Criminal Justice Reform Essay

Criminal Justice Reform

Sources:

https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/issues/criminal-justice-reform The U.S continues to face a crisis of mass incarceration that seems to be growing bigger and bigger each day in this country. There are nearly two million people in prison in America today, according to the Obama White House Archives, over twice the number there were 30 years ago, when there were just 500,000 in jail. There are fewer than five percent of the world's population in the United States, but there are more than 25 percent of the world's prisoners there. Approximately $80 billion of the national budget is spent on keeping people in prison in the United States every year.

The reform of the criminal justice system in the United States

By working to reform policies and practices in the justice system, the NICJR aims to improve outcomes for individuals and communities impacted by crime and incarceration. Through research, advocacy, and education, the NICJR strives to create a more just society where everyone has access to equal justice under the law. With their commitment to reform, the NICJR is making a positive impact on the criminal justice system and helping to build a better world for us all.The need to address the problem of mass incarceration is one of the most important issues to address as part of criminal justice reform. With more than 2 million people currently behind bars in the United States, it is the country with the highest incarceration rate in the world. Several factors have contributed to this, namely harsh sentencing laws, mandatory minimum sentences, and the war on drugs being a major factor. It has often been argued that this approach to criminal justice has made ineffective and unjust use of the law, and has had a disproportionate impact on the communities of color as a result. Criminal justice reform advocates also call for changes to the way that evidence is handled, as well as improvements to the quality of legal representation for defendants. Taking a further step to address the issue of recidivism, or the likelihood that a person will reoffend after being released from prison. As a result, criminal justice reform is about creating a fairer and more just system that addresses the needs of everyone involved, from victims to defendants to society as a whole. While the road to achieving this goal may be long and difficult, there is growing momentum behind the push for meaningful criminal justice reform at the local, state, and national