Crime Ain’t The Only Thing It’s Tough On

Interesting post from another Hip Hop Republican blog..This is a reflection on recent incarceration rates in Philadelphia.

http://illtelligent.com/stereo/page/3/

~Still thinking about the incarceration issue, a new study has Philly with the highest rate of incarceration in jails in the country.

Philadelphia has the highest rate of incarceration in jails in the country, according to a new study from the Justice Policy Institute.

In Philadelphia county, 602 people were in jail for every 100,000 in 2006, according to “Jailing Communities: The Impact of Jail Expansion and Effective Public Safety,” a study by the institute, a Washington, D.C., criminal-justice think tank. That’s up from 369 per 100,000 in 1996, the study says.

Two Tennessee counties followed Philadelphia: Davidson (includes Nashville), with 596 per 100,000, and Shelby (includes Memphis), with 594.

Rising jail populations have resulted in huge bills for local municipalities across the country.

More than $19 billion was spent on jails nationally in 2004.

“I do think that since the 1970s we’ve definitely had an increased desire to punish,” said study co-author Amanda Petteruti.

The study looks specifically at the number detained in jails, locally run facilities that traditionally hold people with short sentences or people awaiting trial who were either denied bail or could not post it. Prisons are typically reserved for longer sentences.

Thinkin’ back a couple days, what I think this highlights is the need for some type of alternative sentencing options for nonviolent offenders. Especially in the case of the less-potent drugs like marijuana. While the argument for keeping weed illegal while alcohol is legal is specious to me, the law is the law. But that don’t mean we should be wasting good money going after jokers who wanna puff a little herb. The only problem is, te way we’ve been goin politically for the last couple decades is always “tough on crime.” But now, being tough on crime is startin to be tough on our wallets.