Downsizing Prisons: How to Reduce Crime and End Mass Incarceration

by Michael Jacobson

Over two million people are incarcerated in America's prisons and jails, eight times as many since 1975. Mandatory minimum sentencing, parole agencies intent on sending people back to prison, three-strike laws, for-profit prisons, and other changes in the legal system have contributed to this spectacular rise of the general prison population.

After overseeing the largest city jail system in the country, Michael Jacobson knows first-hand the inner workings of the corrections system. In Downsizing Prisons, he convincingly argues that mass incarceration will not, as many have claimed, reduce crime nor create more public safety. Simply put, throwing away the key is not the answer.

Genres: Law, Politics, Nonfiction, Sociology

292 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2005

Reviews

[Samuel L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, I need to state my inherent bias since Michael Jacobson was a professor of mine when I was in grad school at John Jay. Nonetheless, Downsizing Prisons is a great read for criminal justice professionals who have an in-depth interest and understanding of the myriad of statistical analysis provided. For most others, the stats will probably overwhelm and/or bore you to death. I can attest to the fact that Michael Jacobson knows his stuff. He worked on the ground as a parole officer and worked his way up to be a high level criminal justice administrator.

[Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

SOC222. Majorly dense but some good tidbits. California prison system is still cooked unfortunately

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, this is a great book, despite the fact that the guy who wrote it is not a great writer in the sense that, say, Ian McEwan is a great writer. But he's good in that he does seem to know what he's talking about, and he's able to bang out his case for serious policy changes in a straightforward, unwonky, and convincing way. If you're interested in prison policy -- and if you care at all about racism, classism, injustice, crime, government policy/priorities/expeditures, or similar stuff in that vein, you should be -- you ought to read this book. Though you might not wind up agreeing with everything he says, Jacobson throws a glaring searchlight across the great yard of corrections, including the dark corner of parole, illuminating a crucial policy area where, he argues, decisions of enormous cost and consequence are made every day with virtually no oversight or purpose. One of his big points is that understanding parole policy is key to making sense of mass incarceration, but very few people do pay attention to what goes on in the parole system. That's true! Unless you've been on parole, worked on parole, or spent a lot of time around people involved in these systems, chances are you don't really understand how it all works. But don't feel bad! According to Jacobson, almost nobody does, not even the big guys making all the laws and coming up with fancy plans for prison policy.... and they're missing out, because this shit is actually really fascinating.

The book isn't only about parole, either, if that doesn't get you going; Jacobson used to be the Correction Commissioner, so he knows what for about how these systems are run, and provides entry-level insight into mysterious creatures like budgets and all those unsexy, grunty, bureaucratic levels of government which we try not to think about, but which really do shape our society.

While reading this, I fell into a lovely reverie in which I dropped out of social work school and trotted across town to John Jay, where this guy teaches, to get some kind of a degree over there instead. I haven't wound up doing that just yet, but I'm pretty sure my new understanding of the ways technical violations have affected the size of California's prison population over the years will serve me well in the future.

[Adam Rabiner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a specialist's book, best read by politicians, political scientists, public policy wonks, criminologists, or other academics. It is not a fun read for the beach. Nevertheless, it makes, with abundant data to support it, a very strong case for searching for alternatives to imprisonment. A solid argument unfolds that one can build fewer prisons, incarcerate fewer people, and not feat a crime wave. Such a case is not only more humane, it is also fiscally prudent in these hard pressed times of local, state and federal deficits.

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

Colossal "college paper." Lost interest [right out of the gate] when the author states that NY city has the largest jail system. We learned in our criminal justice courses that Los Angeles holds that dubious honor.

Two million prisoners? Most in the world? How about the notion that the rest of the world just murders the prisoners. The criminal justice system here is big business for everyone. I was a Spanish translator, state and federal courts; tip of the iceberg. Everybody getting a piece of this pie.

[David Northridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great summary of the core issues that have led to the environment that exists in the United States today. The author also offers realistic and actionable suggestions for what the Government and individuals could do to address the problem.

[Cindy]

This book was interesting and insightful but ultimately I got bogged down with all the statistics and ended up not finishing it.