Does Putting Criminals in Prison Reduce Crime?
Does Putting Criminals in Prison Reduce Crime?
Answer the the questions found under the “For Critical Analysis” box on page 337.In order to earn full points you must:
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Address all aspects of the question.
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Myth vs Reality Does Putting Criminals in Prison Reduce Crime?
- THE MYTH
Since the early 1990s, crime rates in the United States have been stable or declining. During most of that same period, as seen in Figure 11.4 earlier in the chapter, the number of imprisoned Americans climbed precipitously. Thus, it seems clear that crime falls when the prison population rises.
This perception is supported by the theories of deterrence and incapacitation, which we covered in Chapter 9. First, the threat of prison deters would-be criminals from committing crimes. Second, a prison inmate is incapable of committing crimes against the public because he or she has been separated from the community.
THE REALITY
Numerous statistical examples discredit a direct, sustained link between decreased crime rates and increased prison populations. From 2000 to 2013, five states (California, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Texas) saw imprisonment and crime rates both decrease by at least 15 percent. By the same token, eight of the ten states that experienced increases in violent crime during that time period also saw increases in incarceration.
According to one theory, massive incarceration accounted for about a quarter of the crime drop of the 1990s, as many of the most violent offenders were removed from society and remain behind bars. Since then, however, a large percentage of new prison admissions have been drug law offenders and probation/parole violators. The data tell us that removing these sorts of criminals from the community has a relatively limited effect on violent and property crime rates. In fact, their absence from their homes may even contribute to criminal activity. As we discussed in Chapter 2, many criminologists believe that widespread family disruption greatly increases the incidence of crime in a community.
Some experts believe that prisons are “schools of crime” that “teach” low-level offenders to be habitual criminals. If true, how would this circumstance influence the relationship between incarceration rates and crime rates?
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