

Raise the Crime Rate - joejohnson
http://nplusonemag.com/raise-the-crime-rate

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neworbit
Maybe I'm a grumpy old codger these days, but it seems like the thesis is
"increased incarceration has lowered the crime rate outside of prisons,
however inmate-on-inmate violence is appalling, therefore we should reduce
incarceration". My knee-jerk reaction is "we have improved the first order
problem of lower crime in society in general, creating the second-order
problem where those inclined towards assault and rape are confined with others
of similar mindset and continue this pattern of crime therein... shouldn't we
look to preserve the desired result and simultaneously improve law and order
within prisons?"

Agreed in advance that a phenomenal rate of incarceration is not the only
means of reducing crime (or, as the thesis would have it, of shifting it into
the inmate population) - but I'd find it hard to buy that we should turn our
back on a working solution without a better one. As the article points out,
70% of released prisoners are rearrested within three years - we are largely
not rehabilitating the prison population today, and fixing that would be the
means I'd advocate - which would seem to also have the effect of lowering
inmate-on-inmate assaults, rapes, and other violence.

I'm a bit at a loss as to why the answer would instead be a vast reduction in
prison sentences (without some other substantive change making this viable)...

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drewda
By chance, I just received my copy of n + 1 in the mail earlier this week. To
those who appreciate a thoughtful mix of intellectual pieces, I'd definitely
recommend subscribing: <http://shop.nplusonemag.com/collections/subscriptions>

It's especially useful to those Bay Area residents like myself who can use a
dose of literary snark imported from Brooklyn to counterbalance the homegrown
cheer of the McSweeney's mini-empire.

~~~
rdl
I had them in my RSS reader for a long time, but I think in the past 3-4
issues, they've really gone downhill. I admit I'm pretty far from them on the
political spectrum, but I appreciate rigorous research and data when arguing.
Part of the problem is that I confuse it with H+ magazine (which is basically
the polar opposite in view).

It might just be that I'm getting old and crotechty; my former favorite
magazine (Foreign Affairs, from CFR) is falling prey to the same thing --
[http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/136917/matthew-
kroeni...](http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/136917/matthew-kroenig/time-
to-attack-iran) was inane enough to make me cancel my subscription)

