Corrections GOVT 2306, Module 10

United States World Leader The United States has the largest prison system in the world with 2.2 million prisoners behind bars. China, with four times the population, has 1.5 million prisoners. Nearly half of prison inmates in the United States are incarcerated for drug offenses.

Incarceration Rate The U.S. incarceration rate is 707 inmates for every 100,000 in population. In contrast, the incarceration rate in Canada is 114 per 100,000. It is 101 in France and 54 in Japan.

Incarceration Rate Per Country

Federal & State Incarceration State prisons, by far. Are the more inmates in federal prisons or state prisons?

Prison Population & War on Drugs War on Drugs Begins

Racial Disparity & War on Drugs Explain this figure. Whites are more likely than blacks or Hispanics to use illicit drugs, but much, much less likely to go to prison.

Texas Leads the Nation More people (221,800) are incarcerated in state prisons and county jails in Texas than in any other state. The Texas prison population is nearly three times as big as the prison population of New York, even though New York’s population is only 12 percent smaller than the Texas population.

Texas Prison Population Falling Why do you think the prison population is falling? The best explanation is that state budgets are tight because of the recent recession.

Offenses 1. BURGLARY OF HABITATION 34,956 2. AGG ROBBERY 24,498 3. AGG SEXUAL ASSAULT CHILD 15,158 4. DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED 3RD OR MORE 15,108 5. AGG ASSAULT W/DEADLY WEAPON 14,504 6. ROBBERY 12,700 7. POSS CS PG 1 >=1G<4G 11,647 8. INDECENCY W/CHILD SEXUAL CONTACT 10,909 9. MAN DEL CS PG 1 >=4G<200G 9,220 10. POSS CS PG 1 >=4G<200G 8,290

Penalty Groups 1 & 2 Possession of Cocaine, Heroin, Methampethamine Known in Texas under “Penalty Group 1”, minimum penalties could be two years in jail and $10,000.00 fine but it may run up to a maximum of life imprisonment for possession of 400 grams or more. Possession of Ecstasy, PCP, Mescaline (Group 2) Penalty Group 2 under Texas drug laws includes ecstasy, mescaline, and PCP. Ecstasy or MDMA (also called “Molly”)  in particular is a common club drug and is regularly charged in Texas courts. Hashish and forms of cannabis with resinous or extracted THC are also in this felony category. These drugs carry two-year jail sentences for less than one gram, and maximum sentences of life imprisonment and fines up to $50,000 for 400 grams or more.

Texas Drug Law Penalties—Possession of Marijuana 2 oz or less misdemeanor 180 days $ 2,000 2 - 4 oz 1 year $ 4,000 4 oz to 5 lbs felony 180 days* - 2 years $ 10,000 5 - 50 lbs 2* - 10 years 50 - 2000 lbs 2* - 20 years More than 2000 lbs 5* - 99 years $ 50,000 * Mandatory minimum sentence

Texas Drug Law Penalties—Sale of Marijuana 7 g or less for no remuneration misdemeanor 180 days $ 2,000 7 g or less 1 year $ 4,000 7 g to 5 lbs felony 180 days* - 2 years $ 10,000 5 - 50 lbs 2* - 20 years 50 - 2000 lbs 5* - 99 years More than 2000 lbs 10* - 99 years $ 100,000 To a minor * Mandatory minimum sentence

Texas Inmate Sentences The oldest inmate is 92. The youngest is 16.

Texas Inmates by Race

Texas Inmates by Gender

Incarceration Rate by State Which region has the highest incarceration rate? The South

County Jails Except for a few small counties, each of the state's 254 counties has a county jail, built by county tax dollars and staffed by the office of the county sheriff. Jails house the following: People accused of felony and misdemeanor criminal offenses who have not made bail; Convicted felons who are awaiting transfer to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ); People charged with federal criminal offenses who are awaiting transfer to a federal facility; and Persons convicted of misdemeanor offenses who are serving relatively short sentences.

State Jails State jails house persons convicted of fourth-degree (state jail) felonies. Fourth-degree felonies include forgery, fraud, relatively minor theft, possession or delivery of small amounts of certain illegal drugs, car theft (under $20,000 value), burglary of a building that is not a home, and other nonviolent crimes.

Texas Prisons The state prison system houses inmates convicted of first, second, and third degree felonies.

Parole Parole is the conditional release of convicted offenders from prison to serve the remainder of their sentences in the community under supervision. In theory, parole is a mechanism for reintegrating offenders into the community because it allows the state to release prisoners to the community conditionally, under supervision.

Parole Rate Increasing

Parole is less expensive Parole is cheaper than prison. The cost of parole supervision is $3.74 a day for each offender compared with $47.50 for each day in prison.

Good Time Under state law, most prisoners are eligible for parole after serving one-fourth of their sentence or 15 years, whichever is less. The state determines the amount of time served for inmates convicted of nonviolent offenses by adding together the actual days spent behind bars with good time earned.

Recidivism Recidivism is the tendency of offenders released from prison to commit additional crimes and be returned behind bars. In Texas, 23 percent of inmates released from prison are rearrested for a serious crime within three years of their release.

What You Have Learned How does the prison population of the U.S. compare with the rest of the world? How does the Texas prison population compare with the rest of the nation? Is the prison population rising or falling? Why? What is the relationship between incarceration and the war on drugs? What categories of prisoners are held in county jails, state jails, and state prisons, and how are those facilities managed?