NCJ Number
221847
Date Published
2008
Length
37 pages
Annotation
After providing data on the trend in growth of prison and jail populations in the United States and the number of inmates housed in State and Federal correctional facilities as of January 1, 2008, this report identifies policy choices that are causing the increase in the U.S. inmate population and cites examples of how States are attempting to develop correctional alternatives to incarceration.
Abstract
For the first time, more than 1 in every 100 adults in America is now confined in an American jail or prison. One in 30 men between the ages of 20 and 34 is incarcerated; for Black men in this age group, 1 in 9 are incarcerated. According to data collected and analyzed by the Pew Public Safety Performance Project, the number of inmates in the United States continued to increase in 2007, bringing with it soaring costs to the States while failing to show a clear reduction in recidivism or overall crime. Legislators are learning that current growth in the prison population is not caused primarily by an increase in crime or an increase in the general population. Rather, it stems primarily from a wave of policy choices that are sending more convicted offenders to prison through various sentencing enhancements that have increased the number of offenders sentenced to incarceration and for longer periods. Although few doubt the necessity of locking up violent criminals and those who habitually threaten community safety, the incarceration of nonviolent, low-risk offenders has become a financial burden for States facing lean times. The cost of housing, rehabilitation programs, and medical services for inmates has spurred some States to diversify their sanctions in ways the ensure cost-effectiveness. Kansas and Texas, for example, have developed a strategy that blends incentives for reduced recidivism with greater use of community supervision for lower risk offenders. In addition, these two States are increasingly using sanctions other than prison for parole and probation violators whose infractions are considered "technical," such as missing a counseling session. Tables and figures