Whether you believe prisons should be doing rehabilitation or punishment, if you believe we need to toss more people into prison, have we got a statistic for YOU:
In 2004, U.S. prisons grew by 900 inmates per week. According to the AP, prisons here held 2.1 million persons — putting about 1 in every 138 Americans behind bars, an increase of 2.3 percent over the previous year.
These numbers (there are more so click on the link below) come from the
Bureau of Justice Statistics. So why is there this big influx to a life-behind-bars lifestyle? The AP:
While the crime rate has fallen over the past decade, the number of people in prison and jail is outpacing the number of inmates released, said the report’s co-author, Paige Harrison. For example, the number of admissions to federal prisons in 2004 exceeded releases by more than 8,000, the study found.
Harrison said the increase can be attributed largely to get-tough policies enacted in the 1980s and 1990s. Among them are mandatory drug sentences, “three-strikes-and-you’re-out” laws for repeat offenders, and “truth-in-sentencing” laws that restrict early releases.
“As a whole most of these policies remain in place,” she said. “These policies were a reaction to the rise in crime in the ’80s and early 90s.”
Added Malcolm Young, executive director of the Sentencing Project, which promotes alternatives to prison: “We’re working under the burden of laws and practices that have developed over 30 years that have focused on punishment and prison as our primary response to crime.”
He said many of those incarcerated are not serious or violent offenders, but are low-level drug offenders. Young said one way to help lower the number is to introduce drug treatment programs that offer effective ways of changing behavior and to provide appropriate assistance for the mentally ill.
Another factoid making the rounds in news reports is one the U.S. might not want to advertise: the U.S. has the biggest incarceration rate — followed by Britain, China, France, Japan and Nigeria.
And what state has the biggest prison population increase? Surely (if you use political debate as your guide) it must be Florida or Texas or Arizona. WRONG: it’s Minnesota.
This story is being carried all over the world. China Daily has a news report based on various agencies and also contains this:
In 2004, 61 percent of prison and jail inmates were of racial or ethnic minorities, the government said. An estimated 12.6 percent of all black men in their late 20s were in jails or prisons, as were 3.6 percent of Hispanic men and 1.7 percent of white men in that age group, the report said.
This could well further fuel an ongoing debate on whether prisons should rehabilitate, punish or simply warehouse offenders. Also, it’s going to be interesting to see whether prison expansions continue amid economic uncertainties as states continue to scramble for funds and reduce expenses. And then there’s the impact: how will the increase in inmates relate to crime rates? Stay tuned for more details (we hope they are forthcoming..)
MORE RESOURCES ON THIS ISSUE
Rehabilitation Or Punishment?
Criminal Justice System Online (explaining punishment and rehabilitation)
Three Strikes.Org
Families To Amend California’s Three Strikes
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.