Bert Useem is a sociologist at Purdue University Anne Morrison Piehl is an economist at Rutgers University
Summary
Within the past 25 years, the prison population in America shot upward to reach a staggering 1.53 million by 2005. This book takes a broad, critical look at incarceration, the huge social experiment of American society. The authors investigate the causes and consequences of the prison buildup, often challenging previously held notions from scholarly and public discourse. By examining such themes as social discontent, safety and security within prisons, and impact on crime and on the labor market, Piehl and Useem use evidence to address the inevitable larger question, where should incarceration go next for American society, and where is it likely to go?
Table of Contents
1. The buildup to mass incarceration
2. Causes of the prison buildup
3. More prison, less crime?
4. Prison buildup and disorder
5. The buildup and inmate release
6. Implications of the buildup for labor markets
7. Conclusion: right-sizing prison.
