Prison State The Challenge of Mass Incarceration [Paperback]

This book examines the recent prison buildup and its impact on American society.This book takes a broad, critical look at the dramatic increase in incarceration in American society over the past 25 years. The authors use new evidence to challenge previously held notions about the causes and consequences of such a large prison population in American society.This book takes a broad, critical look at the dramatic increase in incarceration in American society over the past 25 years. The authors use new evidence to challenge previously held notions about the causes and consequences of such a large prison population in American society.Within the past 25 years, the prison population in America shot upward to reach a staggering 1.53 million by 2005. This book takes a broad, critical look at incarceration, the huge social experiment of American society. The authors investigate the causes and consequences of the prison buildup, often challenging previously held notions from scholarly and public discourse. By examining such themes as social discontent, safety and security within prisons, and impact on crime and on the labor market, Piehl and Useem use evidence to address the inevitable larger question, where should incarceration go next for American society, and where is it likely to go?1. The buildup to mass incarceration; 2. Causes of the prison buildup; 3. More prison, less crime?; 4. Prison buildup and disorder; 5. The buildup and inmate release; 6. Implications of the buildup for labor markets; 7. Conclusion: right-sizing prison. In Prison State, Bert Useem and Anne Morrison Piehl take on the social and penological critiques and alarms over the increase of imprisonment in the US. Through a meticulous evidence-based exploration, they seek to go beyond conventional wisdom and provide much needed empirical data on the causes and consequences of the US prison buildup.... Prison State is original and stands out in a sea of scholarly work on prison growth. - Canadian Journal lÓ)