People constantly hear on the news about the many crimes occurring in our nation, from burglary to assault to murder. But what we don't know is what happens after the arrest. Most people believe that once a criminal is arrested, he is put in prison and released only after his sentence is completed. It turns out that this isn't always the case. This is due to prison overcrowding, which is when the number of prisoners exceeds the capacity of the prison in which they are held. In some areas, such as California, this has become a substantial problem. Many prisons don't have the resources to provide for additional inmates once they reach capacity, so they must find a way to manage these excess inmates, which in most cases involves spending more money. Other times, the prisoner may be released well before his sentence expires. This raised many conflicts, for which we are still trying to find solutions. Conflicts to which we are still trying to find solutions. As a group, we will address the major topics surrounding prison overcrowding, which includes the current state of prison affairs, the effects on prisoners and guards, the effects on the population, and previous attempts at reform so we can design a reform plan that will seek justice and will serve the greater good of this country. The United States currently has the highest prison population and incarnation rate among developed countries. The United States' problems with overcrowding can be attributed to the policies of the 1980s that gave us the biggest contributors to the problem, Reaganomics, the war on drugs, and declining investment in social programs. These policies also coincided with the introduction of crack and cocaine into American cities. This created a sharp increase in the crime rate which was amplified by the reduction