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Criminology Assignment: Incarceration Rates and Crime Rates

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Added on  2020-05-28

Criminology Assignment: Incarceration Rates and Crime Rates

   Added on 2020-05-28

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Running head: INCARCERATION RATES AND CRIME RATESIncarceration Rates and Crime RatesName of the StudentName of the UniversityAuthor Note
Criminology Assignment: Incarceration Rates and Crime Rates_1
1INCARCERATION RATES AND CRIME RATESThe criminal justice system of America is responsible for safeguarding the public fromcrime and administering justice to victims. Two distinct ways lay foundation for the criminaljustice system where one emphasizes on rehabilitation and the other emphasizes on punishmentas a means to deter criminal behavior. According to Enns (2014), some people argue thatrehabilitation of offenders should be doe appropriately to prepare them lead a crime-free life andsucceeds in re-entering the community. While Simon (2014) states that, this objective can beachieved only through severe punishment that would serve as a significant deterrent for both theoffender and the community. The US criminal justice system has adopted incarceration, as thesolution to criminal behavior but these policies tends to have minimum impact on reducingcrime. The incarceration rate in the US is greater than any other country as the US incarceratesabout 750 inmates per 100,000 residents whereas Russia incarcerates 600 per 100000 and Cubaincarcerates about 593 and 531 respectively. The incarceration rate in US today is oftendescribed as ‘mass incarceration’ that results due to policy choices and not due to increasedcrime rates. During the ‘80s and 90s’, laws were enacted which permitted more people to beimprisoned and with mandatory minimum sentencing laws the offenders were required to staylonger in the prisons. As a result of these policies, there are more than 2.3 million people inorisons in the US as compared to the 200000 prisoners in 1972. Sundt et al., (2015) believes that the overuse of mass incarceration is evident from the‘war of drugs’ that is carried out in the country where arrests and incarceration were used as thetools of law enforcement for even minor drug offences. The present drug laws are one significantreason for mass incarceration, making it the highest than any other country in the world. Since1990, there has been a decline in the crime rate in the US and the Federal and State government
Criminology Assignment: Incarceration Rates and Crime Rates_2

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