State_and_Federal_Prison_Systems

State and Federal Prison Systems North Dakota has three prisons that house their state prisoners. These prisons use prisoner labor to benefit their state and local government by manufacturing multiple items. The prisoners also participate in activities such as agriculture, work release and community treatment programming. The growth of many of the state prisons in the United States is partly due to the increasing number of people who are getting tougher on crime as well as those who are repeat offenders. (Foster, 2006) State prisons have several security levels which include: open security, minimum, medium, close-high, maximum, and super max security. Federal prisons also have several security levels which include: minimum, low, medium, high, and administrative and administrative maximum. (Foster, 2006) Federal prisons have a lower cost per inmate, newer and smaller facilities, UNICOR programs, and their physical settings are nicer than state prisons. The federal prison system is considered to be safer because they are not as crowded and there is a better guard to inmate ratio. To improve on security at the both state and federal levels, this writer believes that there needs to be stricter guidelines and ongoing training for all those who are involved with the day to day operations and security of the prisoners. There needs to be drills that will keep guards on their game because it could mean the difference between life and death if something ever happens. The United States correctional professionals could solve the exponential growth in the prison system by being strict on the inmates that come into their facilities so that they do not want to return, by offering and encouraging the rehabilitation of all inmates, especially those who are incarcerated for lesser crimes who will one day be released back into society. By giving these inmates a purpose in life and then giving them the skills needed to return to their outside life with the skills needed to prosper is imperative. There is also the possibility of getting some of these men and women into a rehabilitation or treatment facility instead of prison because of their state of mind. We, as a society, need to make sure that they are not unfairly thrown into an area that will cause them more harm. Within the state and federal prison system, there are many issues facing the safety, security, and health of everyone in those jails. Inmate, guard, management, and all the other personnel are among those that will benefit when the inmates are given rewards for learning and using the tools needed to make the transition back into society. This is one way that I believe the prison system will begin to show a drop in the growth in the prison system population. References Foster, B. (2006). In Corrections: The Fundamentals (Chapter 6). Prentice Hall.