The NYT Room for Debate page has a collection of six short articles under the heading above. The subhead is, "Can the use of jails be reformed to reduce the number of inmates without increasing society's risks?" The question presented was specifically on county jails, not state prisons. There is quite a stink in the Big Apple over conditions at Rikers Island.
Before clicking on the link, care to guess how many of the six answer the main question "no"? Or who wrote it? (Oops, that singular pronoun in the second question sorta gave away the first.)
Before clicking on the link, care to guess how many of the six answer the main question "no"? Or who wrote it? (Oops, that singular pronoun in the second question sorta gave away the first.)
Let's recast the question to focus on facts rather than speculation:
WERE we safer when fewer were jailed?
The answer to that question is beyond any sane doubt. Here are the figures: http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm