Is It Possible To Let More People Out Of Prison, And Keep Crime Down?

[KamaAina]

http://www.npr.org/2015/07/16/423257919/is-it-possible-to-let-more-people-out-of-prison-and-keep-crime-down

"What drove the increase over the last three decades was sort of a series of sentencing reforms that were just kind of layered on top of each other, decade after decade, especially during the '80s and '90s," Raphael says. "And I don't know that there was really much attention being paid to the effectiveness of this particular tool."...

"We have a fairly strong body of research that suggests as the incarceration rate goes up, the effectiveness of incarceration as a crime-control tool goes down," he says.

In other words, it's a case of diminishing returns. The first million people put in prison cut crime a lot; the second million, not so much.

And researchers say the converse is probably also true: Releasing the more marginal offenders won't cause a crime wave.

[daleanime]

1. 5% of the worlds population....

25% of it's prisoners.

[951-Riverside]

2. Yes. Stop labeling people as "felons" for life after they serve their time.

Its barbaric and makes it impossible for people who have served time to ever get back on their feet and lead a productive life.

[tech3149]

6. Pretty much all of the "tough on crime" BS is sort of like the prohibition of alcohol

It accomplishes the exact opposite of the intent. It's not bad enough that sentencing for an offense might be arbitrary and in some cases outrageous, once you wear the label "felon" you have pretty much no chance of being considered just another person.

[Solly Mack]

3. K&R

[Yo_Mama]

4. Yes, if you concentrate on targeted measures. Someone like Roof, no.

But a lot of petty criminals shouldn't be in jail in the first place, or only a few days for shock value.

[dballance]

5. What a great question to pose.

I think the answer is "YES." We can incarcerate fewer people and at the same time make life safer for most people.

[msongs]

7. free all the inmates there for the "crime" of having a few joints nt

[grasswire]

8. what drove the increase was GREED

Just as we have seen how the people of Ferguson are monetized by the local law enforcement and courts, the people of America (largely those who are poor or of color) have been monetized by the criminal justice system.

I have been to the trade show of the American Correctional System. I know who the vendors, suppliers, contractors, are and exactly how they have made billions of dollars while ruining lives, ripping families apart, enabling torture, and untold misery.

All for profit. And in many cases for perversion and for evil, if one believes in that concept.

[fadedrose]

9. Clinton said he made the situation worse

with harsher sentences, etc, when he was in office. Credit to him for admitting it....

There are more people in prison in US than in any other country - one reason is we have more drug laws that can be broken. Many countries
have drug clinics and better support systems than what our young people have, especially people of color.

Those released will need support systems to stay out of trouble. Hope it works out for them..

Pity is some were jailed for what now is not a crime...

[KamaAina]

13. Maybe he can convince the Mrs. to undo it.

of course, Bernie would do it on his own.

[lovemydog]

16. Bernie and Hillary and Martin

are all willing to do it and would need a strong Congress behind them to make these long overdue changes. A lot of it must take place at State levels as well. Every election matters. Every vote matters.

[Yavin4]

10. Incarceration is politically preferable to real investments in education and mental health

IOW, we'd rather jail than make investments in human capital. A sign of a civilization in decline.

[Uncle Joe]

11. Yes, let the right people out (non-violent), outlaw for profit prisons,

end the so called "war on drugs," start treating drug addiction as an educational, medical and economic issue vs the criminal approach.

Quit militarizing the police, enact intelligent, responsible gun legislation, stop punishing felons after they've served their time by disenfranchising them from the system.

Lower poverty rates by passing a livable wage and universal healthcare.

Do all that and crime rates will fall.

Thanks for the thread, KamaAina.

[Recursion]

14. About 6% of prisoners are in for-profit prisons

And most of those are Federal. I'd like to see them closed but I think it's a mistake to believe doing so would have a big impact on the system.

[Uncle Joe]

22. That was only one of my suggestions, having said that, the for profit prison system

is immoral and corruptive by its very nature.

The longer it exists and the stronger it becomes can only lead to ever increasing draconian laws and longer sentences regardless of whether such punitive measures are warranted.

While 6% may not seem like a high number with our current prison population of over 2 million that would be over 120,000 individuals, some may warrant being in prison but I have no doubt many of them don't.

There is also a ripple effect for every person in prison for an unfair or unjustified reason, adversely affecting their families increasing the chances of next generation crime.

[Liberal_in_LA]

12. why not. most are in prison for drugs.

[Recursion]

15. If we do proper integration work as part of the release? Sure.

If they have a transitional facility for housing and employment (and if they've learned job skills while at prison), sure. If we're just dumping convicts on the corner of 8th and Pennsylvania at midnight with $10 and a bus ticket, I could foresee problems even if they weren't violent offenders before.

[KamaAina]

18. There's a corner of 8th and Pennsylvania in Mumbai?

[Recursion]

19. Ha. Possibly; the streets don't have signs and have some weird names

Though here the re-integration plan consists of opening the front door to Arthur Road Jail and saying "good luck".

[TheKentuckian]

17. Sure, end the drug war less "crime" possible and significantly less people warehoused.

[Warren DeMontague]

20. If "crime" is consenting adults doing things like smoking pot, then probably not.

That's basically who we've filled prisons up with.

[B2G]

23. ..