We're spending too much on prisons Would you believe that America has spent about five hundred billion dollars on prisons.(Butterfield) Why American taxpayers spend so much money on prisons prisons and not other effective solutions to stop crime? American legislation is closed-minded about reducing crime. They believe prison is the only solution. As crime continues to occur, more and more prisons need to be built and maintained for the growing number of inmates pouring into prisons. Prison may be part of the solution, but there are other alternatives to help criminals. If we were to incorporate facilities such as drug rehabilitation and job training into the criminal justice system, crime would be significantly reduced. Prisoners would commit fewer crimes after experiencing these facilities, thus reducing the costs of building and maintaining prisons. The end result will be that American taxpayer dollars will be available to go toward more productive things than prisons. Prisons require an abundance of money to run properly and effectively. By using taxes to pay for prisons, the American public helps support the lives of prisoners and all their needs. Prisoners need food, drink, beds, supplies for other activities, and all the things neglected in normal life that go along with these needs. Inmates have special needs like all of us. Inmates require medical care, for example some have AIDS or other illnesses requiring medicine that rack up large bills over time. (Luzadder) Imagine the money accumulated over a life sentence to pay for medicine. The American public pays for all these expenses added to the actual construction of the prison... in paper times... which would inevitably send them back to prison. While making perfect sense, this solution drastically changes the concept of prison. The effects of social programs integrated with prisons begin by helping direct taxpayer money to more prolific uses and expand to make people in America smarter, more educated, and less dangerous. Works Cited Federal Bureau of Prisons: http://www.bop.gov /Inciardi, Dr. James A., A Corrections-Based Continuum for Effective Drug Abuse Treatment. National reference service for criminal justice. Available: http://www.ncjrs.org/txtfiles/contdrug.txtButterfield, Fox. “Prison: Where is the Money.” NY Times, June 1, 1996 Luzadder, Dan. "House Gets Bill That Funds Prisons, Colleges." Rocky Mountain News Capitol Bureau. Available: http://insidedenver.com/extra/legislature/0325budg0.html