NCJ Number
129279
Date Published
1991
Length
258 pages
Annotation
The population of the prison system in the United States is examined in terms of the factors that determine the rate of incarceration and the effectiveness of many strategies designed to reduce prison population.
Abstract
The analysis begins with a critique of existing research regarding rates of imprisonment and an analysis of statistical variations in prison population among the States. The analysis shows that variations in rates of imprisonment over time and between States are largely independent of variations in crime rates, that explicit policy changes have had little influence on the increases in imprisonment in recent years, and that programs emphasizing alternatives to incarceration have done little to inhibit growth. The discussion also considers the demographic, ideological, historical, sociocultural, institutional, and systemic factors that control rates of imprisonment across time, regions, and nations. It also focuses on whether it is possible to arrive at general principles to guide how and when incarceration is chosen as punishment and what limits can be placed on prison populations. Figures, tables, index, and 212 references