What are some of the reasons that could help explain why the crime rate has dropped so significantly but the prison population has had a more modest reduction?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

There is a disconnect between the significant drop in crime rate and the more modest reduction in the imprisonment rate. There are some reasons for the cause of this disconnect. The first is that many people who are released from prison soon return after failing on parole or other forms of early release. So, a significant portion of the prison population is made up of reentries. Another reason is that criminal legislation, including guideline-based, mandatory-minimum sentencing laws, increases the chances that a convicted offender will be incarcerated and limits the availability of parole. A third reason is that the amount of time served in prison has increased due to developments such as truth-in-sentencing laws that require inmates to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences behind bars. More than 40 percent of inmates maxed out their prison terms and left without supervision in nine different states between 1990 and 2012. Finally, there is a significant association among drug use, drug arrests, and prison overcrowding. The drug epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s helped swell prison populations with people serving long sentences. Student answers will vary on other reasons they can think of why prison population could remain high.