Crime and Incarceration

ALC Summer 2007

Alicia Simmons
 Questions for Today

1. How much crime is there?

2. What are the trends in incarceration?

3. What are the social impacts of

incarceration?
 1. How Much Crime?

Different types of crime

Property
Violent

The number of occurrences

The % of the population that are victims

 The Big Picture
2005: approximately 23 million crimes in the U.S.

Crime Distribution

20%

Property
Violent
80%

Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2005

 Property Crimes

Motor vehicle theft

Burglary

Theft
 Property Crime Statistics (2005)

# of crimes % of victims

Motor vehicle 2.5 million 0.8

theft
Burglary 8.9 3

Theft 35.1 12

Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2005

What Cars are Stolen Most Often?
 Property crime
# of crimes = 46.5 million % victims in pop.= 15%

Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2005

 Violent crimes
Simple & aggravated assault

Robbery

Rape

Homicide
 Violent Crime Statistics (2005)

# of crimes % of victims

Simple assault 4.1 million 1

Aggravated 1.3 0.4

assault
Robbery 785,000 0.3

Rape 151,000 0.05

Homicide 30,200 0.01

Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2005

 Violent crime
# of crimes = 6.3 million % victims in pop.= 3%

Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2005

 2. Trends in Incarceration

Incarceration around the world

Current trends and their causes in the U.S.

Impacts on specific groups

 Incarceration Around the World

874,171 1,548,498
http://www.prisonstudies.org
2,193,798
 Incarceration Rate (per 100,000 population)

United States 737

French Guiana 630
Russian Federation 624
St. Kitts & Nevis 604
Taiwan 281
England & Wales 149
China 118
Republic of Korea 97
Japan 62
India 30

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

http://www.prisonstudies.org
Bureau of Justice Statistics
 Causes of Prison Growth
Pre 1970s: Indeterminate
Sentencing

1970s today: Tough on

Crime
Politicization of crime
Growing conservative
climate
American individualism

Mauer, 2001
 Determinant Sentencing
Moves us from an offender-based to an
offense-based system

88% of in incarceration from 1980-

1996 is due to changes in punishment
51% results from in the number of people
doing time
37% results from in term length

Mauer, 2001
Bureau of Justice Statistics
 Did Prison Growth
Cause the Crime Drop?

Ways an in incarceration could lead

to a in crime
Rehabilitation: fixing criminals
Incapacitation: stopping current criminals
Deterrence: stopping future criminals

1993-2001: incarceration the crime

rate 2-5%

Western, 2006
 Impact on Specific Groups

Immigrants

Gender

Race

Social class
 Immigrants & Crime

Longstanding public fear of immigrant

crime

1st generations do not commit many

crimes
2nd and 3rd generations commit more

Martinez & Valenzuela, 2006

 Gender and Incarceration

Bureau of Justice Statistics

 Race & Incarceration

Free pop. Incarcerated Lifetime

pop. likelihood of
incarceration
Black 12% 43 30

Hispanic 35 35 20

White 70 36 4.4
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Social Class & Incarceration
% in Prison or Jail by Social Class and
Race
Males age 20-40
White 1.6%
Hispanic 4.6
Black 11.5
Non-College Males age 20-40
White 3.2
Hispanic 5.5
Black 17.0
High School Dropout Males
age 20-40
White 6.7
Hispanic 6.0
Black 32.4
 Tying the Trends Together
Mass imprisonment:

A rate of imprisonment and a size of prison

population that is markedly above the
historical and comparative norm for societies
of this type. (1)

Social concentration of imprisonments

effects. (1)

Garland, 2006
 Why are things Unequal?
Racial bias in the following institutions
Police: racial profiling
Courts: unequal representation
Laws: powder vs. crack cocaine

A double standard exists for the upper vs.

lower classes
Creates legitimacy issues

Cole, 2001
3. What are the Social Impacts?

Stereotypes

Police interactions

Job opportunities
 Stereotype: a conventional, formulaic,
and oversimplified conception, opinion, or
image that a person applies to both a
group and each individual within it

Black men are stereotyped as criminals

Whites are stereotyped as law abiding
citizens
 Interactions with the Police
Black men are often wary of interactions
with the police

Worried about being innocent but getting

into trouble
Demeanor with police

Convictions create records that follow

throughout your life
Anderson, 1990
 Job Opportunities
Effect of Criminal Record by Race
34
35
30
25
20 17
14 Record
15 No record
10
5
5
0
Black White

Pager, 2003
 Questions for Today

1. How much crime is there?

2. What are the trends in incarceration?

3. What are the social impacts of

incarceration?