The dilemma of jail overcrowding has been a constant and difficult issue for countless states in our country. The most common answer to overcrowding is to simply build a new jail, but this can be incredibly costly to taxpayers and ultimately does not fix the fundamental cause of overcrowding. The Charleston County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council concluded that the best way to fix their issue of overcrowding was to lower the number of low risk offenders who are in their prisons. The council’s work has brought about reforms which in the last three years have produced promising results and caused many to reconsider their approach to criminal justice. Their efforts have reduced the jail population by an astonishing 25 percent.
In 2014, most of the jail’s inmates were there for relatively minor offenses such as trespassing, misdemeanor shoplifting, public intoxication, marijuana possession, or open container violations. The resources and space spent on these people with minor infractions was better reserved for more serious offenders. Instead of sending these minor offenders straight to jail, officers had begun writing citations instead. By 2017, the number of people imprisoned on a single charge involving one of these minor offenses decreased by 51 percent and the number of officials who issued citations instead of making arrests increased by 46 percent. This has made a huge difference in the amount of overcrowding in the Charleston County Jail and has kept those who committed these minor offenses from suffering the repercussions of having a criminal record.
Although these positive changes are outstanding, it is important to keep people culpable for breaking the law and never compromise public safety. These reforms are necessary if we are to make a positive difference in the overcrowding of jails and keep otherwise law-abiding citizens out of the criminal justice system.