Popular support for the prison build-up

Abstract

A substantial build-up in prison capacity and the use of incarceration in the USA began in the mid-1970s and continued through to the end of the century. Researchers generally agree that a broad-based social movement supported the build-up, but disagree over the core features of the movement. Some researchers argue that it was the by-product of social discontents associated with rapid social change. Other researchers contend that the movement was an instance of purposeful people seeking solutions to a problem. Across several data sets, little evidence is found to support the position that advocates of the prison build-up had suffered from recent social changes. Instead, the evidence suggests that people supported the build-up for instrumental reasons.