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Abstract: 

Policy makers at all levels of government are becoming acutely aware that it is not possible to deal with offending populations with a “lock ’em up and throw away the key” perspective. It is now clear that the era of “tough on crime” policy responses is winding down, due to the huge fiscal and social costs and the marginal public safety benefits associated with mass incarceration. The authors explain that this shift away from incarceration represents a “tipping point” of sorts as it becomes clear that excessive reliance on the use of incarceration is unsustainable. Mass incarceration carries extraordinary costs; undercuts other critical policy objectives; produces a wide array of adverse social impacts; has differential impacts by race, ethnicity, and class; fails to produce public safety; and, is often counterproductive.

Keywords: reentry; mass imprisonment

Affiliations:  1: International Community Corrections Association; 2: University of Texas, San Antonio.