U.S. boasts highest prison incarceration numbers in world

[katoa]

U.S. boasts highest prison incarceration numbers in world. (Estimates place numbers at 2-2.5 million Americans)



See newly released report:

http://www.cepr.net/index.php/public...incarceration/

Look at those charts closely - they are pretty sad. For over 100 years the incarceration rate stayed fairly low, but in the last 20 years we have seen a dramatic increase, even as violent and property crimes are decreasing.

[thesaint258]

Maybe that's why they're decreasing.

[pellegrino]

You can thank the "War on Drugs" and the 1984 Sentencing Reform act for the increase. I'm sure Reagan and Nixon would be happy to take credit for incarcerating millions of black Americans.

[BlueHair]

Prison is big business. Don't expect the numbers to go down anytime soon.

[CardiacCoug]

Seems to me that prison should only be for people who commit violent or pretty substantial property crimes against other people.

I saw a stat recently that said that 30% of U.S. prisoners were only guilty of non-violent drug-related crimes and I think that about 4% of U.S. prisoners are only guilty of marijuana-related "crimes" -- not sure if that's true or not.

[Uncle Ted]

Look at those charts closely - they are pretty sad. For over 100 years the incarceration rate stayed fairly low, but in the last 20 years we have seen a dramatic increase, even as violent and property crimes are decreasing.

As for violent/property crimes decreasing at least one study suggests that this has to do with the availability of legalized abortion.

[katoa]

I've always respected Joseph Smith's views on the subject (as expressed in his Presidential Platform):

Petition your State Legislatures to pardon every convict in their several penitentiaries, blessing them as they go, and saying to them, in the name of the Lord, Go thy way and sin no more.

Advise your legislators, when they make laws for larceny, burglary, or any felony, to make the penalty applicable to work upon roads, public works, or any place where the culprit can be taught more wisdom and more virtue, and become more enlightened. Rigor and seclusion will never do as much to reform the propensities of men as reason and friendship. Murder only can claim confinement or death. Let the penitentiaries be turned into seminaries of learning, where intelligence, like the angels of heaven, would banish such fragments of barbarism. Imprisonment for debt is a meaner practice than the savage tolerates, with all his ferocity. "Amor vincit omnia."

[FMCoug]

As for violent/property crimes decreasing at least one study suggests that this has to do with the availability of legalized abortion.

Wasn't this one of the things in Freakonomics?

[Uncle Ted]

Wasn't this one of the things in Freakonomics?

Yes, it was discussed in either Freakonomics or SuperFreakonomics. I believe the former.

[I.J. Reilly]

The rate of institutionalization (that is, the combined numbers of those committed to the prison system and mental hospitals), while rising, is still less than historical highs.

It appears that at its height (at least as far as reliable data is available), the rate of institutionalization in America reached nearly 800 of every 100,000 adults in the population in the early 1950's. Today, the rate appears to be somewhat over 600 of every 100,000 adults. Historic lows were found near the early '80's with a rate of about 250 of very 100,000 adults.

The largest swing comes when comparing the rate of those committed to mental health institutions vs. those committed to the prison system (whether federal or state). The rate of those committed to mental institutions began to drop sharply in the early 1960's and was surpassed by the rate of those incarcerated in the mid 70's. The rate of commitment to mental institutions is now relatively close to 0 per 100,000, whereas the incarceration rate now makes up almost the entire population of those that are institutionalized.

While it may appear that we are simply shifting our population of institutionalized people from mental hospitals to the prison system, this is too simplistic and ultimately wrong. Among most of the available data, it appears that the rate of women committed to mental hospitals approached 50% of the population. It is not even close to that when looking at the percentage of women imprisoned. So, for one, a much higher percentage of men have now been removed from society. Secondly, the percentage of imprisoned minorities far out paces the percentage of those that were confined to mental hospitals. In sum, if you are a white woman, you are far, far less likely to be institutionalized in the 2000's compared with the 1940's.

Of particular note is that the rate of institutionalization has a statistically significant and strong negative correlation with the rate of homicide. That is, as the rate of institutionalization rises, the rate of homicide lowers, independent of whether that institutionalization occurs in a hospital or a prison. This is true even when controlling for a whole host of variables.

Anyways, if you are interested in pursuing more on the subject, here is a link to the beginning of a series of blogs on the topic, and where I pulled my data from.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

U.S. boasts highest prison incarceration numbers in world. (Estimates place numbers at 2-2.5 million Americans)



See newly released report:

http://www.cepr.net/index.php/public...incarceration/

Look at those charts closely - they are pretty sad. For over 100 years the incarceration rate stayed fairly low, but in the last 20 years we have seen a dramatic increase, even as violent and property crimes are decreasing.

I echo another poster

New guy:

Can you please funnel all of your posts into one thread called "Liberal stuff"? Thanks in advance.

[statman]

The rate of institutionalization (that is, the combined numbers of those committed to the prison system and mental hospitals), while rising, is still less than historical highs.

It appears that at its height (at least as far as reliable data is available), the rate of institutionalization in America reached nearly 800 of every 100,000 adults in the population in the early 1950's. Today, the rate appears to be somewhat over 600 of every 100,000 adults. Historic lows were found near the early '80's with a rate of about 250 of very 100,000 adults.

The largest swing comes when comparing the rate of those committed to mental health institutions vs. those committed to the prison system (whether federal or state). The rate of those committed to mental institutions began to drop sharply in the early 1960's and was surpassed by the rate of those incarcerated in the mid 70's. The rate of commitment to mental institutions is now relatively close to 0 per 100,000, whereas the incarceration rate now makes up almost the entire population of those that are institutionalized.

While it may appear that we are simply shifting our population of institutionalized people from mental hospitals to the prison system, this is too simplistic and ultimately wrong. Among most of the available data, it appears that the rate of women committed to mental hospitals approached 50% of the population. It is not even close to that when looking at the percentage of women imprisoned. So, for one, a much higher percentage of men have now been removed from society. Secondly, the percentage of imprisoned minorities far out paces the percentage of those that were confined to mental hospitals. In sum, if you are a white woman, you are far, far less likely to be institutionalized in the 2000's compared with the 1940's.

Of particular note is that the rate of institutionalization has a statistically significant and strong negative correlation with the rate of homicide. That is, as the rate of institutionalization rises, the rate of homicide lowers, independent of whether that institutionalization occurs in a hospital or a prison. This is true even when controlling for a whole host of variables.

Anyways, if you are interested in pursuing more on the subject, here is a link to the beginning of a series of blogs on the topic, and where I pulled my data from.

Interesting...

[BlueHair]

Seems to me that prison should only be for people who commit violent or pretty substantial property crimes against other people.

I couldn't agree more.

[Bo Diddley]

Sad, but interesting story run on CNN.com today relating Richard Phillip's wrongful imprisonment for 46 years.

I'm tempted to buy a piece of his art.

When I worked in prison, I wondered who might be innocent, but approached it all as managing inmates and keeping the peace inside.