It's interesting to note that many criminals, including juveniles, say that the lack of money is what drove them to crime. One may wonder if that thirty thousand dollars might be better spent by ensuring an income for all American families. In fact, Thomas Murton's Strain theory is sited in Lanier and Henry's book, and describes crime as the means to the American Dream when there is a lack of access to it. .
Of course, it is not logical to suggest that the United States government should give families in need 30,000 dollars each year. Thirty thousand dollars is a very large sum of money. However, is our money better spent being invested in the prison system? We spend so much money building prison and locking people up in them, yet we are no safer nor in any greater danger of harm than we ever were. Perhaps part of the problem lies in the lack of the rehabilitation going on in prison. Over 70% of people who go in and get out of prison end up .
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going back after committing more serious crimes. When considering the economic impact of prison there is one more thing to bear in mind. Some economist is worried that our high levels of incarceration will actually stunt future economic growth, by removing so much possible work force. Of course, one must not forget that the more money we invest into our prison systems the less we invest into our children's education, libraries, parks, recreation centers, even more effective crime prevention programs or after school activities. Of course, by putting more money into these things as opposed to jails, we can possibly reduce the future crime rate. .
Another downside to our country's mass incarceration is the traumatizing effects prison can have on its inmates. In fact, our prisons have been considered the most barbaric of the western worlds. First there is the humiliation and stigma involved with being placed in jail. Once a person has been labeled as a criminal by a trip to jail, no matter if resulting from a runaway charge or larceny, it is drilled into a person's head that he is a criminal and becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy, so that even upon release, the individual may be just as, if not more so, susceptible to crime.