Downsizing Prisons: How to Reduce Crime and End Mass Incarceration

by Michael Jacobson

Overview

A convincing argument that mass incarceration neither reduces crime nor ensures safety

Over two million people are incarcerated in America’s prisons and jails, eight times as many since 1975. Mandatory minimum sentencing, parole agencies intent on sending people back to prison, three-strike laws, for-profit prisons, and other changes in the legal system have contributed to this spectacular rise of the general prison population.

After overseeing the largest city jail system in the country, Michael Jacobson knows first-hand the inner workings of the corrections system. In Downsizing Prisons, he convincingly argues that mass incarceration will not, as many have claimed, reduce crime nor create more public safety. Simply put, throwing away the key is not the answer.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814743249
Publisher:	New York University Press
Publication date:	02/01/2005
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	292
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Michael Jacobson has over twenty years of government service. He was formerly the commissioner of the New York City Departments of Correction and Probation and a deputy budget director for the City of New York, serving in the Koch, Dinkins, and Giuliani administrations. He is currently the Executive Director of the Vera Institute of Justice.

Table of Contents

ContentsAcknowledgmentsPreface Introduction: Bloated Prisons 1 Mass Incarceration 2 Unintended Consequences 3 ANew Reality for Prison Systems 4 Why Prison Growth Does Not Substantially Reduce Crime 5 Why Parole and Probation Policies Need to Change 6 Success Stories and Works in Progress7 Downsizing Prisons Notes Bibliography IndexAbout the Author 

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“There is a better path, and this book shows us how to find that new direction.”
-Los Angeles Times

,

“Downsizing Prisons offers an innovative approach to reducing the strain on America’s overcrowded prisons: namely, by fixing the dysfunctional parole systems in states around the country. . . . Jacobson’s book comes at exactly the right time.”
-Mother Jones

,

“Policy wonks, journalists, elected officials and students of criminal justice will find the arguments and data in this book worth grappling with.”
-New York Newsday

,

“Should be read by the public and used by policy makers. Essential.”
-Choice

,

“Downsizing Prisons explains not only why current incarceration policy is not working, but what we can do about it. Jacobson’s blueprint provides an overview of a pragmatic strategy that can reduce the size of our bloated prison system while improving prospects for public safety.”
-Marc Mauer,author of Race to Incarcerate

Editorial Reviews

The United States locks up more of its population than any other country in the world. There are over two million people incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails-eight times the rate in 1975. This increase can be greatly attributed to sentences for nonviolent drug and property offenses, which skyrocketed during the 1990s. Jacobson (criminology, John Jay Coll.) argues for changes in parole and probation agency operations, reductions in punitive sentencing, and the creation of drug treatment programs in lieu of prison sentences for low-level drug offenders. The premise here is to show how "the tremendous growth of incarceration over the past few decades relates directly to this country's present difficulties in adequately funding its education and healthcare systems." Jacobson does an adequate job defending his belief that incarceration is not the only sentencing alternative. Recommended for specialized collections in criminal justice.-Tim Delaney, SUNY at Oswego Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

"Downsizing Prisons explains not only why current incarceration policy is not working, but what we can do about it. Jacobsons blueprint provides an overview of a pragmatic strategy that can reduce the size of our bloated prison system while improving prospects for public safety.-"

Marc Mauer

"Policy wonks, journalists, elected officials and students of criminal justice will find the arguments and data in this book worth grappling with"

New York Newsday

"Should be read by the public and used by policy makers. Essential."

Choice

"There is a better path, and this book shows us how to find that new direction."

|Los Angeles Times

"Downsizing Prisons is an excellent, well-documented, and well-referenced case study. Jacobson is a seasoned policy practitioner who understands the fit of partisan, policy, and system politics. He has hands-on experience, understands what works, and knows first-hand the dysfunctional impacts of higher incarceration rates. He argues for more rational and effective cost-control approaches to crime control"

Public Administration Review

"Downsizing Prisons offers an innovative approach to reducing the strain on Americas overcrowded prisons: namely, by fixing the dysfunctional parole systems in states around the country. . . . Jacobsons book comes at exactly the right time."

Mother Jones

There is a better path, and this book shows us how to find that new direction.”
-Los Angeles Times

“Downsizing Prisons explains not only why current incarceration policy is not working, but what we can do about it. Jacobson’s blueprint provides an overview of a pragmatic strategy that can reduce the size of our bloated prison system while improving prospects for public safety.”

-Marc Mauer,author of Race to Incarcerate

From the Publisher

"There is a better path, and this book shows us how to find that new direction."

Los Angeles Times