Foreclosing on Incarceration? State Correctional Policy Enactments and the Great Recession

Abstract

The economic collapse of 2008 has forced states to reconsider their priorities in punishment and corrections. States have exhibited a wide range of responses to the fiscal crisis. Using data from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), this article reviews briefly the types of correctional policies enacted by states in 2009. This research then evaluates quantitatively the relationships between state-level economic, political, and crime control conditions in 2009 and variable rates of state-level policy enactments in that same year that reduce reliance on incarceration. Findings from a cross-sectional negative binomial model suggest that three factors were associated with state enactments in 2009 that reduce reliance on incarceration: percentage of seats held by the Republican Party in state legislatures, amount of state revenue, and percentage of federal funds used for corrections expenditures.