NCJ Number
182231
Date Published
1998
Length
156 pages
Annotation
The author contends that political influences at the State level are more important than crime rates and other socioeconomic factors in explaining variations in expanding imprisonment rates.
Abstract
In the last two decades, there has been an unprecedented increase in the use of imprisonment in the United States, more so than in other western democracies. This increase has occurred unevenly among States. Moreover, prison expansion cannot be explained in terms of unusual increases in crime rates. Political dimensions of prison expansion are addressed in the context of the growth in imprisonment, the relationship between crime and imprisonment, socioeconomic factors, the law and order focus of State governors, and the social value of prison expansion. Appendixes contain statistical data from Uniform Crime Reports and the National Crime Victimization Survey and information on the rate of sentenced prisoners in State and Federal institutions. References, notes, and tables