Stephan: President Lyndon Johnson, a Democrat, declared a national "War on Crime" on March 8, 1965, shortly after his declaration of a War on Poverty. Johnson labeled crime a crippling epidemic hindering the progress of the nation. Republicans loved the idea so much that starting with Nixon they pushed the idea of a "war on crime" claiming that more incarceration would produce less fear of crime and make society safer. And every Republican and many Democrats since that time have supported those policies. Americans love to punish people, and that has made us the world leader in imprisonment, with over two million men and women in jails or prisons, including 58,000 pregnant women. Did the "war on crime" work? Of course not. Punishing large segments of the population, particularly people of color, does nothing but harm society. Can that be true? Here is the hard evidence.
To get the primary research paper in the Justice Quarterly journal upon which this general audience article is based go to: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07418825.2022.2060284?journalCode=rjqy20
Credit: Donald Tong / Pexels
UNIVERSITY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA – There are currently two million people sitting in prisons and jails across America — making the United States the world leader when it comes to incarceration. Despite that, a new study reveals that putting more people in prison isn’t helping to make Americans feel any safer in their communities.
Researchers from Penn State University compared feelings of safety across the country, both in areas with high and low incarceration rates. They found that no matter where a person lived, Americans were no less afraid of being the victim of crime, regardless of how many people the justice system locks away.
The study explored data from 18,010 people on a state-level and 7,053 people on a county-level from the General Social Survey. Participants revealed how fearful they felt near their home as well as the county they lived in. Researchers also gathered data about each county and state’s imprisonment rates throughout the past 10 years.
Researchers conclude that there is no significant difference in fear of crime for those living in states or […]
Damien McLeod
on Tuesday, July 12, 2022 at 5:41 am
If someone would just lock up all the Re-Reich-licans, and other Nazi-esque Reich-Wingers America would be a somewhat better country.
Albus Eddie
on Tuesday, July 12, 2022 at 5:46 am
The prison industrial complex has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with control.
Rev. Dean
on Tuesday, July 12, 2022 at 11:41 am
I am afraid of all the guns which make it easier for anyone, even a teenager to become a person to be feared. We need to get rid of all the guns, then I will feel better.
If someone would just lock up all the Re-Reich-licans, and other Nazi-esque Reich-Wingers America would be a somewhat better country.
The prison industrial complex has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with control.
I am afraid of all the guns which make it easier for anyone, even a teenager to become a person to be feared. We need to get rid of all the guns, then I will feel better.