Does the Decline in Imprisonment Mean the US is Less Punitive?

• In Event: Lightning Talk: On the Inside: Mass Incarceration, Correctional Staff, and the Inmate Experience

Abstract

The US imprisonment rate has declined significantly since 2008-2009, but research seeking to explain these changes is limited. In particular, scholars attribute the growth of imprisonment to increasingly punitive sentencing policies and practices, especially in the 1980s and 1990s, but it is unclear if the decline in imprisonment reflects a reversal of this trend. The current study explores this question. Following Blumstein & Beck (Travis and Western, 2014), I assess whether changes in imprisonment since 2000 can be attributed to changes in the probability of prison commitment or length of stay in prison. Preliminary findings suggest the decline in imprisonment, nationally, is less than expected given the drop in crime, and that the rate of prison commitments has changed little for most crimes, casting doubt on the notion that the US has experienced a decrease in punitiveness.

Author

• Rodney Engen, University of Arkansas