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| State Prison Population Drops |
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Posted by FoM on August 12, 2001 at 20:36:58 PT By Christopher Newton, Associated Press Writer Source: Associated Press 
The number of people behind bars in state prisons fell during the second half of 2000 in the first decrease since 1972, the Justice Department said Sunday. There were more prisoners in state prisons at the end of the year than at the beginning -- 1,236,476 to 1,228,455 -- and the total number of people in state and federal prisons was up 1.3 percent over 1999.However, that overall rate of growth compared to the average annual growth rate of 6 percent since 1990 and was the lowest percentage gain since 1972. Additionally, the absolute increase of inmates -- 8,021 to state prisons and 10,170 to federal prisons _ was the smallest since 1980. Criminologists said the slowing growth in overall prison populations, coupled with a decline of 6,243 in the last six months of the year in state prisons, is significant because it may signal the end of America's prison boom. "There are young adults who have never drawn a breath in the United States during a period when the prison population wasn't growing," said Franklin E. Zimring, a criminal law professor and head of a research branch at the University of California at Berkeley. "Until now, the full-time business of prisons has been the growth of the prison population. Finally, this looks like real stabilization. If it continues, it is a new era in law enforcement." The decline comes after a few years of slowing growth at state prisons. During the first six months of last year, the state prison population grew by 14,264 inmates. During all of last year, 13 states had substantial decreases in their state and federal inmate populations, including Massachusetts (down 5.6 percent), New Jersey (down 5.4 percent), New York (down 3.7 percent) and Texas (down 3.2 percent). Allen J. Beck, a chief Justice Department researcher, said some of the declines may have been caused by states changing parole rules to make revocations less likely. "In New Jersey and Ohio, they are less likely to revoke parole than in prior years. New York has also become more lenient," he said. Dan Macallair, vice president of the San Francisco-based Justice Policy Institute, said attitudes about drug use contributed to the decline. He said communities and judges are getting tired of repeatedly sending drug offenders to prison and are looking for alternatives. "Several states, especially California, are beginning to find ways to send less people to prison and are looking at treatment as a viable option," said Macallair. Other experts said the prison population should be falling as fast as the crime rate. Violent crime in the United States fell by a record 15 percent last year, the government has said. "We have a prison infrastructure in place that supports itself regardless of what drops in the crime rate we see," said Justin Hansen, a criminologist who works for New York City. "Prisons keep lowering the bar to fill every bed." They study also found that both the state and federal prison systems grew more quickly than ever between 1990 and 2000, when more than 500,000 beds and 351 state facilities were added. Racial disparities in prisons are also holding steady, the report showed. About 10 percent of all black males between 25 and 29 years old were in federal and state prisons, compared to 2.9 percent of all Hispanic males and 1.1 percent of all white males in the same age group. On the Net: Bureau of Justice Statistics: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/ Source: Associated Press Related Articles & Web Site: Justice Policy Institute New Civil Rights Movement: End The Drug War How Governments Try and Fail To Stem Drugs Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #4 posted by jAHn on August 13, 2001 at 09:55:12 PT |
| ... what's up with those 300 dollar checks? ha ha ha...what a Yuppie joke!!! that only some yuppies could sit through. oh well, YUCK! why did i think today was gonna be a little different? that 300 dollars is gonna go right to the places that suck you dry! you know it just as well as i do. THEY hate US. Back into the: Car in front of tv Dinner Cigs beer chips sports "paraphernalia" cable bill dinner table lunch ((for kids lunch money, in turn, goes to school system)) pillows, blankets, toothbrush, paste, rubber tires that POP and kill, Non-Tree-Free-Paper-Products q-tips ((cotton industry----scary, huh? [[only if you've been REALLY paying attention]])) cds and their running devices. computers? yep! some of us! dig. camera pencils ink paper clips W A S T E= G A R B A G E= NO LOVE= D E A T H so, how are you today? [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by jAHN on August 13, 2001 at 09:48:03 PT |
| ... how much TaxMoney us American Residents can receive if we DON'T have to FOOT the bill for these so-called "convicted" 1,236,476? Our Nation WOULD NOT be so embarrassing at glance from the outside. Isn't it just INEVITABLE that these people would, in turn of being released and re-submitted into society ((with a little more RIGHTs this time)), accumulate MAAAAD amounts of Money? Yep! That takes a load off us- The "non-criminal" tax-payer. I'm only 24. I've been working since i've been 15 years old...I shamefully contributed large sums of money to this "gov" and look what I get in turn. I should have gave the money to some poor guy begging for Crack money, because... HEY... At least I would have done something to the demand side of this problem. Another part that really gets me about this drug war, and i'm almost sure that it gets to the Anti's, BIG TIME... [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #2 posted by Ed Carpenter on August 13, 2001 at 07:49:09 PT:
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| If we don't quickly raise the quotas, we will end up with too many correctional officers and, heaven forbid, undercrowded jails. Maybe we should expand the war. Perhaps we should start sending recovering alcoholics to jail when they fall off the wagon, or force them into treatment. We could always lock up tobacco users if they use within 1000' of a child. How about applying the RICO statutes to politicians who misuse their position? Lets resolve allegations of police misconduct in open court, under oath? Who investigates rogue cops like that idiot in Tulia? What happens when cops lie to get search warrants? What about judges who sign bogus warrants one after the other? Yeah, I could have those jails full again in a heartbeat [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by mayan on August 12, 2001 at 23:09:04 PT |
| "The total number of people in state and federal prisons was up 1.3% over 1999." So there are still more people in prison than ever before. "Violent crime in the United States fell by a record 15% last year,the government said." This means that they are putting more people behind bars for non-violent offenses, and yet this article makes it sound like they are incarcerating less! This is bullsh*t Justice Department propaganda at it's finest! The prison-industrial complex has to fill those cells somehow to keep their ol' gravy train runnin'. The government's war on drugs is working just as they had planned. PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE PUT BEHIND BARS FOR ENGAGING IN A CONSENSUAL ACTIVITY WHICH HARMS NOBODY ELSE'S PERSON OR PROPERTY!!! [ Post Comment ] |
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