420 Ipc Imprisonment

[Faith Lienhard]

Imprisonmentor incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty against their will. Imprisonment could be given for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered "false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessarily imply a place of confinement, with bolts and bars, but may be exercised by any use or display of force (such as placing one in handcuffs), lawfully or unlawfully, wherever displayed, even in the open street. People become prisoners, wherever they may be, by the mere word or touch of a duly authorized officer directed to that end. Usually, however, imprisonment is understood to imply actual confinement in a prison employed for the purpose according to the provisions of the law.[1] Generally gender imbalances occur in imprisonment rates, with incarceration of males proportionately more likely than incarceration of females.[2]

Incarceration in what became known as Australia was introduced through colonization. As noted by scholar Thalia Anthony, the Australian settler colonial state has engaged in carceral tactics of containment and segregation against Aboriginal Australians since colonizers first arrived, "whether that be for Christian, civilizing, protectionist, welfare, or penal purposes." When settlers arrived, they invented courts and passed laws without consent of Indigenous peoples that stated that they had jurisdiction over them and their lands. When Indigenous peoples challenged these laws, they were imprisoned.[5]

Imprisonment is no other thing than the restraint of a man's liberty, whether it be in the open field, or in the stocks, or in the cage in the streets or in a man's own house, as well as in the common gaols; and in all the places the party so restrained is said to be a prisoner so long as he hath not his liberty freely to go at all times to all places whither he will without bail or mainprise or otherwise.[7]

When a prisoner completes serving their sentence, start probation, or is given a compassionate release[10] they are no longer considered prisoners and are released to the outside world. A prisoner of war may be released as a result of the end of hostilities or a prisoner exchange. Prisoners serving a full life or indefinite sentence may never be released.[11]

Released prisoners may suffer from issues including psychiatric disorders, criminalized behaviours and access to basic needs. Some criminals, particularly criminals convicted of serious crimes (felonies or indictable offenses,) are given restrictions after release, including bans from buying firearms or jury duty exclusion. Post release resources may be provided by the authorities.[12] Various factors have been investigated as to their influence on post-release recidivism, such as family and other relationships, employment, housing and ability to quit drug use.[13]

Nearly 300,000 people are held in state and federal prisons in the United States for drug-law violations, up from less than 25,000 in 1980.1 These offenders served more time than in the past: Those who left state prisons in 2009 had been behind bars an average of 2.2 years, a 36 percent increase over 1990,2 while prison terms for federal drug offenders jumped 153 percent between 1988 and 2012, from about two to roughly five years.3

More than three decades ago, Congress responded to the rise of crack cocaine by requiring that more drug offenders go to prison and stay there longer.5 Largely as a result of those actions, between 1980 and 2015, the number of federal prisoners serving time for drug offenses soared from about 5,000 to 92,000, though changes in drug crime patterns and law enforcement practices also contributed to the growth.6 Although the share of federal inmates who are drug offenders has declined from its peak of 61 percent in 1994,7 it was still nearly 50 percent in 2015.8

And as the federal prison population soared, spending ballooned 595 percent between 1980 and 2013 without delivering a convincing public safety return.9 In fact, self-reported use of illegal drugs increased between 1990 and 2014 (see Figure 1), as has the availability of heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine as indicated by falling prices and a rise in purity.10 The surge in federal prison spending has also failed to reduce recidivism. The rate of federal drug offenders who leave prison and are placed on community supervision but commit new crimes or violate the conditions of their release has been roughly a third for more than three decades.11

Lawmakers across the country are trying to address the rise in opioid misuse, which includes prescription drugs and illicitly manufactured heroin and fentanyl. In 2015, more than 33,000 Americans died from an opioid overdose, and heroin-related deaths climbed 20 percent from the previous year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.16 In addition to lost lives and destabilized families and communities, these mortality rates take an extreme economic toll. The costs of opioid misuse totaled $504 billion in 2015, according to a recent report from the White House Council of Economic Advisers.17

These and other research findings suggest that the most effective response to drug misuse is a combination of law enforcement to curtail trafficking and prevent the emergence of new markets; alternative sentencing to divert nonviolent drug offenders from costly imprisonment; treatment to reduce dependency and recidivism; and prevention efforts that can identify individuals at high risk for substance use disorders.

Law enforcement strategies. A 2014 report by the Police Executive Research Forum found that law enforcement agencies in several states are collaborating with other stakeholders to develop alternative approaches to drug offenders, such as diverting those with substance use disorders into treatment.25 Another model involves harmreduction strategies, such as training law enforcement officers in overdose prevention and community policing in neighborhoods with emerging heroin markets.26 These interventions include collaborating with community organizations to dismantle open-air street markets by, among other things, telling drug dealers face to face that they will probably face punishment if they continue to sell drugs.27 When offered options and assistance, many dealers accept; drug offenses in targeted jurisdictions have dropped by as much as 55 percent.28

Michigan, New York, and Rhode Island also significantly decreased drug sentences, with Michigan and Rhode Island rolling back mandatory minimum penalties for drug offenses.33 Each of these states reduced their prison populations and their crime rates.34 More recently, Mississippi, Alaska, and Maryland have changed their drug sentencing and related policies, including revising mandatory minimums, reducing sentencing ranges, and establishing presumptive probation for certain offenses.35 And in the 2016 election, 58 percent of Oklahoma voters approved a ballot measure that converted drug possession from a felony to a misdemeanor.36

Although lengthy prison sentences for drug offenders have shown a poor return on taxpayer investment, alternatives such as drug courts and stronger community supervision have proved more effective. A systematic review of drug courts in 30 states concluded that a combination of comprehensive services and individualized care is an effective way to treat offenders with serious addictions.37 Meanwhile, supervision strategies that provide swift, certain, and graduated sanctions for violations and rewards for compliance have been shown to reduce recidivism and costs.38 Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina have saved hundreds of millions of dollars by taking alternative approaches.39

Many states and localities are expanding drug treatment programs to address opioid misuse. In March 2015, Kentucky enacted a law eliminating barriers to treatment in county jails and providing funds for evidence-based behavioral health or medication-assisted treatment for inmates with an opioid use disorder.43 It also allows local health departments to establish needle exchange sites, increases access to naloxone (a prescription drug shown to counter the effects of an opioid overdose), and supports individuals recovering from an overdose by connecting them to treatment services and prohibiting their possible prosecution for drug possession.44

In addition, public opinion polls in four states, also conducted for Pew by the Mellman Group and Public Opinion Strategies between February 2015 and March 2017, reveal significant and broad political support for reducing prison sentences for nonviolent offenders and reinvesting the savings in alternatives, including drug treatment.

Although no amount of policy analysis can resolve disagreements about how much punishment drug offenses deserve, research does make clear that some strategies for reducing drug use and crime are more effective than others and that imprisonment ranks near the bottom of that list. And surveys have found strong public support for changing how states and the federal government respond to drug crimes.

Putting more drug-law violators behind bars for longer periods of time has generated enormous costs for taxpayers, but it has not yielded a convincing public safety return on those investments. Instead, more imprisonment for drug offenders has meant limited funds are siphoned away from programs, practices, and policies that have been proved to reduce drug use and crime.

Drug use rates were reported by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), an annual survey of randomly selected individuals 12 and older, sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an agency in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This analysis utilized 2013-14 NSDUH data for adults 18 or older, comprising approximately 96,000 individuals. For this brief, illicit drug use rates excluded marijuana, which has been legalized for medicinal and recreational use in several states.

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