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Social Problems

There are many reasons why mandatory-sentencing laws are ineffective and

counterproductive. The first reason is that many people go to jail for very small crimes.

Washington and California passed a law in 2004 called the "three strikes law," where if

someone is a two time felony offender and gets another felony they are sentenced a

minimum of 25 years in prison even if they commit a misdemeanor offence. Most of the  

people who go to jail because of the "three strikes law" are minor drug offenders and

when they are sent to jail they are exposed to worse and harder criminals which makes

them more likely to commit greater felonies which makes this law counterproductive.

There are about 2 million Americans behind bars roughly half of them are in jail for

nonviolent crimes. America spends about 31 billion on corrections which is twice what it

spent 10 years ago.   There is no room in jails anymore due to overpopulation. The three

strikes law is also not very cost efficient making this law ineffective.

Prosecutors are very important to the judicial system because they decide which

cases go to trial and how they are presented. They could misrepresent the facts causing

innocent people to go to jail. Prosecutors now a days, would rather win the case then see

justice served even at the expense of truth. When prosecutors do step over the lines they

rarely face serious punishment. Prosecutors have in the past told witness to lie and

sometimes hid evidence. No prosecutor has ever been convicted of hiding or presenting

false evidence in the history of the republic. Hiding and lying lead to problems in the

judicial system.

Some of the reasons crime rates have declined are: increased imprisonment,

successful campaigns against drug use, favorable demographic trends, improvements in

urban design, and a revival of civil society in some inner cities.

Problem solving policing is not only there to...