"Mass Incarceration" And Crime Control Policy In The United States

The phenomenon of crime is accompanied by the emergence of human society,which has a negative impact on people's production and life.If there is a crime phenomenon,there must be a crime control policy to deal with the crime and a crime control mode to be formed.The prison is overcrowded and the prison population is still high,which shows that the country mainly relies on violent "Leviathan" to maintain social order.According to statistics,the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world.Although the population of the United States is less than 5%of the world's population,the prison population in the United States accounts for 25% of the total prison population in the world.From less than200,000 prisoners in the 1970 s,U.S.federal and state prisons soared to 1.6million in 2018,with a total of more than 2.3 million prisoners in local jails.The "mass imprisonment" lasting nearly half a century is the main reason for this phenomenon."Mass incarceration" not only means high imprisonment rate,but also brings a series of social problems,which have increasingly become the focus of American society.This article aims at clarifying the core connotation of "mass incarceration" from the criminological perspective,clarifying the development stage of "mass imprisonment",further analyzing the criminological causes of its formation,and evaluating its crime control effect and the negative social impact.On this basis,it explores the social basis and penal implications of the changesin crime control patterns behind the "mass incarceration" in the United States.According to this idea,the full text is divided into four chapters:The first chapter mainly defines the important concept of "mass incarceration".Explore the academic history source,meaning and characteristics of this concept.Combing the historical development stage of "mass incarceration" and demonstrating the relationship between the emergence and development of "mass incarceration" and the government's fight against crime.The second chapter mainly explains the causes of "mass incarceration" from the perspective of crime control mode.First of all,clarify the relationship between crime rate and crime control mode,and prove that the rise of crime rate is only the inducement.The change of crime control mode that the United States should deal with is the fundamental reason for the formation of "mass incarceration".However,the pattern of crime control in the United States has changed twice,from "medical treatment pattern" to "justice pattern" and then to "punishment pattern".The United States has adopted a series of tough crime control measures and policies,such as strictly restricting judges' discretion,reducing the application of probation and parole,implementing the "zero tolerance policy",expanding the scope of application of imprisonment and increasing the length of imprisonment.Finally contributed to the formation of "mass incarceration".The third chapter examines the crime control effect of "mass imprisonment".Through the theoretical and practical dimensions of imprisonment,it is not clear that "mass incarceration" can reduce crime.However,the influence of "mass incarceration" has gone beyond the field of crime and punishment,and its negative influence on American social politics,economy,culture and even values has gradually emerged.Finally,it explores how to improve the evaluation system of crime control effect.The fourth chapter explores the deep-seated reasons behind the change of crime control mode in the United States and provides some useful enlightenment.The change of crime control mode in the United States is reflected in the "pendulum phenomenon" at the level of penalty philosophy.The philosophy of punishment from "correction" to "deterrence" has aprofound historical background and social foundation.Finally,to discuss the formulation and change of crime control mode,we must examine the specific era and social background.The social consequences must also be included in the evaluation criteria of crime control effect.On this basis,it discusses how to shorten or even avoid the violent swing of the crime control mode,formulate the penalty policy more in line with certain social crime characteristics,and improve the level of crime control.