustice #HumanRights #CriminalJustice #India https://lnkd.in/gtEex_m4

Embracing a New Era of Justice: Community Service in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act Transforming Punishment into Positive Change ⚖ The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act, which replaces the Indian Penal Code of 1860, introduces the concept of community service as a form of punishment. This marks a significant and progressive shift in the Indian criminal justice system. The inclusion of community service as a sanction reflects a modern understanding of justice that emphasizes rehabilitation, social reintegration, and restorative justice over mere retribution. Here are several compelling reasons why the introduction of community service in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act is a welcome and necessary reform. 1. Promoting Rehabilitation Over Retribution Community service allows offenders to give back to society in a constructive manner. This form of punishment focuses on rehabilitation rather than retribution, providing offenders with an opportunity to understand the impact of their actions and make amends. 2. Reducing Overcrowding in Prisons India’s prison system is notoriously overcrowded, leading to inhumane conditions and a lack of resources. By incorporating community service as an alternative to incarceration for minor offenses, the Act can significantly reduce the burden on the prison system. This not only alleviates overcrowding but also ensures that prison resources are allocated to more serious offenders who pose a genuine threat to society. 3. Cost-Effective Justice Imprisonment is an expensive undertaking for the state, involving costs related to housing, feeding, and securing inmates. Community service, on the other hand, is a cost-effective alternative that can reduce the financial burden on the government. The savings can be redirected towards improving the criminal justice system, including better rehabilitation programs and support for victims. 4. Benefiting Communities When offenders engage in community service, they contribute to the betterment of society. Whether through cleaning public spaces, assisting in community projects, or helping in social welfare programs, their work directly benefits the community. 6. Aligning with Restorative Justice Principles Community service enables offenders to understand the real-world impact of their actions and actively participate in making amends, thus promoting healing for both victims and communities. 7. Flexibility and Proportionality It allows judges to tailor punishments that fit the nature and severity of the crime. This ensures that minor offenders are not unduly punished with harsh sentences that do not fit the crime, thereby promoting fairness and justice. What are your views on the same? Will it have a positive effect or a new way for the elites to escape from their severe crimes?

29-Oct-24 Stockton, CA: The Board of Directors of Friends Outside urges the people of California to vote “no” on Proposition 36.    Generally, Friends Outside pursues and supports laws and policies that: - Promote humane conditions of incarceration. - Are mission-aligned. - Seek to reduce crime by addressing social factors that contribute to anti-social behavior. - Support the maintenance and strengthening of the family bond and the health and mental health of each family member.   “We [Board Members] are committed to the principles of rehabilitation and the possibilities provided by second chances. We also believe in accountability, but Proposition 36 is a thinly veiled attempt to return to ineffective and cruel lengths of incarceration. It undoes the positive effects of Prop 47 from 2016 and ignores decades of research on crime and rehabilitation. We can’t stand idly by while sensationalized news and exaggerated speeches play on people’s fears knowing that passing Proposition 36 will only expand our prison population and take away from impactful services that support all Californians” said Nicole Smolter, Board Chair. “As an agency with a role in the Justice System, we anticipate that those we serve, including their families, will be negatively impacted by the bill’s passing. This proposal is an emotional response to the effects of poverty, not crime and will disproportionately affect black and brown communities,” said Michael Sorensen, Executive Director. Some of the implications of Proposition 36 passing include: - An increase in the census at California state prisons by making it required to punish people for certain crimes with jail time and  making drug dealers responsible for overdoses.  - The Legislative Analyst’s Office indicates the fiscal effect will be in the $100s of millions. At a time of budget crisis, this influx of newly incarcerated people will force Californians to choose between funding things like healthcare and schools or prisons. Rehabilitation has proven to be more effective and less expensive than prison. The bill undoes the effective reforms brought about by 2016's Prop 47, which: •       Reduced prison overcrowding, •       Saved the state $816 million+ in prison spending, •       Redirected funds to K‑12 education, preventative programs, victim services, mental health, and drug treatment programs, •       Funded programs in almost half of California’s counties, and •       Reduced recidivism among participants. The fiscal impact of these roll-backs are not calculated in the fiscal impact statement/ LAO. The long-term impacts of having been incarcerated are many and can affect future housing and employment choices for those who serve a felony sentence. Incarceration of a parent also impacts children and family’s health and mental health. It can affect the future trajectory for every person in the family. There will be increased costs at the city and county levels as they try to enforce the new law. Vote No.

A SLOW DEATH ROW? "Since 2002, the United States has had the highest incarceration rate in the world. Although prison populations are increasing in some parts of the world, the natural rate of incarceration for countries comparable to the United States tends to stay around 100 prisoners per 100,000 population. The U.S. rate is 500 prisoners per 100,000 residents, or about 1.6 million prisoners in 2010, according to the latest available data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). https://lnkd.in/g4MQnfUQ 1) "People who were 55 years old or older made up about 3 percent of the US prison population in 1991; by 2021, they accounted for 15 percent. The total number of older prisoners is also steadily growing, with no signs of abatement: In 2020, there were about 166,000 incarcerated people aged 55 years or older; that number grew to about 178,000 in 2021 and 186,000 in 2022." 2) "In state after state, prison systems have long been plagued by inadequate health care, resulting in the spread of treatable diseases and, in many cases, deaths behind bars" I other words jails are becoming the dreaded "nursing" homes in the line of the dreaded London workhouses , known for being the last place you want to go https://lnkd.in/gEDG_gBV. It does not have to be that way Although Japan has the oldest population in the world. some senior citizens are intentionally committing petty crimes because they view life in jail as better than life outside. https://lnkd.in/gDyDcXd https://lnkd.in/gtCkjUsC

America’s prison system is overloaded, crumbling, and costing us billions—what went wrong? 👉 Don't miss out. Click here- https://lnkd.in/e4turgRw 00:00 - Introduction to Mass Incarceration 02:00 - Racial Disparities in Justice 03:21 - Impact of the War on Drugs 04:25 - Effects on Families and Communities 05:28 - The School-to-Prison Pipeline 06:37 - Employment Crisis in Prisons 08:02 - Recidivism and Rehabilitation 10:38 - Mental Health Crisis in Prisons 13:29 - Comparing International Approaches 15:28 - The Cash Bail System 16:21 - Prison Labor and Exploitation 17:11 - Rethinking Incarceration Practices VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT Let’s Talk: Insights That Make You Think - https://lnkd.in/ebxckjmA Life Hacks From the Cockpit - https://lnkd.in/eXFbinws How to Make Good Choices and Not be Misled - https://lnkd.in/ekk_75Kp REFERENCE GUIDE Mass Incarceration Overview Subject: The U.S. has less than 5% of the world’s population but holds 20% of its prisoners. Source: World Prison Brief; Bureau of Justice Statistics. Racial Disparities Subject: African Americans are incarcerated at five times the rate of white Americans. Source: The Sentencing Project; NAACP Criminal Justice Fact Sheet. The War on Drugs Subject: The War on Drugs fueled mass incarceration, especially for non-violent drug offenses. Source: ACLU; National Institute of Justice. Economic and Community Impact Subject: Over 2.7 million children have incarcerated parents, creating economic and emotional instability. Source: Pew Charitable Trusts; Economic Policy Institute. School-to-Prison Pipeline Subject: Zero-tolerance policies disproportionately push children of color from schools into the justice system. Source: American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU); U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights. Private Prisons and Profit Motive Subject: Private prison companies like CoreCivic and GEO Group profit from higher incarceration rates. Source: Justice Policy Institute; CoreCivic Annual Reports. Employment and Staffing Crisis Subject: Correctional officer turnover rates in some states are as high as 50%. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics; The Marshall Project. Mental Health in Prisons Subject: 20-25% of inmates have serious mental health conditions, but prisons are not equipped to treat them. Source: National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI); Treatment Advocacy Center. Crisis Intervention on the Front Lines Subject: The CAHOOTS program in Eugene, Oregon diverts mental health-related 911 calls to mental health professionals. Source: White Bird Clinic; National Public Radio (NPR). Cost of Incarceration Subject: The U.S. spends between $30,000 and $60,000 per inmate annually. Source: Vera Institute of Justice; The Prison Policy Initiative. Recidivism and Rehabilitation Programs Subject: Massachusetts

More than six years ago, I wrote my first feature about incarceration. Since then, I've covered how COVID affected incarcerated people, reported on how the opioid crisis is unfolding in prisons and jails and investigated the machinery of lethal injection. More than 1.9M people are locked up in U.S. prisons, jails, immigration centers and other detention facilities. Federal, state and local governments spend more than $81B per year on corrections, and other fees end up costing taxpayers and families over $100B more each year. Yet covering incarceration quickly turns into a byzantine project. Corrections entities obscure information that can aid your work. Connecting with incarcerated sources can be logistically difficult and potentially endanger them. For Freedom of the Press Foundation, I wrote a two-part guide for reporters breaking into the beat to share what I wish I'd known six years ago. Part 1 covers the challenges of interviewing incarcerated people. Part 2 addresses how to obtain information that carceral agencies don't want to provide. https://lnkd.in/ejB5JnuK

Mr. Petterson asserts "This Article will examine America's unique use of extremely harsh and lengthy prison sentences and how these sentencing policies contributed to the rise of mass incarceration. First, this Article will examine the history of prisons and sentencing policy. It will explore how sentencing policy, “tough on crime” politics, and the mass media contributed to the rise of mass incarceration. Next, this Article will discuss how America's overreliance on extremely lengthy sentences makes us an outlier to the rest of the world. This Article will examine the literature on incarceration and lengthy sentences, arguing that lengthy sentences are not effective because they do not effectively deter crime, do not promote public safety, do not prevent reoffending, are unnecessary because people age out of crime, and are not favored by crime victims. It will propose reducing the lengths of sentences and shortening sentences based on the good behavior of incarcerated people. Lastly, this Article will propose a political messaging framework to promote criminal justice reforms."