HNRS 353 Chapter Notes - Chapter 7: Mass Incarceration, Southern Strategy, Community Policing
4 Sep 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Imprisonment rate has declined somewhat in past few years. Increase not caused by rise in crime. 1930s - 1970s - stable rate of incarceration. 1972: 196,000 inmates at a rate of 93. 2008: 1. 6 million inmates at a rate of 506. 2012: 1. 57 million inmates at a rate of 480. 2. 3 million offenders under local, state, or federal custody. 1% of american adults behind bars; 3% under correctional control. 1) crime rate did not steadily rise. Incarceration fell as crime rose in 1960s, incarceration rose as crime rose in 1970s, incarceration rose as crime fell in 1980s. Some evidence that crime rise in 70s helped contribute to the boom. Large growth in crime rates preceded explosion of penal population. Not changes in crime rates, but how nation responds. 2) public concern and fear about crime. Evidence casts serious doubt on claim that war on crime" is primarily a response to spread and dominance of such sentiments.
