The hidden scandal of US criminal justice? Rural incarceration has boomed
Since the 2016 election, many political observers have taken a greater interest in the social and economic crisis afflicting rural America.
As people who grew up in and then migrated out of small towns, we’ve noticed a conversation that goes something
As people who grew up in and then migrated out of small towns, we’ve noticed a conversation that goes something
like this: rural America is a “land of self-defeat”, characterized by deepening poverty and despair, worsening infrastructure and public health, and collapsing industry. These depictions, however, miss an important part of this story: the rising criminalization and
incarceration of people in rural communities.
In 2017, our colleagues at the Vera Institute of Justice issued a report on an underappreciated phenomenon: at the same time that economic change and policy reforms in America’s biggest cities have resulted in fewer people in
In 2017, our colleagues at the Vera Institute of Justice issued a report on an underappreciated phenomenon: at the same time that economic change and policy reforms in America’s biggest cities have resulted in fewer people in
jails and prisons, small cities and rural counties are incarcerating more and more people. This week, we’ve released new research on this changing geography of incarceration.
Jails both produce and respond to the litany of horrors recited weekly in media coverage of declining small-town America – overdoses, violence, suicide, joblessness. Research consistently shows that jail impoverishes people
and communities; even short jail stays can shred social stability, causing people to lose their homes and jobs Research also shows that economic decline and increased jail incarceration each lead to higher rates of drug
overdose deaths, playing an even bigger role in the overdose crisis than the prescription rate of opioids. The number of people in jail nationwide has increased over the past four years – rebounding after a brief dip – and it
is rural counties that have been the primary driver of that increase, even as major cities continue to lock up fewer people. According to our data, jail incarceration in rural counties has risen a staggering 27% since 2013, while urban incarceration has declined 18%.
Behind the abstract number of people in jail on a given day, there are millions of human beings who cycle in and out of jail each year, racking up unpayable fines, losing their jobs, their children, their health and even their lives.
The “first responders” to the incarceration crisis have been sheriffs and construction firms, who usually offer bigger jails as the solution. The result? A quiet jail boom across the country.
As more people are locked up in rural areas and small cities, often for crimes of desperation and poverty, counties are investing more money in incarceration rather than social well being.
