America Criminal Justice to Reform

America Criminal Justice to Reform
Introduction
American criminal justice system needs to be reformed for increasing its efficiency and fairness. One of the reforms is the reduction of mass incarceration. America has less than six percent of the entire world population, and yet it imprisons almost a quarter of world’s prisoners. A large number of inmates are detained because of minor offenses. Overcrowded prisoners can jeopardize the lives of both staffs and prisoners. A California prison in Los Angeles was burned in 2009 by rioting prisoners, 250 prisoners were injured, and 55 were hospitalized (Liebelson 1). Mass imprisonment can be minimized by reducing “mandatory minimum sentencing” of non-violent drug offenders. Current non-violent prisoners should be given a chance to seek a fairer sentence. Rehabilitation, job training, and treatment of non-violent drug criminals should be prioritized instead of incarceration. Most of the American prisoners suffer from mental problems due to prolonged use of narcotics (Gottschalk 63). These individuals need to be rehabilitated instead of being imprisoned.
Restoring and enhancing trust between societies and police department. Some police officers have used excessive force. Michael Brown, an African American was fatally shot in Ferguson on 9th August 2014. This scenario has broken trust between the communities and police force. Trust can be restored by promoting accountability and oversight in use of certain controlled military equipment which involves a limited transfer of military equipment to the local police department from the federal government and transparency in the purchasing of military equipment.

Communities and police department need to be brought together in developing guidelines on when a police officer should use necessary force. Agencies that monitor violation of human rights need to be strengthened by being equipped with more resources to improve their investigations (Mears 131). Proper training of police officers on how to deploy effective and creative strategies in handling criminals and suspects. Provision of funds by the state to introduce body cameras that can be placed on every police officer in America, to monitor them.
Reformation of policies for ex-offenders. Ex-offenders face policies and laws that restrict them access to basic human rights. Most of them are even denied the right to employment, voting, and housing. An African American mother was denied housing because of a single arrest four years before her application (Page 1). Some of this ex-offenders end up being imprisoned again within a period of about six years. After criminals have paid their full debt to the society and state, they need to be restored and given privileges like any other citizen so that they will lead productive lives in the communities. The state should invest in job training programs to help people re-entering communities from prison. Reduction of use of solitary confinement (Gottschalk 63). Prisoners subjected to prolonged confinement might suffer from depression and rage that can lead to suicide or violence.
Conclusion
Proper criminal justice reform, will end racial discrimination and harsh penalties on criminals. It will also result in introducing alternative programs that will reduce crime and imprisonment rates instead of incarceration. This will restore the economic participation of ex-offenders returning home from prison. Criminal justice reform will as well, improve better training of police force. Furthermore, will reduce the prison population and state expenditures spent to maintain over-populated prisons. Finally, it will ensure fair treatment of everybody at every level within the justice system and strengthen the bond between communities and law enforcement.
Works Cited
Gottschalk, Marie. “Cell blocks & red ink: Mass incarceration, the great recession & penal
reform.” Daedalus 139.3 (2010): 62-73.
Liebelson, Dana. ‘18 States Packed Their Prisons Over Maximum Capacity’ 17th Sep 2015
Web. 5th Dec 2016
Mears, Daniel P. American criminal justice policy: An evaluation approach to increasing
accountability and effectiveness. Cambridge University Press, 2010.
Page, JoAnne. ‘No Second Chance: People with Criminal Records Denied Access to Public
Housing.’2nd Mar 2004 Web. 5th Dec 2016