I have previously written and blogged on the criminalization of the American society. Now a study in the journal Pediatrics this week finds that, by age 23, almost a third of Americans have been arrested for a crime.
The researchers found that 30.2 percent of the 23-year-olds looked at by the study had been arrested for an offense other than a minor traffic violation. The prior study in 1965 showed a 22 percent rate for prior arrests — a significant increase that, in my view, seems to confirm the impact on the criminalization of our society.
We currently have the world’s highest rate of incarceration, currently 738 per 100,000. We seem to be moving toward a correctional economy where a significant part of our population is in the business of charging, convicting, and imprisoning another significant part of our population. The question is how this little discussed trend will change our society and our citizens.
Source: NY Times
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The Gov is handing out felony charges like Santa handing Candy Canes at Xmas.
A interesting side of this topic to me is to have the past/current numbers placed on a chart so we can all see where the trend will soon be.
I suspect at the current growth rate of new felony laws that over 66% of the population will be convicted felons within a decade or so.
Here’s a different take on part of this subject matter.
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-new-hampshire-man-burns-self-courthouse-protest
http://www.usatoday.com/USCP/PNI/NEWS/2011-12-13-PNI1213met-arpaio-resignPNIBrd_ST_U.htm It’s time…