The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/tag/mass-incarceration/)
A study released today by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) revealed that 14 percent of state and federal prisoners and 26 percent of jail inmates reported experiences that met the threshold for serious psychological distress (SPD).
The number of pretrial suspects jailed jumped 436 percent between 1970 and 2013 in rural counties, says the Vera Institute of Justice and the MacArthur Foundation’s Safety + Justice Challenge.
The growth in U.S. prison populations is expected to be a boon to private prison companies, which are stepping up lobbying efforts for housing thousands of new inmates and immigrant detainees, reports the Wall Street Journal. About 19 percent of federal inmates are in private prisons or re-entry centers.
In his forthcoming book, former Dallas Chief David Brown ponders the lessons learned over a 33-year career in law enforcement, capped by the July 2016 shooting tragedy that left five Dallas officers dead. In a chat with TCR, he discusses the need to change the “culture of policing” in order to bridge the divide between communities and law enforcement around the country.
Fordham law professor John Pfaff says the country needs to re-examine the way “politics and punishment interact.” In part 2 of an extended conversation with TCR about his book, “Locked In,” Pfaff focuses on what he believes is local prosecutors’ aggressively punitive approach to people convicted of violence.
Fordham law professor John Pfaff argues in a new book that traditional explanations for America’s mass incarceration crisis distract from the central challenge of rethinking how we punish violent offenders. In part one of a chat with TCR contributing editor David Krajicek, he offers some solutions.
Does shrinking the size of prison populations save taxpayers money? Not always, says a study released May 23 by the Vera Institute of Justice. The study found that 25 states increased their spending on prisons even though the nation’s overall prison population has declined.
Academic researchers used computer modeling to track the impact of incarceration on the friends, family and neighbors of those locked up. They found that those close to incarcerated people often face an increased likelihood of being incarcerated themselves.
The Prison Policy Initiative’s annual report on U.S. prison populations offers a reality check on the administration’s fear-loaded rhetoric on rising violent crime.
The report, by Danielle Sered of the advocacy group Common Justice, suggests a “new vision” that includes policies and practices that are survivor-centered, based on accountability, safety-driven, and racially equitable.