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America’s incarceration rate is in decline

(www.theatlantic.com)
227 points paulpauper | 3 comments | 25 Jun 25 17:14 UTC | HN request time: 0.752s | source
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plantwallshoe ◴[26 Jun 25 04:19 UTC] No.44384149[source]▶
Is it possible that incarceration had the intended effect? Did an entire generation grow up seeing their fathers and uncles locked up and decide that there must be a better way?
replies(3): >>44384229 #>>44384236 #>>44385433 #
1. boston_clone ◴[26 Jun 25 04:38 UTC] No.44384229[source]▶
there is no research to support the notion that mass incarceration leads to a reduction in crime; full stop.
replies(1): >>44384320 #
2. wskinner ◴[26 Jun 25 05:03 UTC] No.44384320[source]▶
The scholarly debate is over how large and how lasting the effect is, not whether any evidence exists.
replies(1): >>44384854 #
3. boston_clone ◴[26 Jun 25 06:51 UTC] No.44384854[source]▶
Is it not that studies show how mass incarceration increases likelihood of children to be offenders, not make them less likely to do so?

e.g., an incarcerated parent before the age of 12 increases the chances of being in jail after 18 by 230%

I genuinely don’t recall anything to support the idea that incarceration decreases crime, in general, at all…