Posted on 11/19/2007 10:20:01 AM PST by goldstategop
The US prison population has risen eight-fold since 1970, with little impact on crime but at great cost to the taxpayer, researchers say.
There are more than 1.5 million people in US state and federal jails, a report by a Washington-based criminal justice research group, the JFA Institute says.
Inmate numbers are projected to rise by 192,000 in five years, costing $27.5bn (£13.44bn) to build and run jails.
The JFA recommends reducing the number and length of sentences.
The Unlocking America report, which was published on Monday, also advocated changing terms of parole and finding alternatives to prison as part of a major overhaul of the US justice system.
"There is no evidence that keeping people in prison longer makes us any safer," said JFA president James Austin.
Women convicts
The report said that US crime rates, which have been in decline since the 1990s, are about the same as those for 1973.
US prison population graph It says the incarceration rate has soared because sentences have got longer and those who violate parole or probation are more likely to be given prison terms.
The report said that every year hundreds of thousands of Americans are sent to jail "for crimes that pose little if any danger or harm to society".
It cited several examples including a Florida woman's two-year sentence for throwing a cup of coffee at another car in a traffic row.
Its recommendations run counter to the Bush administration's policy of longer, harsher sentences, which the government says has contributed to falling violent crime and murder figures.
The JFA researchers found that women represented the fastest-growing sector of the US prison population.
The report was funded by the Rosenbaum Foundation and the Open Society Institute.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
You know what would be a good idea? Arm them all and let them loose in the Gaza Strip or Afghanistan.
Liberals need a bigger voting base; thus, they appeal to criminals. This is not a matter of offering Mercy to the sinner, but to force society in accepting sin.
‘The US prison population has risen eight-fold since 1970, with little impact on crime but at great cost to the taxpayer, researchers say. ‘
This opening statement is demonstrably FALSE.
Then again, its coming from the laughable BBC....
Would some innocent people be executed? Probably. But innocent people are victimized everyday. Executing all violent criminals would result in fewer innocent victims.
This tactic was already done with conscription. It gives lethal training to a criminal mentality and makes better at murder.
The best thing for a naughty child is to put them in a timeout in their own room. It sounds trite, but it really works. People start to value their time, especially when it’s taken away. All I need is to sit in a traffic jam to feel it. Some need concrete walls.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
They are right, the prison system is a failure...time to bring in sheriff Joe to take over.....
“The US prison population has risen eight-fold since 1970, with little impact on crime”
Um, well the people locked up are no longer committing crimes. What a moronic statement...like a burglar does some sort of soul searching before he breaks into a house? “Gee, I’d hate to end up going to jail!”
Crime is down radically in most cities . . . this article is BS.
Well, they are already doing this in the Episcopal Church!
That's the dopiest thing I've ever heard. Spare the rod and spoil the child.
It's obvious to blind people whose children are better behaved when we hang around our friends that use the timeout method of discipline.
Better idea, make the libs house them in their own homes.
Without any qualifications as to the type of crime, this statement comes across as purely biased. Clearly, there is evidence that those who are incarcerated are not perpetrating further crimes.
The whole premise of this article is that "criminal activity" is a constant throughout the decades influenced only by our penal system. I would posit that our culture has changed significantly since the 1950's in several respects directly related to criminality.
Many of us who do not live in big city centers do not notice a significant difference in feelings of "safety". I suspect that those living in areas ravaged by crime; e.g., central cities, have seen a larger swing than we have. Perhaps, they need to keep multiple statistical sets by area.
We use a combination approach -
willful disobedience gets the rod.
Misbehavior like not sharing toys gets the timeout.
we should start emptying the prisons of felons so we will have room for the Dems to put all the returning soldiers from Iraq in prison as “war criminals.”
Yeah, didn’t think of that. How bout just let them loose in Gaza unarmed then.
The report was funded in part by the Open Society Institute.
Open Society Institute = George Soros organization.
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