NCJ Number
191577
Journal
Social Forces Volume: 80 Issue: 1 Dated: September 2001 Pages: 61-91
Date Published
September 2001
Length
31 pages
Annotation
This article focuses on the political determinants of punishment.
Abstract
There are three theoretical explanations for imprisonment: parochial interests determine political outcomes; public policy is the result of external social forces; and citizen political values may best determine which policies they support. In this study, a pooled time-series design was used to examine political and other determinants of State imprisonment rates. The presence of Republican elected officials was used to assess the strength of the law-and-order political party. Ethnic threat theories suggest that imprisonment will be more likely in jurisdictions with the most Blacks or Hispanics. Economic threat theories suggest that the imprisoned population will be greater where economic stratification was most pronounced. Controls for social disorganization, religious fundamentalism, political conservatism, and violent crimes were used. Results showed that Republican strength and minority threat led to higher imprisonment rates. These relationships became stronger after greater Republican stress on law and order. Results also showed that determinate sentencing legislation reduced the size of incarcerated populations. The findings suggested that research that made a concerted effort to assess diverse political and economic explanations will provide a better understanding of how historical forces combined to shape the primary punishment used in advanced states. 10 notes, 72 references