Lock 'em up -- cont.

In answer to a reader's question, no, mass incarceration in the U.S. is not because we have more crime. Violent crimes are easier to count internationally, and people care about them more, so that's the metric the Prison Policy Institute used for this comparison. They also show the huge disparities among the states of the U.S. This is a little hard to read so just keep in mind that low and to the right means a high rate of incarceration compared to the rate of violent crime. France and Louisiana, for example, have about the same rate of violent crime, but Louisiana locks up about 8 times as many people per capita.

 

 

The states on the right of the diagram -- the states with highest rates of incarceration -- are the states of the Confederacy. Hmm. 

There are two main reasons for the rise of mass incarceration in the U.S. Reason 1 is "deinstitutionalization," which obviously didn't produce that result since we now have more people in institutions. Beginning in the ’70s, courts ruled that mental health patients should be moved from hospitals to community based services.The states liked this idea, because they could save money by closing mental hospitals, but they didn't do the second half of the concept, which was to spend money on community based services. People were released without adequate care, housing, or social support. Many became homeless, and were arrested for substance abuse, petty theft, and disruptive behavior. Available services  preferentially benefit people with private insurance and less severe illness. Many providers, including state hospitals, will not accept Medicaid.

The second reason is the War on Drugs Some People Who Use Some Drugs. 

 

Many people who are charged with other offenses, such as shoplifting, passing bad checks, disorderly conduct, prostitution, have an underlying Substance Use Disorder. Estimated >65% of incarcerated individuals meet the DSM criteria for alcohol or other drug dependence or abuse.*

 

 

Historically, white and Black  people have used illicit drugs at very similar rates, but Black people far more likely to be incarcerated for drug-related offenses. In 2015, the percentage of non-Hispanic black or African-American individuals in federal prison for drug offenses was almost twice the percentage of whites.

–Disproportionate police attention to minority communities

–Disproportionate arrest

–Disproportionate charging

–Disproportionate sentencing

§Disparities begin with juvenile justice†

 Next: The consequences of criminal conviction

 

 

 

* Belenko S, Peugh J. Estimating drug treatment needs among state prison inmates. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2005;77(3):269-281

†Rosenberg A, Groves AK, Blankenship KM. Comparing Black and White Drug Offenders: Implications for Racial Disparities in Criminal Justice and Reentry Policy and Programming. J. Drug Issues 2017