SOC301H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Mandatory Sentencing, Misdemeanor, Habitual Offender
Document Summary
These strategies look to increase prison populations. Majority of prisoners live in poverty, are illiterate, lack housing, have broken families/poor support systems, socioeconomic struggles, etc. and such can contribute to individual confrontation to the cjs. This calls for tough on crime ideology and policies and this can signi cantly increase the prison population. This increased population usually overrepresent poor and marginalized people with petty crimes too. In many countries people are increasingly likely to be put into prison for crimes that can often be diverted (through nes, for example). Essentially, mandatory minimum sentences and three strike laws are being used and become more prevalent. This often leads to minor offenders to being sentenced to long disproportionate jail terms. These are also currently being used for drug offences. Prison privatization is also being acknowledged because they believe more prisoners means more pro t. Decarceration is one strategy, meant to reduce the prison population.
