The United States is the country that has most people incarcerated and the highest incarceration rate of any nation in the world. This level of incarceration does not stem from abnormally high crime rates, but is more strongly linked to our nation’s sentencing practices and drug policies, both of which have been developed to be “tough on crime.” This and harsher stance is not as effective as approaches other nations use, which focus more on crime prevention and rehabilitation. The United States has the highest rate of incarceration at 716 prisoners per 100,000 people. Many Western European nations have much lower rates at around 98 prisoners per 100,000 (Walmsley). In fact, more than three fifths of the world’s nations have incarceration rates below 150 per 100,000 people (Walmsley). …show more content…
Basically, individuals who are sentenced for federal and drug crimes are being are being held for longer period of time. Other nations have come up with creative and effective ways to use programs to decrease crime and recidivism. Germany uses many rehabilitation programs in their prisons. It can be proven that rehabilitation programs reduce recidivism. In Heidering prison Germany, many inmates can work at various jobs, including onsite factories built specifically to give inmates work experience. The Federal Ministry of Justice has found that roughly 33 percent of those released from prison were convicted of another crime within three years. But, In the United States the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics has found that nearly 70 percent of people released from prisons were arrested again within three years (Chammah). This happens because rehabilitation programs such as those in Heidering