Most explanations of the unprecedented increase in American incarceration rates are inadequate. Crime rate increases, more punitive public attitudes, postmodernist angst, and cynical politics are all only part of the explanation. Those things characterize all Western countries; in some of these countries, imprisonment rates have long been stable or declining, and, where they are rising, absolute levels and rates of increase are dwarfed by those in America. The scale of the phenomenon is distinctly American. It arises partly from American moralism and partly from structural characteristics of American government that provide little insulation from emotions generated by moral panics and longterm cycles of tolerance and intolerance.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Applebome, Peter
. 1996. Dixie Rising: How the South Is Shaping American Values, Politics and Culture. New York: Times Books.
2.
Beckett, Katherine
. 1997. Making Crime Pay: Law and Order in Contemporary American Politics. New York: Oxford University Press.
3.
Blumstein, Alfred
and Jacqueline Cohen. 1973. “A Theory of Stability of Punishment.”Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology64:198-201.
4.
Boswell, John
. 1980. Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
5.
Bureau of Justice Statistics
. 1998. State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1994. Washington, DC: Author.
6.
Bureau of Justice Statistics
. 1999. Prisoners and Jail Inmates at Mid-Year 1998. Washington, DC: Author.
7.
Caplow, Theodore
and Jonathan Simon. 1999. “Understanding Prison Policy and Population Trends.” In Prisons, edited by M. Tonry and J. Petersilia, vol. 26, Crime and Justice: A Review of Research, edited by M. Tonry. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
8.
Doob, Anthony
and Voula Marinos. 1995. “Reconceptualizing Punishment: Understanding the Limitations on the Use of Intermediate Punishments.”University of Chicago Law School Roundtable2:413-433.
9.
Edsall, Thomas
and Mary Edsall. 1991. Chain Reaction: The Impact of Race, Rights, and Taxes on American Politics. New York: Norton.
10.
Friedman, Lawrence
. 1993. Crime and Punishment in American History. New York: Basic Books.
11.
Garland, David
. 1990. Punishment and Society. Oxford: Clarendon.
12.
Garland, David
. Forthcoming. “The Culture of High Crime Societies: The Social Precondition of the New Politics of Crime Control.”British Journal of Criminology.
13.
Gilmore, Grant
. 1974. The Death of Contract. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.
14.
Gurr, Ted Robert
. 1989. “Historical Trends in Violent Crime: England, Western Europe, and the United States.” Pp. 21-54 in Violence in America, vol. 1, The History of Crime, edited by T. R. Gurr. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
15.
Hagan, John
and Ronit Dinovitzer. 1999. “Collateral Consequences of Imprisonment for Children, Communities, and Prisoners.” In Prisons, edited by M. Tonry and J. Petersilia, vol. 26, Crime and Justice: A Review of Research, edited by M. Tonry. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
16.
Home Office
. 1998. Criminal Statistics for England and Wales. London: H.M. Stationery Office.
17.
Hough, Mike
and Julian Roberts. 1997. Attitudes to Punishment: Findings from the British Crime Survey. Home Office Research Study No. 179. London: Home Office.
18.
Kuhn, André
. 1997. “Prison Populations in Western Europe.” Pp. 124-133 in Sentencing Reform in Overcrowded Times—A Comparative Perspective, edited by M. Tonry and K. Hatlestad. New York: Oxford University Press.
19.
Kuhn, André
. 1998. “Sanctions and Their Severity.” Pp. 115-143 in Crime and Criminal Justice Systems in Europe and North America 1990-1994, edited by K. Kangasunta, M. Joutsen, and N. Ollus. Helsinki, Finland: European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control (HEUNI).
20.
Kurki, Leena
. 1999. “United States Crime Rates Keep Falling.”Overcrowded Times10(1):1, 6-10.
21.
Kurki, Leena
. Forthcoming. “International Standards and Limits on Sentencing and Punishment.” In Punishment and Penal Systems in Western Countries, edited by M. Tonry and R. Frase. New York: Oxford University Press.
22.
Kyvsgaard, Britta
. 1998. “Penal Sanctions and the Use of Imprisonment in Denmark.”Overcrowded Times9(6):1, 9-10.
23.
Lane, Roger
. 1989. “On the Social Meaning of Homicide Trends in America.” Pp. 55-79 in Violence in America, vol. 1, The History of Crime, edited by T. R. Gurr. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
24.
Lane, Roger
. 1992. “Urban Police and Crime in Nineteenth-Century America.” Pp. 1-50 in Modern Policing, edited by M. Tonry and N. Morris, vol. 15, Crime and Justice: A Review of Research, edited by M. Tonry. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
25.
Lane, Roger
. 1999. “Murder in America: A Historian's Perspective.” Pp. 191-224 in Crime and Justice: A Review of Research, vol. 25, edited by M. Tonry. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
26.
Lappi-Seppälä, Tapio
. Forthcoming. “Sentencing and Punishment in Finland: The Decline of the Repressive Ideal.” In Punishment and Penal Systems in Western Countries, edited by M. Tonry and R. Frase. New York: Oxford University Press.
27.
Larsson, Paul
. 1999. “Norway Prison Use Up Slightly, Community Penalties Lots.”Overcrowded Times10(1):1, 11-13.
28.
Mayhew, Pat
and Jan van Dijk. 1997. Criminal Victimisation in Eleven Industrialized Countries: Key Findings from the 1996 International Crime Victims Survey. The Hague: Dutch Ministry of Justice.
29.
Musto, David
. 1987. The American Disease: Origins of Narcotic Control. Rev. ed.New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
30.
Pelikan, Jaroslav
. 1985. Jesus Through the Centuries: His Place in the History of Culture. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
31.
Roberts, Julian V.
1992. “Public Opinion, Crime, and Criminal Justice.” Pp. 99-180 in Crime and Justice: A Review of Research, vol. 16, edited by M. Tonry. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
32.
Roberts, Julian V.
and Loretta Stalans. 1997. Public Opinion, Crime, and Criminal Justice. Boulder, CO: Westview.
33.
Tak, Peter
. Forthcoming. “Sentencing and Punishment in the Netherlands.” Pp. in Punishment and Penal Systems in Western Countries, edited by M. Tonry and R. Frase. New York: Oxford University Press.
34.
Tonry, Michael
. 1996. Sentencing Matters. New York: Oxford University Press.
35.
Tonry, Michael
and Kathleen Hatlestad, eds. 1997. Sentencing Reform in Overcrowded Times—A Comparative Perspective. New York: Oxford University Press.
36.
Tyler, Tom
and Robert Boeckmann. 1997. “Three Strikes and You're Out, But Why?”Law and Society Review31:237-265.
37.
Walker, Samuel
. 1998. Popular Justice: A History of American Criminal Justice. Rev. ed.New York: Oxford University Press.
38.
Weigend, Thomas
. Forthcoming. “Sentencing Policy in Germany.” In Punishment and Penal Systems in Western Countries, edited by M. Tonry and R. Frase. New York: Oxford University Press.
39.
Wilson, James Q.
and Richard Herrnstein. 1985. Crime and Human Nature. New York: Simon & Schuster.
40.
Zimring, Franklin E.
and Gordon Hawkins. 1991. The Scale of Imprisonment. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
41.
Zimring, Franklin E.
and Gordon Hawkins. 1997. Crime Is Not the Problem: Lethal Violence in America. New York: Oxford University Press.
