1/32 American Adults: correctional supervision

[PygmyPlaidGiraffe]

With one in thrirty two American adults under correctional supervision, what kinds of questions can be asked about Justice, Laws, Corrections, and Policies?

a subjective question but:

What stigma, if any, is to be associated to being an incarcerated adult, especially now when United States is experiencing a


"huh" (http://www.randi.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&postid=1870063138#post1870063138)

record high for correctional supervision? (http://www.cnn.com/2002/LAW/08/25/jail.stats/)


Traditionally imprisonment has been for a variety of reasons, some more prominant than others at various times in history:

some are or were: for punishment; retribution; rehabilaitation; to protect society from undesirables; for humiliation; to silence individuals or groups, and for a vague "deterent for crimes".

What purpose does imprisonment serve in the United States, where 1/32 of the population is currently under correctional supervision?

The rate of incarceration (http://edition.cnn.com/2001/US/08/12/prison.population/index.html?related) at the end of 2000 was 478 sentenced inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents, up from 292 per 100,000 residents in 1990.
Note that these statistics do not speak to the number of living American adults that have been under correctional supervision at least once in their adult life.

Note (a long aside, and you may take it or leave it as you please):

The ratio in this instance, I can not accurately speak to as I do not have the relevant information: it could be 1:28 living adults, if I assume that most of the 1:32 currently under correctional supervision in United States are repeat offenders, and commit most of the prosecuted crimes upon parole.
So let's assume a highly speculative 87.5% recidivism.

I have worked in corrections in Canada, and the recidivism rates in this country look like they are suspiciously doctored for political reasons ( the pendulum swings often and recidivism rates swing just as radically as the policies term to term).

Currently in Canada it is estimated almost 10 % of the adult population has been under correctional supervision at least once in their adult life, so I think I am being rather conservative giving a 1:28 estimate for American Citizens that have been under correctional supervision at least once in their adult life.

10% of American Adults would be about 20 million adults.

1:28 works out to about 7.66 million.



Note and aside over.


Is there a stigma associated with serving time anymore? Was there ever ? (maybe more so amongst the law-abiding and employers).

To what extent is imprisonment a deterent to participating in a crime? Is imprisonment merely an inconvenience that 1 in 32 adults are bound to experience at least once in the year 2003?

At what rate of incarceration does said incarceration rate adversely affect the economy, employement, taxation, and/or spending on other social programs?

Are increasing incarceration rates going to, more and more, become (unintentionaly) an alternative to social programs, employment, education, and rehabilitating African Americans and Hispanics?

Will America choose to warehouse, in prisons, the many young adult Americans that commit drug and property offenses, crimes that are being successfully prosecuted and being subject to "3 strikes' laws? (Am I misunderstanding the application of "3 strikes" laws?) 20 years ago similiar crimes were not prosecuted as such, nor did they result in incarceration and high (some times mandatory) sentences.


What has been accomplished as a result of United States' obsession with crime since the Nixon 'get tough on crime" era?

United States has successfully gotten "tough on crime", and having 6.7 million American citizens (2002 DOJ statistics) under correctional supervision is serving as an effective deterent, undoubtedly.

United States has successfully implemented a 'War on Drugs" campaign/ policy against American citizens, and having 6.7 millions American citizens under correctional supervision is serving as an effective deterent undoubtedly.

United States has successfully reduced the fear of law abiding, hardworking, middle-class citizens living in low-crime areas (that are convinced by private security and insurance firms to buy security systems in said low crime areas). Having 6.7 million American citizens in jail has effectively reduced the fears of middle-class, law abiding citizens.

[American]

Listen you f-ckers, you screwheads, here is a man who would not take it anymore, a man who stood up against the scum, the c-nts, the dogs, the filth, the sh-t, here is someone who stood up!

--Travis Blickle, "Taxi Driver"



Americans are sick and tired of putting up with degenerate criminals and the bed-wetting pricks who defend and enable them. Thank god we're finally taking out the garbage and sending them straight down the sh-tter where they belong.

[kittynh]

I don't think in much of society there is much of a stigma.

Just like having a baby and being not married isn't a big deal any more.

There are music videos that show prison as being kind of glamorous, more a rite of passage than a punishment.

[Yahweh]

Originally posted by kittynh
There are music videos that show prison as being kind of glamorous, more a rite of passage than a punishment.
Remember that show OZ. There was an episode where that one prison inmate went retarded, but the prison still executed him anyway. Or that one little guy who got raped 5, 6, 8 times a day... then he got killed. Or the final episode where the prison Warden got killed.

Oh my bad, you were talking about music videos, I agree they tend to glamourize prison. :wink8:

[PygmyPlaidGiraffe]

Originally posted by Yahweh

Remember that show OZ.

oh yes

I have never been in a maximum security prison (I worked in a minimim/medium). I enjoy the show as it reflects a lot of the challenges I saw in corrections. There is no capital punishment in Canada so I can not speak to how accurate it is in terms of illustrating "death row" and the issues surounding capital punishment.

[Rayn]

What's disturbing to me about the correctional institutions in this country is that more and more state and federal prisons are being contracted out to private jailers, and hence it is becoming more of an industry then any governmental "deterrent towards crime" (if it was ever really that). Also, as you mentioned, this privatization of prisons is replacing any moves towards more social reforms and education.

As far as the "stigma" for being incarcerated goes, I personally haven't had much contact with those that have spent time in jail. Personally, I would not have a problem with the jail time but with the act that placed them in jail in the first place. However, as far as getting employed goes, I'm sure there are definite negative consequences for having served time, and I although there are institutions in place to help ex-offenders get placed into jobs, I would be interested as to how much funding such institutions get (I'm sure it varies state-to-state) and how successful they are in the first place (how many ex-offenders actually use these opportunities, how many businesses co-operate with such institutions, etc.). Although such a stigma may exist, I doubt that it truly acts as a preventative measure towards crime, especially since it seems that many prosecuted crimes are a consequence of societal conditions.

[PygmyPlaidGiraffe]

1/72 Adult American males in prison (http://edition.cnn.com/2004/LAW/05/27/prison.population.ap/index.html)


America's prison population grew by 2.9 percent last year despite a fall in the crime rate ; the increase is partly attributed to Mandatory drug sentences, "three-strikes-and-you're-out" laws for repeat offenders, and "truth-in-sentencing laws" that restrict early releases.


There were 715 inmates for every 100,000 U.S. residents at midyear in 2003, up from 703 a year earlier, the report found, compared with the rate of incarceration at the end of 2000 there were 478 sentenced inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents, up from 292 per 100,000 residents in 1990.

[sorgoth]

Does anyone know what pourcentage are there for drug-related offenses?

[crimresearch]

If you hold your head just so, like this, and look, you can see where the incarceration rate has levelled off..

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/incrt.htm

Also might want to note that it is not possible to get reliable numbers form China when comparing which country has the world's highest rate. That is not an insignificant omission.

And, examining incarceration rates doesn't give a total picture, since it can leave out data on diversion programs which leave people as clients of the justice system, but not counted in totals for incarceration.

[PygmyPlaidGiraffe]

The number of those under correctional supervision in the U.S.A. rises to 6.9 million (http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=545070) (3.2 per cent of the nation's adult population), while crime rates have been stable for several years or, in the case of serious crimes such as murder, have in fact fallen sharply. 2 million plus are incarcerated in instititutions.


Compare to almost a decade ago where more than 5.1 million Americans -- almost 2.7 percent of the adult population -- were under some form of correctional supervision at the end of 1994.
One and a half million were incarcerated in institutions by the end of 1994.




Where as the United States accounts for only about 5% of the worlds population, the United States, land of the free accounts for 25% of the world’s prison population.


2 million and counting (http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/citizen/sigg0306.html)

[drkitten]

Originally posted by PygmyPlaidGiraffe
With one in thrirty two American adults under correctional supervision, what kinds of questions can be asked about Justice, Laws, Corrections, and Policies?

[snip]

Is there a stigma associated with serving time anymore? Was there ever ? (maybe more so amongst the law-abiding and employers).


This depends very much upon the population subsection that you ask. There was, for example, a recent witchhunt at Penn State, when it was discovered that a long-term professor had a thirty year old murder conviction. On the other hand, I believe the current statistics is that approximately one in three American black 25-year old males is currently under correctional supervision (I'm sure someone has better numbers to hand), which implies that among the Black subculture, there is little stigma.

[balrog666]

Where as the United States accounts for only about 5% of the worlds population, the United States, land of the free accounts for 25% of the world’s prison population.







The United States accounts for about 25% of the worlds wealth and the United States, land of the free, accounts for about 25% of the world’s thieves in its prison population.

[crimresearch]

LOL!!!

Very few people focus on the fact that there are more thieves where there is something to steal...good work.

[crimresearch]

LOL!!! :D

I guess that balrog is sharp enough to have already noticed that certain posters here at JREF regularly demand 'proof' of everyday phenomena and commonsense observations....and when presented with data that they could have easily looked up, slide into debate format by not addressing support for *their* assertions or implications, but instead by tap dancing around the issue with red herrings and claims of being abused.

So in attributing this request to, shall we say....'inertia', balrog666e was actually being kind enough to not attribute it to a lack of critical thinking skills...

(And 'bum' is probably a term of affection in balrog's culture...maybe someone here needs to sit though a little diversity sensitivity training?)
:p