Tag Archives: jail

Examining the Causes and Consequences of Incarceration in the United States

The growth of incarceration in the United States during the last four decades has prompted numerous critiques and a growing body of scientific knowledge about what prompted the rise and what its consequences have been for the people imprisoned, their families and communities, and for U.S. society. Our reports examine the examine the body of evidence regarding incarceration rates and its effects, and recommend changes in sentencing policy, prison policy, and social policy.

The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and Consequences

After decades of stability from the 1920s to the early 1970s, the rate of imprisonment in the United States more than quadrupled during the last four decades. The U.S. penal population of 2.2 million adults is by far the largest in the world. …

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Reforming Juvenile Justice: A Developmental Approach

Adolescence is a distinct, yet transient, period of development between childhood and adulthood characterized by increased experimentation and risk-taking, a tendency to discount long-term consequences, and heightened sensitivity to peers and …

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Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform: The Federal Role

In the past decade, a number of state, local, and tribal jurisdictions have begun to take significant steps to overhaul their juvenile justice systems – for example, reducing the use of juvenile detention and out-of-home placement, bringing …

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Deterrence and the Death Penalty

Many studies during the past few decades have sought to determine whether the death penalty has any deterrent effect on homicide rates. Researchers have reached widely varying, even contradictory, conclusions. Some studies have concluded that the …

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Science and the Criminal Justice System

Almost every day, our country’s criminal justice system is being questioned. Part of that is due to the fact that our reliance on imprisonment has not clearly improved public safety and may have had large unwanted consequences for society. A change in course is needed.

The Growth of Incarceration in the United States urges policymakers to reconsider sentencing policies and to seek crime-control strategies that are more effective, with better public safety benefits and fewer unwanted consequences. The video below illustrates the findings of that report.

The Dissemination Toolkit contains resources to help expand the reach of the report. Issue Briefs, Report Briefs, and an update on report activities from the report committee chair, Jeremy Travis, can inform discussion and debate about incarceration in the United States and its effects on individuals, families, communities, and society.

The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and Consequences

After decades of stability from the 1920s to the early 1970s, the rate of imprisonment in the United States more than quadrupled during the last four decades. The U.S. penal population of 2.2 million adults is by far the largest in the world. Just under one-quarter of the world’s prisoners are held in American prisons. The U.S. rate of incarceration, with nearly 1 out of every 100 adults in prison or jail, is 5 to 10 times higher than the rates in Western Europe and other democracies. The …

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This infographic from the National Academies Press highlights the causes and effects of the increasing rate of incarceration in the U.S., as detailed in the full report.