Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Helping To End Mass Incaceration: Reducing Prison Populations Through State Action

With the focus on elimination of mass incarceration and ending inhumane prison practices, the Pew Charitable Trusts have examined what works.  With its motto of "Using Data to Make a Difference",    their research has shifted from finding methods of changing attitudes for those incarcerated or at risk of incarceration to shifting criminal practice and policy to prevent incarceration in the first instance.

South Carolina, for instance, has seen a 14% reduction in numbers of incarcerated individuals since providing options for both sentencing and release.  The enacted legislative reforms reduced penalties for minor drug and property crimes, while release options expanded with community supervision expanded.  During the six year period covered by the study (2010-2012) six prisons closed, the crime rate decreased and the existing prison population is largely more violent criminals. 

Since 2010, 35 states have raised felony theft thresholds but experienced no increase in crime.  Generally, all US states have experienced a decrease in crime.

"Experts attribute the nation’s sustained drop in violent and property crime rates to a host of factors, including better policing; the increased incarceration of certain repeat offenders; an expansion in private security personnel; an aging population that is less prone to criminal behavior; and technological advances, such as the widespread use of surveillance cameras, car- and home-alarm systems, and digital transactions that have reduced the need for cash."

The US prison population is still the largest in the world. But what is apparent is that shifts in state policy make significant differences.  Both federal and state prisons remain the sites of gross human rights violations, with the states incarcerating the clear majority of those engaged with the criminal justice system.  Even seemingly small legislative changes can make significant differences.  A good reminder that local human rights advocacy can create important change.

 

 

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/human_rights/2018/05/how-to-end-mass-incaceration-reducing-prison-polulations-through-state-action.html

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