NCJ Number
172678
Journal
Homicide Studies Volume: 1 Issue: 3 Dated: (August 1997) Pages: 205-233
Date Published
1997
Length
29 pages
Annotation
Because the major crime reduction strategy in the United States is generally to imprison more criminals but past studies of the effectiveness of imprisonment in reducing homicide have produced divergent results, the current study was conducted to investigate the relationship between homicide rates and prison population using time series data covering the 1930-1994 period.
Abstract
Study variables were transformed into yearly percentage changes, based on control variables that included age structure, economic factors, public relief, race, World War II, and the crack epidemic. Results indicated that a 10-percent increase in prison population was associated with roughly 13 percent fewer homicides. The study also addressed assault and robbery, two crime types linked to homicide, and again found negative associations with prison population. The authors conclude prison expansion is an effective crime reduction strategy and discuss implications of the findings for policy and research. An appendix describes data analysis and regression procedures used in the study. 68 references, 18 notes, 2 tables, and 2 figures