Incarceration Nation exam 1

Approximately what was the average imprisonment rate (per 100,000 people) in the US between 1930 and 1970?

110

Which of the following racial groups has the greatest number of people who have ever been convicted of a felony in the US?

White

Which age range had the highest imprisonment rate in the US in 2022?

35-39

A four-year sentence for a felony crime in the US would lead you to be incarcerated in a…

prison

Approximately what was the combined state and federal imprisonment rate (per 100,000) in the US at the end of 2022?

350

Which of the following increased in the US in the 1990s? (Select one or more option)

drug arrest rate, imprisonment rate

People imprisoned for violent offenses in the US spend an average of _ years in prison.

5

About how many people were held in solitary confinement in the US on a given day in 2019

123,000

As of 2022, about what percent of people who are incarcerated are held in private facilities in the US?

8%

People often have family members who are incarcerated. What is the most common form of familial incarceration in the US?

sibling

For those released from prison in 2005 in the US, about _ percent were arrested within 1 year of their release and _ percent were arrested within 10 year

45; 80

About what percent of people serving time in prison in the US are eventually released

95%

3 keys to deterrence

certainty, severity, temporal proximity

5 goals of confinement

retribution, restitution, incapacitation, deterrence, rehabilitation

Blumstein & Cohen

think punishment is stable. created the bell curve to prove that punishment remains stable at 110/100,000 BEFORE 1973. no crime is weird, too much crime is weird. bad for society.

Durkheimian perspective

crime is abnormal at the individual level, normal at the societal level.

Which race has the highest cumulative percentage of imprisonment? (2001)

Black

Rank the cumulative percentages of males going to prison (2001)

Black (32.2%), Hispanic (17.2%), All males avg (11.3%), White (5.9%)

Rusche & Dinwiddle

Prison conditions must be bad enough so people don’t want to go.

Only thing worse than prison is corporal punishment. (For when unemployment and homelessness is high) Corporal punishment is favored when there are fewer jobs available.

More jobs available = less ppl in prison

Less jobs available = more ppl in prison

Economic conditions influence imprisonment rates.

The year mass incarceration started

1973

2 explanations for confinement

Durkheim, Marxist

Drawbacks to deterrence

assumption of rationability

What are the 3 basic types of people who are held in a jail?

Awaiting trial, someone not charged, short-term

What were some punishments before incarceration?

corporal punishment, public humiliation,

What levels are there in a prison?

minimum, medium, maximum, super maximum

What types of people go to prison?

felons

2 most influential prison systems

Auburn and Pennsylvania/Separate

Was Auburn or Pennsylvania more influential on today’s system?

Auburn

What were the differences in arguments for each system (Aub vs Penn)?

Auburn- cheaper, more labor, uniformity, prepare for life outside prison (vocational training), produced revenue. SILENT, no interaction

Penn- gave prisoners time to think and reflect, less time to conspire more crimes. People went insane.

Where did jails start?

England

What were the proto-prisons?

Walnut Street (most influential), Castle Rock (very first one), Newgate

What was Wines & Dwight report (1867)?

Launched Progressive Era. Criticized awful conditions (cell size, staff training, etc) of prisons and claimed they bred more crime. Called for more rehabilitation. Summarized what everyone already thought.

Define “determinate sentencing” and “indeterminate sentencing”

Determinate- sentenced to a set # of years

Indeterminate- go to prison until you are better (progressive)

What was the progressive agenda in terms of imprisonment/incarceration?

Wants to heal sick prisoners. Get folks ready for life outside prison. Indeterminate sentencing. (era failed!)

What was the drawback of the Progressive Agenda?

overcrowded, expensive, ineffective (indeterminate sentence), etc.

3 prisons during Progressive Era

Elmira Reformatory (educational)

George Jr Republic (self-governing)

Norfolk State (mimic-free society)

 What is recidivism?

when a person commits another crime after being released from prison

What is Garland’s definition of mass incarceration?

sheer size, concentration

How does the US compare to other countries in the western world?

It’s consistently increasing and higher than others during mass incarceration. Way higher in general.

ranked 6th

What is the difference between what age criminal activity seems to peak vs imprisonment/incarceration?

Crime: 15-19

Incarceration: 35-39 (takes time to build record)

Jail rates are highest at 25-34, building up their criminal record and going to JAIL… preparing for high imprisonment rate at 35-39

Systematic imprisonment

relates to people who have access to education and people who dont have higher rates of prison. Relates to rates of policing.

Rothman

criticized progressive agenda and rehabilitation in prisons. said there was also wins in progressive prisons. highlighted disorder in prisons.

Moynihan & Stewart

high crime rates for black families was cultural. absent parents led to higher crime rates— wasn’t system inequality but cultural differences. blamed the victims (black ppl), rather than the system. ignored systemic racism.

Rios

crime and punishment are socially produced through systemic racism and institutional practices, not just individual choices. highlighted thru policing, criminalization of young boys of color leads to higher crime rates when they grow up. HYPER CRIMINALIZATION.

Cumulative risk of imprisonment is higher in which region?

Midwest, black men 20