Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Prison Explosion
As I prepare to re-enter the People's Republic of China it is interesting to note that the prison population in the U.S. exceeds that of the PRC police state by about a half million people (think about the per capita ratio given that China's population is greater than ours by an order of magnitude). This is according to the International Centre for Prison Studies as cited in this week's Newsweek Asian edition. We exceed the prison population of Russia by about 1.2 million people.
The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down federal sentencing guidelines may help alleviate this problem by returning more control of sentencing to judges where it belongs. The growth of our prison population stems largely from elected officials wanting to appear tough on crime by passing legislation that makes good headlines. Little is published, however, about the total cost to taxpayers or the effectiveness of prison sentences vs. other penalties (given how many people wind up in jail, it can't be that much of a deterrent and I'll bet it boosts recidivism).
It is time to look at other penalties (financial, required public service, etc.) that may as or more effective than prison for non-violent and first-time criminals and less expensive for taxpayers.
The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down federal sentencing guidelines may help alleviate this problem by returning more control of sentencing to judges where it belongs. The growth of our prison population stems largely from elected officials wanting to appear tough on crime by passing legislation that makes good headlines. Little is published, however, about the total cost to taxpayers or the effectiveness of prison sentences vs. other penalties (given how many people wind up in jail, it can't be that much of a deterrent and I'll bet it boosts recidivism).
It is time to look at other penalties (financial, required public service, etc.) that may as or more effective than prison for non-violent and first-time criminals and less expensive for taxpayers.
