NCJ Number
159378
Date Published
1996
Length
5 pages
Annotation
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) argues that the solution to violent crime involves incarcerating criminals, even though more prisons will need to be built in an environment of scarce fiscal resources.
Abstract
Prisons are effective in dealing with violent crime; the increase in incarceration has been accompanied by a significant slowing of the increase in reported crime and by a decrease in estimates of total crime. For example, between 1960 and 1970, the murder rate per 100,000 Americans rose by 55 percent; between 1970 and 1980, the murder rate rose by 29 percent; and between 1980 and 1990, the murder rate dropped by 8 percent. The National Crime Victimization Survey reports similar findings. Imprisonment and prison construction policies have had a demonstrable effect in individual States, including Texas and Michigan. Therefore, it is concluded that incarceration lowers violent crime rates. 1 table