Politics and Local Incarceration in the United States

• In Event: Politics, Economy, and the use of Imprisonment and Prison Services

Abstract

In recent years, scholars have sought to determine how the political climate impacts the use of incarceration. Existing empirical research suggest that the political climate accounts for variation in the use of incarceration. Largely missing from these examinations, however, is the impact of political explanations on local incarceration. This study seeks to fill this gap in the knowledge by investigating how county-level party representation affects jail admission and population rates, as well as race-and ethnic- specific incarceration rates.

Authors

• Heather Ouellette, Illinois State University

• Brandon Applegate, University of South Carolina