I Wonder if the U.S goverment wants every middle class and poor American in prison? Have you noticed the prison population is sky rocketing? Prison Population Around the Globe The United States has the highest incarceration rate and largest number of criminals behind bars. More than one in 100 adults in the United States is in jail or prison, an all-time high that is costing state governments nearly $50 billion a year and the federal government $5 billion more, according to a report released yesterday. The growth in prison population is largely because of tougher state and federal sentencing imposed since the mid-1980s. Minorities have been particularly affected: One in nine black men ages 20 to 34 is behind bars. For black women ages 35 to 39, the figure is one in 100, compared with one in 355 for white women in the same age group. The report compiled and analyzed data from several sources, including the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics and Bureau of Prisons and each state's department of corrections. It did not include individuals detained for noncriminal immigration violations. Although studies generally find that imprisoning more offenders reduces crime, the effect may be less influential than changes in the unemployment rate, wages, the ratio of police officers to residents and the proportion of young people in the population, report co-author Adam Gelb said. In addition, when it comes to preventing repeat offenses by nonviolent criminals -- who make up about half of the incarcerated population -- less-expensive punishments such as community supervision, electronic monitoring and mandatory drug counseling might prove as much or more effective than jail. For instance, Florida, which has almost doubled its prison population over the past 15 years, has experienced a smaller drop in crime than New York, which, after a brief increase, has reduced its number of inmates to below the 1993 level. "There is no question that putting violent and chronic offenders behind bars lowers the crime rate and provides punishment that is well deserved," said Gelb, who as director of the Center's Public Safety Performance Project advises states on developing alternatives to incarceration. "On the other hand, there are large numbers of people behind bars who could be supervised in the community safely and effectively at a much lower cost -- while also paying taxes, paying restitution to their victims and paying child support." Sociologist James Q. Wilson, who in the 1980s helped develop the "broken windows" theory that smaller crimes must be punished to deter more serious ones, agreed that sentences for some drug crimes were too long. However, Wilson disagreed that the rise in the U.S. prison population should be considered a cause for alarm: "The fact that we have a large prison population by itself is not a central problem because it has contributed to the extraordinary increase in public safety we have had in this country." About 91 percent of incarcerated adults are under state or local jurisdiction. And the report also documents the tradeoffs state governments have faced as they devote larger shares of their budgets to house them. For instance, over the past two decades, state spending on corrections (adjusted for inflation) increased 127 percent; spending on higher education rose 21 percent. Five states -- Vermont, Michigan, Oregon, Connecticut and Delaware -- now spend as much as or more on corrections as on higher education. Locally, Maryland is near the top, spending 74 cents on corrections for every dollar it spends on higher education. Virginia spends 60 cents on the dollar.
<b>Criminals???</b> No, 400,000 of these incarcerated Americans are merely prohibition violators (political prisoners). http://www.drugwarfacts.org/crime.htm In case they're looking for a few hundred thousand more bodies to fill all those newly-built prison complexes, perhaps they should confiscate another few hundred billion dollars from our paychecks and use it to fund a new armed para-military regulatory agency: The Food Enforcement Agency. After all, overeating (or 'food abuse') is the cause of many severe (and costly) medical problems. The FEA could regulate the nation's food industry with an iron fist, 'scheduling' (banning) unhealthy foods, and carting off all the prohibition violators to prison camps at gunpoint. For instance, French fry traffickers would receive a mandatory minimum ten year prison sentence. I think this would really help solve America's obesity epidemic, just like how the DEA has successfully stamped out illegal drug use.
your right! I agree however when does it end? smokers, gay people, drinkers? give them all 20 years too?
The 'prison cartel' are looters of the worst sort using bullshit as the mortar to build up their Gulags of Misery and Greed. This is totally a big business for the new millenium deal and as Rearden points out, the swine are just getting started. By having a frightened, confused and dumbed-down public at their disposal, the implementation of new security protocols for new and improved crimes, and for the general good of course, is a breeze. Phillip K. Dick would not be surprised. lj
I recently netflixed a really good documentary on this subject titled American Drug War: The Last White Hope. Check it out if you havnt seen it.
but it's the middle class or the poor who has no money to eat or live and can't find a job so they steal or sell drugs and end up in prison well, a few rich end up in prison very few! and not for long compared to the poor! you take a rich guy and a poor guy they do the same crime and see who gets more time? Where is the justice??????
Prisons are a new revenue generation and "control" tool for our ever growing police state....better get ready, you may be next....... http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/april2008/230408_b_prison.htm http://www.prisonplanet.com/archive_police_state.html