The United States’ prison system has a long way to go before all of its problems are solved, but Tina Crouse’s recent success from Ohio’s new three tier prison system may inspire other prisons around the country to customize their programs to eliminate long standing issues. Tina Crouse dealt drugs for fourteen years before being arrested and placed in one of Ohio’s jails. During her incarceration, she moved from the control tier (where the most dangerous individuals are placed), to the general population tier to the reintegration tier (which offers service and job opportunities). Along the way, she earned her GED, a college certificate and a job in the jewelry industry after learning to make clay beads to form necklaces.
However, this anti-recidivism program cannot escape from the overall problems of the prison system. Officials are now claiming that prisoners are not being placed into the proper tier, they are being placed wherever there are enough beds to hold them. Another major struggle is finding enough purposeful programs for the prisoners and the limited number of programs and job opportunities prevent all the prisoners in the reintegration tier from benefiting from their placement.
It seems to me that whenever a step forward is taken to attempt to improve the prison system, two steps backward are taken. This three tier program has so much potential to educate prisoners and provide them with jobs on their release, but the prison overpopulation that is plaguing the entire country is ruining the chances of inmates who have improved their behavior and improved themselves to get out of prison and stay out.