The Biggest Issue Facing The American Correction System Research Paper

The Biggest Issue Facing The American Correction System - Research Paper Example The correctional system in the US continues to suffer serious problems that hamper its smooth operations. These problems include but not limited to; overcrowding, the radicalization of inmates, prisoners deviant behaviors, funding, litigation, negative coverage from the media, mental conditions affecting inmates, lack of staff morale from the prison officers, and lack of proper training of prison officers and guards (Cole, 2015). The radicalization of inmates has become a growing concern in the correctional system today. Members of organized gangs, terrorist groups, and religious sects are quietly and rapidly recruiting inmates into their outfits. The usage of contraband mobile phones inside the prisons is also a contributory factor. The proliferation of violence and other deviant behaviors in prisons is also a problem. It is estimated that about 60 percent of all incarcerated persons in the US is violent (Cole, 2015). This behavior leads to confrontations between inmates and officer s. Funding has also been highlighted as one of the bottlenecks the correctional system is facing. Federal budget cuts targeting the prison system affects programs such as staff training, consequently affecting job morale. However, overcrowding is the arguably the biggest issue affecting the American correctional system today. Overcrowding, of all issues bugging the prison system, has been cited as the biggest and most troubling. In the US today, over 2 million Americans and other foreign individuals have been incarcerated.