America is the country with the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. Mass incarceration is a serious problem in America, as it reflects very poorly on our criminal justice system and our failure to rehabilitate criminals. This disproportionately affects the African American community, as their communities are targeted by police. Instead of focusing on punishing criminals (many times for petty crimes such as homeless people stealing plastic bottles or loitering, a sad result of capitalism and the police's "responsibility" to enforce these unjust laws.)
1. Feed, shelter and clothe homeless and those in poverty
Many crimes come from necessity. People can't afford to eat or clothe themselves, so they rob and steal to get what they need.
2. Legalize marijuanaÂ
Marijuana is just an excuse for a cop to search a car that disproportionally affects black people. Even though white people smoke marijuana at the same rate as black people, blacks are 4x more likely to get arrested for marijuana possession than whites.
3. More mental health resources for prisonersÂ
Many people in the prison system need help to return to normal society. Mental health counseling is a good way to decrease the number of repeat offenders.
4. Invest more into low income areas and schools
Every school should get a similar budget per student, regardless of the area, that way every student will have the resources to be successful.
5. Legalize sex work
There should be a safe and legal way for a consenting adult to work in the sex industry without getting arrested for solicitation. This will reduce the number of people in jail and allow sex work to be more regulated.
6. Â All Addicts get sent to rehab, not jailÂ
We need to stop criminalizing addiction By sending all addicts to rehab instead of jail, they will have a better chance of recovery.
7. End the for profit privatized prison systemÂ
There’s a lot of corruption that happens because the business gets money for each prisoner so they want to keep people in jail for longer.
8. Prisons should be based on rehabilitation instead of punishmentÂ
9. Compare racial bias in the courts and hold judges accountableÂ
If the judges look at the numbers and notice they are skewed depending on race, they'll be able to check their bias.
10. Stop criminalizing homeless people for loitering and other petty crimes
11. Deescalation, not violence
Violence should be heavily avoided, instead it is glorified by police officers.
