Research shows prisons less effective in reducing crime
Although crime is up in many American cities, lawmakers should think twice before raising penalties and extending prison sentences, advises a study released in January by the Vera Institute of Justice, a 45-year-old nonprofit organization that works on safety and justice issues. "Reconsidering Incarceration: New Directions for Reducing Crime" argues that putting more people in prison may not be the most effective solution.
"Thirty years ago, prevailing wisdom was that sending people to prison was the best and only response to rising crime," says Don Stemen, director of research at Vera. "But crime is a complex phenomenon, influenced by many factors. Incarceration is just one potential influence, and research shows that increasing incarceration isn't the best or only way to reduce crime."
Instead, the report suggests that policymakers consider investing in areas such as policing or education, which show equal or better correlation with lower rates of crime.
"This report could not have come at a better time," says Vera's Michael Jacobson. "With crime rates going up in many parts of the country, calls for harsher penalties and more prisons are inevitable. Governors, legislators, and the public need to know that more prison doesn't equal more public safety. You can effectively provide for public safety without overinvesting in prisons."
Highlights of the report include:
• Over the past 35 years a 10 percent higher incarceration rate was associated with a two to four percent lower crime rate, according to the most reliable research.
• Ever greater rates of incarceration have been subject to diminishing returns in effectiveness. In some neighborhoods with already high rates of incarceration, additional increases have correlated with even more crime than before.
• Government investment in things such as more police, reducing unemployment or raising education levels may be more cost effective in reducing crime. One national study found, for example, that a 10 percent increase in wages corresponded with a 12 percent drop in property crime and a 25 percent drop in violent crime.
A copy of the report may be downloaded from Vera's web site at http://www.vera.org/reconsideringincarceration.