crime and incarceration alc – summer 2007 alicia simmons

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.

Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2005

Crime Distribution

Property

Violent

20%

80%

Property Crimes

• Motor vehicle theft

• Burglary

• Theft

Property Crime Statistics (2005)

# of crimes % of victims

Motor vehicle theft

2.5 million 0.8

Burglary 8.9 3

Theft 35.1 12


What Cars are Stolen Most Often?

Property crime

• # of crimes = 46.5 million • % victims in pop.= 15%


Violent crimes

• Simple & aggravated assault

• Robbery

• Rape

• Homicide

Violent Crime Statistics (2005)

# of crimes % of victims

Simple assault 4.1 million 1

Aggravated assault

1.3 0.4

Robbery 785,000 0.3

Rape 151,000 0.05

Homicide 30,200 0.01


Violent crime

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


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

30

62

97

118

149

281

604

624

630

737

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

India

Japan

Republic of Korea

China

England & Wales

Taiwan

St. Kitts & Nevis

Russian Federation

French Guiana

United States

http://www.prisonstudies.org

Incarceration Rate (per 100,000 population)

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

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


Race & Incarceration

Free pop. Incarcerated pop.

Lifetime likelihood of incarceration

Black 12% 43 30

Hispanic 35 35 20

White 70 36 4.4

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 imprisonment’s 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

5

1417

34

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Black White

Effect of Criminal Record by Race

Record

No record

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?

crime and incarceration alc – summer 2007 alicia simmons

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