Statistical Relationships Among Measures of Crime, Corrections, Economic Conditions, and Race in the United States

• NCJ Number: 81394
• Author(s): J Boudouris
• Date Published: 1981
• Length: 22 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This paper summarizes statistical corrections among measures of crime, corrections, economic conditions, and race, based on data for the 50 States from the period 1973 to 1981, and then discusses the implications of these findings for correctional programs.

Abstract

FBI crime rates between 1973 and 1980 remained relatively stable, suggesting that prevention and correctional measures had little impact. Although incarceration rates are influenced by policy decisions and variables in the criminal justice system, they remained about as stable as crime rates. Correlations between crime and incarceration rates indicated that States' policies regarding incarceration may deter property crimes but have little effect on violent crimes. Other correlations relating to time served and parole suggest that the length of time a person is incarcerated may not affect future criminal behavior as much as the process of incarceration itself. Thus, shorter periods of incarceration may be more cost effective as well as more rehabilitative. The study also found that the amount of discretion available to parole agents was influenced by bureaucratic contingencies and prison capacity rather than a parolee's behavior or public safety considerations and that parole use was subject to racist tendencies. Positive correlations between the percent of a State's population that is black and the rates of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) cases per population, along with correlations between AFDC caseloads and violent crime, suggest that crimogenic conditions which characterize these families should be examined. Because of positive correlations among unemployment, FBI crime rates, and State expenditures on corrections, legislatures should focus on reducing unemployment rather than incarcerating more offenders. Analysis of data on prison vocational education programs showed that States with more crime took a less rehabilitative approach toward incarcerated offenders, resulting in a vicious cycle of more crime and even less rehabilitation. Footnotes are included.