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I need you to write a report for something. Take a 5 minute survey to help us improve your [login to view URL], thanks Skip to main content Petitioning we the Treatment Instead of Prison Jessica Calhoun United States 2 Supporters I wanted to write about something that I am passionate about, something that many of you have been or will be touched by at some point in your life. The term “addiction” describes a compulsive act which causes harm to the person and those around them, over which the person has no control. Drug addiction is a worldwide epidemic, just about everyone knows of somebody battling an addiction. I want to let you know why we need treatment rather than prison for nonviolent offenders and talk about the cost of incarceration. When my older brother Jason was 28 he was sentenced to 12 months in a correctional facility. He was out joyriding, drinking, and getting high then decided to go steal from his boss. Jason did his 12 months, came home and for the first few weeks he did ok but after that he went right back to his old friends and his old habits. Four years ago, I sat in the courtroom as he was sentenced to 10 years in prison! This was my big brother, someone I had looked up to. He was my rock! Jason had gone into a house (unarmed), didn’t harm anyone, didn’t see anyone, stole a purse, and attempted to purchase items using a credit card. Ten years taken from him for a mistake that he made while under the influence of drugs. The United States has the highest prison population in the world, with over 2.4 million people incarcerated with many of them serving multiple year sentences for minor and non-violent crimes, of the 2.4 million, 1.5 million suffer from substance abuse and another 458,000 either had histories of substance abuse, were under the influence of alcohol or other drugs at the time of committing their offences or committed their offences to get money to buy drugs. Combined, the 2 make up a whopping 85% of the nation’s prison population. In the dozen years since the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse released its first report on substance abuse among the nations prison population, no progress has been made in reducing the numbers of inmates crowding the nation’s prisons. The report also found that alcohol and other drugs are significant factors in all crimes, including 78% of violent crimes, 83% of property crimes, and 77% of public order, immigration or weapons offences, as well as probation and parole violations. One out of forty-two is under some type of correctional supervision. Kind of makes you rethink the whole land of the free motto doesn’t it? The United States has about 5% of the world’s population but we have 25% of the world’s prisoners. A report by the organization, Vera Institute of Justice states that the cost of incarcerating one inmate in Fiscal 2010 was $31,307 a year with Connecticut, Washington State, and New York at $50-60,000. Incarceration cost us taxpayers 63.4 billion a year, but less than 1% of that amount, or 632 million was spent on prevention and treatment. The national average of money spent on one student in school is about $11,000, with Pennsylvania topping out at $14,600. That’s $15-$20,000 less than what taxpayers pay for an adult who has broken the law. Six out of ten released inmates are back in jail or arrested within 3 years, would we not do something about our children’s education if six out of ten failed? Of course we would; so why aren’t we doing something about the billions of dollars being wasted in America’s prisons? States complain mightily about their rising prison cost, yet they continue to hemorrhage public funds that could be saved if they provided treatment to inmates with alcohol and other drug problems and stepped up the use of drug courts and drug treatment alternative programs. Prison doesn’t really rehabilitate, statistics prove this. Some say drugs are easier to get than soap behind bars. In addition to stopping drug abuse, the goal of treatment is to return people to productive, functioning in the family, workplace, and community type of citizens. According to research that tracks individuals in treatment over extended periods, most people who get into and remain in treatment stop using drugs, decrease their criminal activity, and improve their occupational, social, and psychological functioning. Like other chronic diseases, addiction can be managed successfully. Treatment enables people to counteract addictions powerful disruptive effects on the brain and behavior it helps to regain control of their lives. The chronic nature of the disease means relapse is not only possible but is likely, does this mean that treatment has failed? Of course not, Treatment of chronic diseases involves changing deeply imbedded behaviors. For a person recovering from addiction, lapsing back to drug use simply indicates that treatment needs to be reinstated or adjusted or that another treatment should be tried. The national Center on Addiction and Substance abuse at Columbia University found that only 11% of inmates with substance use disorders received treatment. These prisoners need drug therapy, therapy, inpatient rehabilitation, outpatient treatment programs, support groups, and lifestyle changes. In conclusion, treatment decreases the chance of an offender recommitting crimes by the rate of 50%. If you had a family member who had a drug addiction problem, what would you want for them? I can’t help but think that maybe if my dear brother would have received treatment the first time he was incarcerated, learned what his triggers were, and dealt with the mental health issues that come along with addiction, maybe he would be home with us today.