Throw Away the Key or Throw Away the Jail? The Effect of Punishment on Recidivism and Social Cost
Miguel F. P. de Figueiredo. We jail too many people and it costs too much. Incarceration is not only expensive, it also is prone to “hardening” and negative peer learning effects that may increase recidivism. With local, state, and federal budgets at a breaking point, politicians and regulators are increasingly considering alternative approaches to preventing crime. Yet, they face a problem. Studies show that incapacitation is a successful way of reducing crime, yet most scholars and policymakers think that the only way to incapacitate is to incarcerate. This study demonstrates that this assumption is problematic, arguing that we should understand incapacitation along a continuum, with incarceration at one end. This understanding is important because it allows policy makers to think about new ways to avoid the significant social and fiscal…