mass incarceration

incarceration

legally imposed deprivation of personal liberties, typically in a facility specially designed for the purpose

mass incarceration

prison boom phenomenon— extreme rates of imprisonment comparatively and historically

when did mass incarceration begin?

1972

where are level are most incarcerated?

state - 1 million

1 in ___ are behind bars are in a jail

3

most people in jail are not convicted— why?

most people are awaiting trial b/c they could not afford bail

true or false: pretrial detentions are more likely to be convicted of crimes

true

currently, the incarceration rate is more than ____ times the rate of 1972

4

how many are in custody today?

1.9 million

true or false: african american men born since the late 1960s are more likely to be incarcerated than to have completed college?

true

state prison population

majority of adult prisoners; mainly felony and parole violators

federal prisons

usually sentence longer than 1 year; usually charges for robbery, fraud, drugs, weapons, immigration, sex offenses

1 out of ____ incarcerated pop. was in local jails in 2012

3

the growith of incarceration was centered in the _____ and ______

west and south

what are the possible factors for mass incarceration

level of crime

probability of being arrested

probability of being sentenced to prison

the length of time served in prison

level of crime?

not likely as incarceration continued to rise after crime rates fell

probability of being arrested?

no increase in policing effectiveness from 180-2010 that might explain higher rates of incarceration

probability of being sentenced?

yes! the likelihood of being sentenced has greatly increased the prison population boom— espically for drug offenses

length of time served?

yes! sentences have increased alongside incarceration from 1990-2000— especially for violent offenses

racial disparities

black offenders are more likely than white to be arrested for drug offenses

hispanic incarceration

falls between black and incarceration

education

decreases the likelihood of incarceration (inverse) moderated by race and ethnicity

rational choice and deterrence

weighing pros and cons of crime; severity, certainity, and swiftness of punishment

the increase in use of imprisonment as a response to crime reflects _______

policy

violent crime control and law enforcement act of 1994

any state applying for federal grant for prison constructions must prove

• increase in convicted violent offenders

• increase in the average prison time

• increase in the percentage of sentences which will be served in the prison

in 1972 the federal system and every state had ______ system

indeterminate sentencing

• based on individualization

• aimed at rehabilitation

• judges had discretion

first phase of sentencing laws

1975-1985 push to make sentencing more fair and to make sentences more predictable and consistent

parole guidelines

set guidelines for release standards, disparities in the time served, and standard release evaluations

voluntary sentencing guidelines

suggestions for judges

determinate sentencing guidelines

the lenght of time to be served could be known at the time of sentencing

presumptive sentencing guidelines

harder guidelines for judges

phase two of sentencing laws

1985-1996 push to make sentences harsher for drug and violent offenses

increased fairness but was pushed aside to prioritize certainity and severity of punishment

mandatory minimum sentencing

require minimum prison term for those convicted of particular crimes set by congress not judges

three strikes laws

miinimum 25 years sentences for people convicted of a third felony in 26 states

life without the possibility of parole

phase 3

period of drift

natural law

if you observe the world spiritually, you will see people are basically good

if you break a law you have sinned thus the government has the moral authority to deal with you how they see fit

social contract

thomas hobbes 1599 - 1678

people are selfish

people are rational enough to realize the situation is bad for everyone, thus everyone decides to deny their selfishness as long as everyone else does

beccaria

crime and punishment

mid 1700s — a protest writer who wanted to change the excessively cruel punishments

the timing of his book sparked during the industrial, french, and american revolution

used as the blueprint for american cj system

becarria philosophical points

the role of legislature is to define crimes and to define specific punishments for each crime

the role of judges should be to determine guilt

the purpose of punishments is to deter crimes. seriousness of the punishment should match the seriousness of the crime

naturalistic explanation for crime is led by ?

deterence theory — certainity, severity, and celerity

rational choice

claim individuals are more likely to commit crime when the benefits of engaging in the crime outweigh the costs

specific deterence

deters one person

general deterence

deters the public

initial deterrent effect

stimulus of deterrence is effective only at first

initial deterrence decay

underlying causes of crime, crime comes back

residual deterrence

deterrence that remains after initial effect

resetting effect

no deterrent effect

empirical findings for sentence length deterrent effect

MIXED

as sentence length increased, crime rate decreases in a linear fashion

mixed out shows the actuality of it shows increasing sentencing length has diminishing effects of reduced crime rte

short sentences have greater deterrent effect

incapitation vs deterrence

incapicitation does not assume criminals have rational choice, specific deterrence, or general deterence

main reason is for punishment of specific offenders

cant commit crimes if youre locked away forever

incapacitation assumes ______?

offenders commit crimes throughout the life course at a constant rate

the most influential source of data for calculating lambda is ____

RAND second inmate survey

the most important finding of the _____ survey is what _____?

RAND found crime is far from constant across inmates