Prison Works

I cannot agree more with this article by Alasdair Palmer writing in the UK Telegraph. It discusses the relationship between crime statistics and prison populations.

"Prison works" may be the only example in history of a memorable political slogan which has the merit of being true. Over the last decade, America has been building prisons on an unprecedented scale. The US courts now imprison more than twice as many of those convicted of crime than it did 10 years ago. The result is that America has experienced a dramatic fall in the proportion of its citizens who fall victim to crime. In 1994, out of every 1,000 Americans aged 12 or older, 52 were victims of crime. Last year, that figure had been cut in half: just 25 out of every 1,000 Americans were victims.

The points Mr. Palmer makes are clear and well reasoned, providing a strong argument for building as many prisons as necessary. Read the whole article.

Thanks to Conservative Commentary.