NCJ Number
152591
Journal
CQ Researcher Volume: 4 Issue: 5 Dated: (February 4, 1994) Pages: 97-120
Date Published
1994
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This article examines the background, current situation, and outlook for a policy that views the increasing use of prisons and expanded prison construction as an effective means to reduce the crime rate.
Abstract
The introductory section identifies the issues to be considered in the remainder of the article. The issues examined are whether building more prisons will reduce crime, whether the Nation can afford more prisons, and whether there are feasible correctional alternatives to incarceration. A section on historical background considers early prison reforms, the law- and-order era, and the overcrowding crisis. This discussion advises that after violent crime rose in the 1960's, prison construction boomed. Also, mandatory-sentencing guidelines enacted in the late 1970's strained prisons in many States. An overview of the current situation notes that the emerging $22 billion crime bill includes funds for regional prisons. An analysis of current prison crowding in the States uses North Carolina as an example of how many States are having to release inmates early (26,000 in North Carolina) so as to address prison crowding. The outlook for the future is that non-prison correctional alternatives will expand, perhaps under so-called community corrections acts. A number of prison crowding issues are discussed in sidebars and graphics. Some of the points made in these presentations are that most prisons are above capacity, overcrowding is a difficult case to prove, prison overcrowding is seldom the cause of prison riots, and the United States leads industrialized nations in its rate of incarceration. 11-item annotated bibliography