
United States incarceration rate - a3voices
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_incarceration_rate
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adventured
I had not previously been aware of how extreme the ratio is for men vs women
on incarceration. Appears to be 12 to 13 times higher.

(from that wiki entry)
[http://i.imgur.com/IyBNmuk.png](http://i.imgur.com/IyBNmuk.png)

Is this because men are much more likely to use + sell drugs, much more likely
to be violent, or are targeted more heavily?

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a3voices
I think it's because male psychology leads men to being larger risk takers.

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spodek
> _I think it 's because male psychology leads men to being larger risk
> takers._

Without citing a source, you might as well say black psychology leads blacks
to being larger risk takers. Otherwise you're just describing your stereotype.

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Someone
I would think it to be generally known, but apparently, it isn't, but many
scientists think men are higher risk takers than women. If you google _" men
higher risk takers evolution"_, you will find, for example:

[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/evolution/9005552/Men-
twi...](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/evolution/9005552/Men-twice-as-
likely-to-take-risks.html) _" They said the gap between men and women when it
came to risk-taking was 'unexpected in its magnitude.'"_

[http://www-personal.umich.edu/~kruger/risk.html](http://www-
personal.umich.edu/~kruger/risk.html): _" More frequent risk taking among
young men than women has been explained as a sexually selected trait, perhaps
advertising male quality."_

[http://www.epjournal.net/wp-
content/uploads/ep062942.pdf](http://www.epjournal.net/wp-
content/uploads/ep062942.pdf): _" Men are also more likely than females to
cross busy roads when it is risky to do so."_

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spodek
Given Hacker News's passion for North Korea, we should note Wikipedia, citing
"Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (2012) The Hidden Gulag, 2nd ed.",
lists a rate for North Korea (6-8 per 1,000) about the same as the United
States (7 per 1,000).

This page --
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_incarcera...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_incarceration_rate)
\-- lists several countries with comparable rates not fully treated in the
page in the original link.

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bostonpete
I think a more accurate estimate for North Korea would be 999 per 1000. I'd
rather live in a US prison...

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zach
Fortunately, the United States appears to be at a two-decade low in new prison
admissions:

[http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/01/chart-lead-
vio...](http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/01/chart-lead-violent-
crime-imprisonment)

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ihsw
I can't help but think having growth rates that high over a thirty year period
would be _awesome_ for a business.

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anovikov
This isn't such a big problem as it may seem because unlike other countries,
average prison terms in USA are extremely lengtly, and a lot of people with
50+ years terms, or even multiple life sentences die in prisons. So while a
lot of people are in jail, not so many go there every year as in many
countries, and even fewer come out, and many of those who do come out too old
to be of a big problem.

In many other countries with much lower incarceration rates, the rate of
people at large with prison history is much higher, which makes societies
criminalized even down to the national character (see 'why Russians don't
smile' \- spoiler - smile is a sign of submission in prison).

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buckbova
How many of those are incarcerated for "digital" crimes?

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a3voices
That's a good question. My prediction is that this will exponentially increase
though as the government finds new things to criminalize, and develops more
effective and cheaper tools to hunt criminals.

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aeonsky
It seems my bookmark somehow changed to CNN.com by itself.

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smackfu
A wikipedia page? Really?

Is TIL next?

