More Americans than ever are in prison. We incarcerate a higher percentage of the population than any other country. It's too bad we have such a high rate of criminality--but given that we do, I'm glad we have been putting more people behind bars over the last generation.
It isn't an ideal solution. It may be that we need to find other ways to deal with nonviolent offenders. We should surely address the appalling problem of prison rape. Hiring more police officers and putting them on the street might help, too.
But increased rates of imprisonment have helped to bring about falling rates of crime. Given the alternative of the way we treated crime in the 1960s and 1970s, when I see a headline about a record incarceration rate, I'm glad. Aren't you?
