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The Pros And Cons Of Incarceration

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The Other Side of Incarceration Corrected by Cody Akerson
Within the last decade, the United States has seen a dramatic rise in incarceration rates. Though the crimes do vary, the United States is now known for holding the highest number or prisoners compared to many different countries throughout the world. With a higher crime rate comes higher conviction rates, which in turn means more prisoners. Though mass incarceration rates is usually a hot topic of discussion, there is an underlying problem with these high numbers of prisoners that is often left not talked about. Many of these prisoners are parents. Parents are supposed to protect and provide for their child, and show them the difference between right and wrong. So what happens when a parent fails to do that and ends up in trouble themselves? Discussing the statistics of parental incarceration and effects that it has on a child can help a person to better understand how to prevent the cycle from repeating itself. Imagine being told as a child that your parent has done something wrong, and will have to go away for a long time. A parent is going to jail, and the child is the one left to face the world without them while they serve their time. According to Youth with Incarcerated Parents, there has been an dramatic increase in parental incarceration from 1986 to 1997. Approximately 600,000 children …show more content…

Dealing with the social stigma of having a parent in prison is an added stressor on these kids. When a child’s parent is gone for a military deployment, for example, their parent is hailed a hero and the child is looked at as tough. When a child’s parent is incarcerated, their parent is now looked at as a menace to society, and the child looked at as damaged. Dealing with these stigmas only increases a chance for further negative responses and consequences from the

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However, besides the factors that have contributed to the growing rates in prisons, it is equally as important to note how mass incarceration has affected the communities of those incarcerated. Clear (2008) discusses various effects inflicted on ones community once they are incarcerated and mentions “These destructive effects are felt in the lives of children, as well as in family functioning, mental and physical health, labor markets, and the economic and political infrastructures of these places. (Clear, P.102). In other words, it affects the community largely in the sense that those children do poorly in their education and could even end up on the same path. As for family functioning, incarceration can affect the family dynamic because loss of income, and the socioeconomic view of the community could decrease even more due to the fear of further crime and as a result, it will be a challenge to obtain a decent living.

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