- This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY Since 2018 there have been a number of initiatives to reduce the number of people in prison, particularly in the USA. Here are just a few, along with some ideas about how those numbers could be reduced even more. 1. An end to private prisons? In good news from the USA, as of 6th of January 2021, President Biden has issued an Executive Order to phase out the use of Private Prisons thereby removing the perverse incentive to put more people in prison and keep them there longer. Private prisons also tend to be more expensive , more violent due to lower staffing levels and for the most part, offer less accountability and fewer services for rehabilitation. Their closure will not be immediate, but their contracts will not be renewed. It is to be hoped that other countries such as the UK , NZ and Australia will soon follow suit. As far as Australia goes, 20% of of its prison population is in private prisons - compared t...
Practising Geographer - nature culture places people