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Originally published in Washington Square News on December 3, 2024, written by Steven Wang
The United States has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world, keeping about 2 million people behind bars at any given time and costing an absurd $182 billion a year. The roots of this crisis are general overcriminalization and poverty. Nearly half of those behind bars are non-violent drug offenders, people held pre-trial due to unaffordable bail or for failure to pay fines for minor infractions, and homeless people getting arrested for sleeping outside.
New York City perpetuates the ills of mass incarceration, particularly on Rikers Island, which is known to be a systemic failure rife with problems. Overpopulation has long plagued the prison, and the resulting lack of resources adversely affects inmates even after their sentences are complete. This is why decarceration — reducing the imprisoned population by sentencing fewer people or releasing those incarcerated — is important. But decarceration must be carefully managed to address reentry needs in order for it to effectively reduce reoffending rates and ensure former prisoners can truly reintegrate into society. The effort isn’t just about emptying cells — it’s about reforming New York’s broken penal system into one that prioritizes successful reintegration.
Incarceration can alter the course of a person’s life forever. Imprisonment disrupts lives, often permanently. It causes people to lose their social networks, endure dehumanizing conditions, and face lifelong social and financial disadvantages through restricted access to education, jobs and housing. Many of these individuals could be safely reintegrated into society provided they have access to critical resources for mental health, substance abuse treatment, educational and vocational training and housing support. Without these interventions, however, recidivism rates will remain high.
A blind, hands-off approach to decarceration would be disastrous. Wantonly releasing inmates without adequate support would echo the disastrous deinstitutionalization of mental health facilities in New York during the 1970s. This process left vulnerable populations without support, fueling homelessness and addiction, and increased incarceration rates as former patients were incarcerated rather than being properly treated. Inadequate alternative care systems and unfulfilled promises of robust community-based services left many former patients without support, which is proof that the process of decarceration needs to be carefully managed to ensure smoothness of operation.
Conditions for mentally ill inmates in prison like Rikers are particularly grim. According to a 2013 report citing the U.S. Department of Justice, “64% of those incarcerated in jails, 56% of state inmates, and 45% of federal prisoners exhibit symptoms of severe psychopathology.” Their symptoms often worsen in an environment that offers little understanding or care. Vulnerable to exploitation and lacking consistent mental health support, they are frequently placed in punitive isolation. Other non-violent offenders also remain behind bars despite their potential for successful reintegration with proper support. Programs focused on education, job training and housing could help these individuals reintegrate, yet such resources are rarely prioritized.
Prisons must shift their focus from punishment to rehabilitation. This means offering college courses, degree completion programs, vocational training, mental health care and wellness activities — all of which improve inmates quality of life and prepare them for release. Additionally, creating reentry resource centers in each borough would ensure that released individuals have access to comprehensive support, from housing assistance to job placement, on their first day out.
One of the most essential needs for successful reintegration is stable housing, but finding it is a pressing challenge for former prisoners. They are nearly 10 times more likely to be homeless than the general population. Affordable housing options in the city are both insufficient and scarce, forcing many into homelessness and, eventually, criminal activity for survival. Accommodations such as shelters and halfway houses have proven inadequate; decarcerated individuals need permanent homes within their communities, paired with individualized case management to foster independence.
The stigma around the formerly incarcerated — that they are all dangerous and to be avoided — also creates barriers to employment and education, forcing them into low-paying and unstable jobs, if they can find work at all.
With no treatment or services available, this population often ended up back in jail, creating a cycle of neglect and incarceration. The burden of care has been transferred to the criminal justice system, but with minimal replacement services, individuals with mental health needs continue to live in dire conditions, grappling with addiction, poverty and societal marginalization.
Police reform is also a critical component of ending mass incarceration. As social service budgets have been slashed, law enforcement has been left to manage issues they are ill-equipped to address, such as mental health crises and addiction. This has led to higher incarceration rates as police default to arrests rather than directing individuals to specialized courts or social programs. Redirecting non-violent offenders to drug courts, mental health courts or other diversion programs can significantly reduce the amount of people entering the prison system.
Mass incarceration is both unsustainable and unethical. Failure to implement a thoughtful, well-supported decarceration plan risks replicating past failures, leading to more homelessness, addiction, untreated mental illness and public safety concerns. But by implementing strategic, evidence-based reforms, New York City can break this cycle.
Mass incarceration is a moral failure – we’re throwing people in prison instead of addressing the root causes of crime so shouldn’t we know better. Let’s treat poverty addiction and mental health instead
I don’t get it… Rikers Island is a disaster. It’s been failing for decades, and yet NYC keeps funneling people into a broken system instead of fixing
The U.S. spends $182 billion a year on incarceration? ???? Imagine if even a fraction of that went to education, healthcare, or housing instead
Stable housing should be the a top priority for reentry bc if you don’t have a place to live, how are you supposed to rebuild your life?????
The deinstitutionalization of mental health care in the 70s was a catastrophe. If we don’t handle decarceration properly, I’m terrified that we’ll just repeat history
just releasing people with no support system will only lead to more homelessness and crime. Wha we really need are reentry programs
Prison should be about rehabilitation, not punishment. If we actually helped people instead of locking them up, recidivism rates would plummet
64% of incarcerated people in jails have severe mental illness??? That’s horrifying so it’s no wonder why they come out worse than they went in. We need to have more resources that help them
Rikers Island should have been shut down years ago. That place is a human rights violation.
Yeah idk why that place is still up. they should at least change it
^^
Former prisoners can’t get jobs, can’t get housing, can’t get loans then people wonder why they end up back in jail. Crazy world we live in
Former prisoners can’t get jobs, can’t get housing, can’t get loans—then people wonder why they end up back in jail.
thats what i thought too… like how are they supposed to work
If someone serves their time, they should be able to fully reintegrate. No more lifelong punishment through housing and job discrimination!!
The stigma is real. Many people assume all former inmates are dangerous, even if they were locked up for minor, non-violent offenses
wait im confused… how do we expect people to stay out of jail if we make it impossible for them to succeed after they get out?
Mass incarceration isn’t just unsustainable BUT ALSO it’s inhumane. Instead, we need policies based on rehabilitation, not revenge
Did y’all know that people who get out of prison are 10 times more likely to become homeless. That statistic alone proves our reentry system is failing
And once they’re homeless, they’re way more likely to be arrested again for minor infractions. It’s a vicious cycle
Why is law enforcement handling mental health crises and addiction? That’s not their job. We need more social workers and crisis intervention teams, not more arrests
People act like prisons are full of violent criminals, but nearly half of those locked up are non-violent offenders. We need a better solution
Personally housing is the biggest factor in successful reentry because without a stable home, former inmates are forced to do stuff to survive
rehabilitation, not punishment!!!
I actually wrote my thesis on this and my side of the argument is a mix of both but it’s def leaning towards rehab
there should be a good balance with punishment to deter and rehab to fix, but we are more leaning toward punishment right now
Rikers is a nightmare, and it’s been that way for decades. The whole thing needs to be torn down internally and rebuilt from the ground up.
This article is so right bc decarceration must be done carefully. Just dumping people on the street with no support will only make things worse.
agreed. look at what happened when mental health hospitals were shut down with no backup plan.
Also, if we look at the stat of how many ex-inmates are likely to reoffend it’s crazy high
and people will assume that it’s because they are inherently bad but nope, it’s just that we don’t provide any treatment.
I just think of someone who is in poverty and being in jail for stealing and being sent back out and needing to steal again for food and then put back in prison
Former inmates are 10 times more likely to be homeless. I agree that part of this problem is because we aren’t doing enough to help them
that’s a crazy number