Putting People in Jail Does Not Lower the Crime Rate

Putting People in Jail Does Not Lower the Crime Rate

New statistics on US crime released by the FBI reveal that crime has dropped significantly over the past few years while prison populations have exploded, putting huge strains on state budgets.

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email
Print

New statistics on US crime released by the FBI reveal that crime has dropped significantly over the past few years while prison populations have exploded, putting huge strains on state budgets. On MSNBC Live with Thomas Roberts this morning, The Nation‘s Melissa Harris-Perry says the statistics show a "precipitous drop" in the violent crime rate, but that does not mean that increased incarceration led to this drop. "Prisons don’t create a lower crime rate," concludes Harris-Perry.

You can catch Melissa on MSNBC Live every Tuesday and Thursday between 11am and noon.

—Kevin Gosztola

Hold the powerful to account by supporting The Nation

The chaos and cruelty of the Trump administration reaches new lows each week.

Trump’s catastrophic “Liberation Day” has wreaked havoc on the world economy and set up yet another constitutional crisis at home. Plainclothes officers continue to abduct university students off the streets. So-called “enemy aliens” are flown abroad to a mega prison against the orders of the courts. And Signalgate promises to be the first of many incompetence scandals that expose the brutal violence at the core of the American empire.

At a time when elite universities, powerful law firms, and influential media outlets are capitulating to Trump’s intimidation, The Nation is more determined than ever before to hold the powerful to account.

In just the last month, we’ve published reporting on how Trump outsources his mass deportation agenda to other countries, exposed the administration’s appeal to obscure laws to carry out its repressive agenda, and amplified the voices of brave student activists targeted by universities.

We also continue to tell the stories of those who fight back against Trump and Musk, whether on the streets in growing protest movements, in town halls across the country, or in critical state elections—like Wisconsin’s recent state Supreme Court race—that provide a model for resisting Trumpism and prove that Musk can’t buy our democracy.

This is the journalism that matters in 2025. But we can’t do this without you. As a reader-supported publication, we rely on the support of generous donors. Please, help make our essential independent journalism possible with a donation today.

In solidarity,

The Editors

The Nation

Ad Policy
x