Incarceration Theory Summary

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Allen Beck explains the reason the crime rate dropped during the 1990’s was due to legislation passed which the the extended the length of prison sentences. While this hypothesis states that longer incarceration periods prohibit past criminals from committing future crimes, it fails to explain why the rate of new criminals emerging is going down. Mr. Beck’s argument provides a partial solution for why the crime rate dropped and does not cover the full picture when concerning the new generation of criminals.

Allen Beck explains the rise in prisoners with the decrease in crime rates by stating that longer prison sentences prevent further crimes from being commited. However, there are two issues with this justification for the lowering of crime …show more content…
Beck provides for the drop in crime is the average length of an inmate was increased during the 1990’s as well as the amount of criminals being sent to prisons. While this theory has some validity concerning that studies have found that increased incarceration leads to a temporary decrease in crime rates but an extension of only 7 months does not play a big role in stopping criminals from commiting more crimes in the future. Additionally, incarceration periods fluctuated from state to state which meant that one could not assume that the amount of time a prisoner had to serve in each state would be …show more content…
He reported on the formation of more prisons in Texas had a direct correlation with the lowered crime rate. However, Spelman’s theory does not address the fact that while more and more criminals were being assigned a jail sentence, the new generation of new criminals would not have been deterred from committing crimes due to the threat of being sent to prison.

William Spelman connects the drop in crime rate in Texas with the availability of job positions created by the prosperous economy. His belief is that criminals would have less of an incentive to steal and murder if they had a job in which they could earn their own money and occupy their time contributing to society. While this hypothesis presents an explanation for the drop in crimes such as burglary and bank robberies, it does not apply to other forms of crime such as homicides and murders.

While the Texas prisons were effective at containing criminals and preventing them from committing future felonies, they did not influence the establishment of a new generation of criminals in Texas. This hypothesis is only partially correct because it only provides a resolution for why the old criminals are not committing more crimes but neglects to explain why there is a potential for more crime to occur from the younger
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