Although U.S. crime rates have dropped significantly since the mid-1990s, rates of incarceration peaked in 2008, and still remain high. The standard explanation for this pattern is that all people exposed to the criminal justice system today are treated more harshly than before. A new study using 45 years of incarceration data from North Carolina suggests an alternative explanation: this pattern is driven by the prolonged involvement in the criminal justice system by members of Generation X, who came of age during the 1980s and early 1990s.
Click here for original story, Punitive sentencing led to higher incarceration rates throughout adulthood for certain birth cohorts in North Carolina
Source: Phys.org