by Patrick Appel
Keith Humphreys is struck by the rapid decline of America’s prison admission rate:
The shape of the curve is singular. Initially the rate continues its decades-long ascent. But in 2006 it hits an invisible ceiling and begins plummeting with increasing speed. This is an unusual finding in public policy analysis. Particularly at the national level, it usually takes awhile for major policy changes to be consolidated. But in this case, we have experienced an unambiguous U-turn. Further, while the 2007 and 2008 drops in the rate of prison admission are roughly equal in size, from that point forward the drop each year exceeds that of the prior year. The drop in 2012 was about double that of 2010, four times that of 2009 and six times that of 2008.
He adds that “you rarely see national policy go so vigorously in one direction and then abruptly travel with accelerating speed in the opposite direction.”
The Dish 