Question

What explains the rise of prison population worldwide?

(Explain all relevant arguments and illustrate your answers)

Answer 1

As we know that prison population is the number of people who are in prisons worldwide. The prison population not increases because of the increase in crime rates but due to the changes in laws,rules and regulations around the world. In many countries of the world like India people are put behind bars under the public safety act. Changes in law and policy, not changes in crime rates, explain most of this increase. The results are overcrowding in prisons and fiscal burdens on states, despite increasing evidence that large-scale incarceration is not an effective means of achieving public safety.

The world prison population is increasing continuously. According to the report More than 10.35 million people are in prison around the world, new report published by the Institute for Criminal Policy Research shows. Large number of offenders are sent to prisons which have sharply increased the prison population worldwide.In many countries, crime rates, including rates for the more serious crimes, have been stable or even decreasing, while prison populations have risen steadily.

If we look into the country wise than as of June 2020, the United States had the highest number of incarcerated individuals worldwide, with more than 2.12 million people in prison. US is followed by China with 1.71million people in prisons. Than comes Brazil and Russian Federation. The country with the Lowest prison population is central African republic with just 16 prisoners out of 100,000. Netherlands is the only country which has no prisoners at all as per the latest report in 2018.It is of great concern that there are now well over 11 million people held in penal institutions throughout the world. What is of greater concern is that prison populations continue to rise sharply in some parts of the world. This should prompt policy makers in all countries to consider what they can do to limit the numbers in custody, given the high costs and disputed efficacy of imprisonment and the fact that prison overcrowding is widespread.

The reasons for increase in prison population are as:-

Increase in crime rates worldwide.

Changes in laws and policies.

Arrests per crime has increased.

Share of offenders sent to prisons has increased dramatically.

More stay time in prisons have also increased prison population.

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