Study says incarceration not effective in crime reduction

The United States puts more of its population in prison than any other nation, but a National Research Council report concluded that the quadrupled rate of incarceration over the last 40 years didn't help to reduce crime – in fact, the harsher sentences have harmed communities. The spike of drug-related incarcerations was by far the highest. “This is an issue that was debated, debated, debated and debated because [high crime] was the justification. We looked at all of the data available and the top scientists across the country just found scant evidence that there was a direct relationship between incarceration and crime.” More on this important report, in a story on Voicewaves.