InstructionsRevision of Literature Review and IntroductionFollow the directions below for the completion of the introduction and literature review revision assignment for Unit V. If you have questions, please email your professor for assistance.Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to revise the introduction and literature review of your academic argumentative research paper, which you created a draft of in Unit IV.Description: In this assignment, you will revise the introduction and literature review that you wrote for the Unit IV assignment. Revisions must be substantive and should be made in accordance with the professor’s instructions. The following parts of the assignment must be revised:Introduction (9-12 well-developed sentences/approximately 350 words): For more details about what is expected for each of the following sentences, please see “Lesson 4: The Introduction.” You may also want to review the “Example Introduction and Literature Review (with comments).” The following components must be included in the introduction (in the following order).Sentence 1: Introduce the general topicSentence 2: Pro side (general)Sentence 3: Con side (general)Sentence 4: Narrow the scope (1)Sentence 5: Examples of the narrowed topicSentence 6: Narrow the scope (2)Sentence 7: Specific controversySentence 8: Pro side (specific)Sentence 9: Con side (specific)Sentence 10: The thesisLiterature Review (800-900 words): For details about the structure of the literature review, you will want to review “Lesson 3: The Literature Review: The Process.” You may also want to review the “Example Introduction and Literature Review (with comments).” The link is below.Literature review preface: This paragraph acts as a guide to what the reader can expect in the literature review.Literature review body: This section includes three to four body paragraphs that discuss the history, terminology, and both sides of the controversy (pro and con).Literature review conclusion: The conclusion signals that the literature review is ending, but it also acts as a kind of preface for the body of the paper by restating the thesis statement and establishing your argument once again.Demonstrate the avoidance of plagiarism through proper use of APA citations and references for all paraphrased and quoted material.Implement techniques of editing and revising.Example: Click here to access the example introduction and literature review. Note: The conclusion is not presented in this example; however, the literature review conclusion is a requirement of the assignment.You may also seek out the guidance of the Success Center; the specialists are always there to assist you with your writing and comprehension.Running head: ARGUMENTATIVE RESEARCH PAPER
Argumentative Research Paper – Introduction and Literature Review Draft
Britney Robinson
Columbia Southern University
18 Feb 2020
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ARGUMENTATIVE RESEARCH PAPER
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Argumentative Research Paper – Introduction and Literature Review Draft
Introduction
The ever-growing population in the United States (US) corrections system has attracted
intense discussions and debates over the past few years. Prions in the country are becoming
overpopulated day-by-day and some people are perceiving this trend as a positive sign in the
fight against crime; many people criminals are taken off the stress thus, making society safer.
However, mass incarceration trends in the US and its resultant overcrowding of prisons are
prompting multiple challenges, many of which call for urgent and strategic interventions. The
US corrections system is at the top of the list of country’s with high prison population in the
world, and many challenges are emerging as a result of this trend. For example, the US prison
population is now at 2.2 million people with an incarceration rate of 655 per 100,000 persons,
a trend that some people perceive as that the US is achieving its intents in the fight against
crime. However, this high population and high growth rate, which is even the highest in the
world, implies that the country’s correction system is suffering certain challenges that need
addressing. At issue here is that: should the growing trend of the prison population and
incarceration rate been seen as a solution for crime, or should it be a sign of a system failure
which is also prompting demanding concerns?
While it is logically feasible that many offenders in prisons means few of them in the
streets thus, a safe society, it is also imperative to consider the challenges to which it subjects
society. Worsening prison conditions which cause health and social challenges, pressure on
the budget that is also harming other essential public services, and the fact that
overpopulation of the system is associated with inefficiencies in the noble course of
rehabilitating and reintegrating offenders should adequately convince the US community to
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respond. The growth of prison population in the US corrections system is more of a problem
than it is a solution, and strategic policy and practice alternatives or changes are urgently
needed.
Literature Review
The growth of corrections in the United States (US) has been a topic for debate for
quite long now. The country’s trend in prison population as well as other associated facets is
unprecedent and internationally unique, attracting discussions and varying opinions on how
to respond. The population growth in American prisons is high, and some people believe that
more prisons and funding are necessary toward fighting crime in the country, whereas others
assert that other alternative measures crime solutions are important in making sure that the
growth trend, along with the associated consequences, are addressed. This literature review
joins the discussion, exploring some of the arguments attached to the two sides of the debate.
The literature review intends to show how the American society needs policy and practice
alternatives relatively more than just more funding and building new prisons.
The US is the global leader in terms of the number of incarcerations and prison
population. The country’s corrections system is considered the one with the highest
population in the entire planet, a position the country has held for quite a long duration. The
rate of incarceration in the US is now trending at 655 per 100,000 persons; only El Salvador
at 618 incarcerations per 100,000 people has incarceration rate that is as high as close to this
of the US (Walmsley, 2019). Currently, the US corrections system features a total of 2.2
million people, a number that characterizes 500% growth over the past 40 years (Bronson &
Carson, 2019). The past decades have seen the US prisons’ population grow alarmingly with
2007 and 2008 being some of the years when the system recorded its highest statistics; the
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prison population in the US in 2007 and 2008 4-times higher than those of 1970’s and 1980’s
when the growth began shaping its upward trend (Travis et al., 2014).
The growth of prison population in the US has been associated with the reduction of
crime as its key positive impact. Those who are attributing the decline in crime rate in the
country over the past few decades to mass incarceration are advocating for building and
funding more prisons, which include leveraging the private sector to help in imprisoning
offenders. Terming it as “incarceration for sale”, Brickner & Diaz (2011) argue that the US
society has not only politicized mass incarceration, but it also become a business for some
private investors. According to Brickner and the colleague, the “pay-to-play” system in the
US criminal and corrections systems have allowed and facilitated the private sector to profit
from mass incarceration in the country, and private prisons are now flourishing (p. 13).
Prisons are overcrowded with more than half a million prisoners being held in private
prisons, depicting a tremendous growth in private prisons, particularly in places where
migrants are detained, over the past few decades (Brickner & Diaz, 2011). In this regard,
prisons are seen as a tool to fight offenses and crime thus, it does not matter whether the
growth rate is high.
Overcrowding in the US prisons is more of a problem than a sign of positivism as the
previous paragraph portrays. Prisons may be traditionally and purposefully suitable for
isolating criminals and making society safe but mass incarceration in the country is a
demanding problem than needs strategic interventions. Overcrowding in the corrections
system is associated with a vast range of problems, many of which are associated with some
adverse impacts. Firstly, the growth of incarceration in the US prison system has been
associated with enormous amount of pressure on the Federal Budget; the ever-high
population in the US corrections has adversely affected and shifted the country’s spending, a
trend that has caused more harm on other essential public services (Mitchel & Leachmann,
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2014). Unlike in the 1980’s when the US used to spend even less than $7 billion on running
its corrections system, the contemporary spending is now averaging $59 billion and rising
(The Sentencing Project, 2019). Similarly, La Vigne and Samuels (2012) argue that the
growth of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), which has been in response to the growing rate of
incarceration in the country, creates opportunity cost, a result that has seen the US spend way
more on running prisons than even education system in the country. Secondly, overcrowding
in prions has also been associated with instances of inefficiency in how the system serves its
purpose. Prions are primarily meant for rehabilitating and reintegrating offenders, but, with
high population, the system cannot just achieve this mission effectively and efficiently;
programs are overwhelmed and under-resourced (Martin et al., 2012). Last but not least,
overpopulation in the corrections system also pose health and social challenges. For example,
an array of mental health problems as well as some physical injury cases have been
associated with the large number of people in prisons (McDonald, 2018). The condition of
overcrowded prison poses many health risks, not to mention how challenging it is for workers
in such facilities (McDonald, 2018; Schoenfeld, 2010). Therefore, mass incarceration and the
growth of population in the US corrections system is huge problem.
Even though some parties perceive mass incarceration as a sign of a safe society, the
growth of the corrections system is a demanding problem for the US. Many prison facilities
are overcrowded, and the country is even involving the private sector to help accommodate
the high population of prisoners, which a sign that offenders are taken off the streets and
society is becoming safer. However, it is not healthy for the country to ignore the dangers of
mass incarceration. Running prisons is now costing relatively more than educating people to
be good productive citizens. And if the huge pressure on the budget is not enough to prompt
response, the fact that prison conditions are worsening and health as well as wellbeing
challenges are amounting should evidently inspire the need for policy and practice change.
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The growth of the corrections system in the US is not a solution but a problem to which
should be responded/intervened.
References
Brickner, M., & Diaz, S. (2011). Prisons for profit: Incarceration for sale. Hum. Rts., 38, 13.
Retrieved from
https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/huri38&div=33&id=
&page=
La Vigne, N., & Samuels, J. (2012). The growth & increasing cost of the federal prison
system: Drivers and potential solutions. Washington, DC: Urban Institute. Retrieved
from
https://www.criminallegalnews.org/media/publications/urban_institute_study_on_bop
_growth_dec_2012.pdf
MacDonald, M. (2018). Overcrowding and its impact on prison conditions and
health. International journal of prisoner health, 14(2), 65-68.
Martin, J. L., Lichtenstein, B., Jenkot, R. B., & Forde, D. R. (2012). “They Can Take Us
Over Any Time They Want” Correctional Officers’ Responses to Prison
Crowding. The Prison Journal, 92(1), 88-105.
Schoenfeld, H. (2010). Mass incarceration and the paradox of prison conditions
litigation. Law & Society Review, 44(3‐4), 731-768.
The Sentencing Project. (2019). Trends in the U.S. corrections: factsheet. Retrieved from
https://sentencingproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Trends-in-USCorrections.pdf
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Travis, J., Western, B., & Redburn, F. S. (2014). The growth of incarceration in the United
States: Exploring causes and consequences. Retrieved from
https://www.nap.edu/read/18613/chapter/15#335
Walmsley, R. (2019). World Prison Brief. London: Institute for Criminal Policy Research.
Retrieved from http://www.prisonstudies.org/world-prison-brief
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