Penal Population

• What is it?

  • a process where political parties compete with one another to be tough on crime
  • government tries to propose laws that are popular with the public to punish offenders
  • associated with the public perception that crime is out of control
• What theory informs the policy?

  • Murray, Clark and Wilson and Kelling: Right Realism
  • Durkheim: Anomie Theory
• Application

  • tends to manifest during general elections
  • politicians put forward hard line policies that impose longer sentences for offenders
• Arguments For

  • supports Right Realism, tough on criminals and harsh punishments
  • supports Durkheim's Anomie theory, boundary maintenance
• Arguments Against

  • harsher punishments cost more (E.g. funding prison sentences cost £44,000/year/prisoner
  • Left Realism: policy doesn't solve crime in the long term or prevent recidivism
• Does it Work?

  • UK has the highest prison population, with overcrowding issues since 1994
  • half of prisoners are serving a sentence which is <6 months
  • prisoners serving sentences <12 months have a recidivism rate of 52.9%
  • serious assaults have more than doubled in 5 years
  • recidivism costs the UK £13 billion/year