Mass incarceration is a term used by historians and sociologists to describe the substantial increase in the number of incarcerated people in United States’ prisons over the past forty years. The US's prison population dwarfs the prison populations of every other developed country in the world, including countries thought to be repressive like China and Russia Michelle Alexander describes Mass Incarceration as "the criminal justice system but also to the larger web of laws, rules, policies, and customs that control those labeled criminals both in and out of prison." The 13th amendment rendered slavery illegal with the exception of prisoners. After slavery, many laws were passed in order to target the black populations in America, such as the Jim Crow laws. This led to mass incarceration. For example, a grant was filed in 1995 that offered a monetary reward to prisons that increase their prison population. Gilda Graff theorizes that this has become the case because the people with the privilege and power to stop it are ashamed of slavery. Whether they are ashamed of profiting from slavery or coming from slaves, the shame obfuscates the problem.
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Though the prison population of United States dwarfs that of other countries there has been studies that show that some European countries following the steps of the United States like Portugal and Hungary. Like the United States these countries have followed the same trend with incarcerating large percentages of their minorities and communities of color. From the African American communities in the United States, the Aboriginal in Australia or the Romany in Europe the communities of color are the ones suffering from these high incarceration rates.
According to historians, social scientists, and scholars, mass incarceration began in the 1960s and 1970s with a rise in “tough-on-crime” approaches to criminal justice and with deliberate policy choices that impose intentionally punitive sentences. This approach has increased both the numbers of people entering the criminal justice system and how long they remain under correctional control. Activists and academics against mass incarceration have argued for ending the "War on Drugs", eliminating racial disparities in criminal justice, ending the privatization of prisons, and advocating for alternatives to incarceration." Litigation that was originally passed to ease the burden of overcrowded prisons was warped by the system of Mass Incarceration. Costello vs. Wainwright attempted a solution to overcrowded prisons by allowing the state to build more prisons. With the changing political climate and "Law and Order" politicians, this litigation became precedent to continually build prisons and exacerbate the problem of mass incarceration.
Much of the justice system has been criticized for its approach to incarceration, as the amount of people incarcerated for non-violent offenses is large. For example, in 2016 out of the 2.4 million people incarcerated 15,000 of them were minors, 12,000 of which were jailed for offenses most Americans would not even consider a crime they are behind bars because of technical violations. Technical violations constitute not being able to meet probation, or parole requirements. 3,000 minors are behind bars for status offenses", offenses that for adults would not even be considered crimes such as truancy, running away, and incorrigibility. Some critics say Mass Incarceration is a way to further stratify the country along racial lines. The way in which being a felon alters one's life qualifies as a way they become a stratified class of people. Disadvantaged social groups are more likely to go to prison, and the prison population in a way reflects their lack of privilege. It stratifies people by incapacitating them in prison, and making them unable to labor and contribute to society through their work. Eroding their ability to work and properly socialize enforces their position and stigmatization in society. Many of the incarcerated are under educated, and while are typically employed at the time of their arrest, come out of prison with a whole new barrier towards gainful employment. Critics also argue that some low income neighborhoods have about 15% of young men cycling back and forth through prison. This large amount of men coming and going destabilizes these neighborhoods. Coupled with housing restrictions, this actually serves to exacerbate crime in these areas. Michelle Alexander states that many felons are not in prison, but are under parole or probation and are unable to vote, get public housing or food stamps, and cannot obtain certain licenses for a variety of jobs.
Statistics
Between 1970 and 2005 the number of inmates has risen 700%. The United States is home to 5% of the global population, and in 2014 held 25% of the global prison population. That number comes to 2.4 million people, the incarcerated predominately being Black, Latino, and/or living in poverty. The United States in 2016 had 17% Latino, 13% African American population. The two groups make up 30% of the population but make up 60% of the United States prison population.
School to Prison Pipeline
Since the early 1970s the national suspension rate has doubled from 3.7 percent in 1973 to 7.4 percent in 2010. The school to prison pipeline a.k.a. schoolhouse to jailhouse track is a phenomenon where as early as the 1980s schools began enforcing Zero Tolerance policies which led to exponential increase in juvenile prison populations. The Code of Maryland Regulations study found that black students were suspended out of school at more than double the rate of white students. This trend can be seen throughout numerous studies of this type of material and particularly in the south. Between 1985 and 1989, increases in minority youth over representation were quite pronounced in delinquency referrals to juvenile court, petitioned cases, adjudicated delinquency cases, and delinquency cases placed outside the home. During this time period, the proportion of African American and Hispanic youth detained increased by 9 percent and 4 percent, respectively, while the proportion of White youth declined by 13 percent. Documentation of this phenomenon can be seen as early as 1975 with the book School Suspensions: Are they helping children?