RT Article
T1 Making economically sound confinement decisions: A response to the zedlewski thesis
JF American journal of criminal justice
VO 15
IS 2
SP 106
OP 133
A1 Meyer, Peter B.
A2 Hopkins, Shawna Adkins
LA English
YR 1991
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/176420588X
AB This paper examines the economic costs and benefits of incarceration of criminals, elaborating upon and correcting flaws in Zedlewski’s 1987 claims that incarceration is a cost-minimizing crime prevention strategy. We use Bureau of Justice Statistics data to demonstrate gross errors in Zedlewski’s crude estimates. We find that the costs of incarceration are more than double the benefits in costs of crime avoided. We conclude that the cost-saving incapacitation effects of incarceration do not warrant either the current levels of imprisonment or any future increases.
K1 Crime Prevention
K1 Incarceration Rate
K1 Crime Rate
K1 Social Cost
K1 Justice System
DO 10.1007/BF02885622