In the last two decades, incarceration rates in the U.S. have experienced significant growth when compared to most western democracies such as the UK, Germany, and Canada that have experienced a slight increase and, in other cases, a decline in incarceration rates. Considering that the U.S. has less than 5% of the world population, having approximately a quarter of the world’s prisoners has made her incarceration rate a matter of concern and debate (Weiss et al., p.269). Although all western countries experience different types of crimes and have operational criminal justice systems, U.S.’s incarcerations stand out for incarcerating its citizens 5 to 10 times more than other industrialized economies. However, there are limited studies that have assessed and explained the unprecedented ever-increasing incarceration rates in the U.S. The current research is essential in answering why the United States mass incarcerates more people than the United Kingdom, Germany, and Canada. Because understanding higher incarceration rates in the U.S. will help policymakers reflect on U.S.’s approach to crime and punishment and develop resolutions to help the country reduce these rates. 

What other researchers have found

Kann’s article for CNN indicated that the U.S. continues to experience increased incarceration rates due to a lack of prison reform solutions. According to the author, the federal government is mandated to focus on prison reforms; however, the prison policy initiative has seen most incarcerated people held in local and state government facilities. Kann also attributed the U.S.’s ever-increasing incarceration rates to a lack of money for people to secure their freedom. The author mentioned that the bail bond business had put the poor at a huge disadvantage before the criminal justice system. Mauer & king attributed high incarceration rates in the U.S. to uneven justice that tends to hit disadvantaged groups based on race and ethnicity harder. The author found out that the national incarceration rate for the white people was 412/100000 residents, for Hispanic 742/100000 residents and African american2290/100000 residents (p.4).

Travis et al. submitted that despite the U.S. having great institutional complexity, prisons and jails form a large base for most penal confinements. The authors found penal confinement as the root for U.S.’s criminal justice system transformation to striking incarceration rates that historically and internationally are at unprecedented levels (p.37). Although Travis et al. attributed increased incarceration rates in the U.S. with drug crimes, Kann argued that the war on drugs had not been the sole blame for mass incarceration. According to Kann, only federal prisons have almost half of their inmates locked due to drug charges, and it is different for state prisons and local jails. Travis et al. established that the jail population in the U.S. was approximately one-half the combination of state and federal prison population. They attributed this to short sentences and pretrial detentions (p. 40). The high rates of incarceration in the U.S. have been linked with policies and practices that are substantially influenced by policymaker’s decisions to increase the use and severity of prison sentences due to ideological policy choices (Travis et al., p70).

Hypothesis

If the U.S. continues to incarcerate more people at a high rate, the U.S. is likely to continue having a higher incarceration rate than the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada. This is a valid hypothesis to test because of America’s original sin, Slavery which set the tone and predicate for the thirteenth amendment. Also, because America’s economy was founded and based on the free labor of slaves who was not then considered citizens back then and the quality of human rights is much higher than in other countries.

Methodology

In the present study, I used a qualitative research method to compare the U.S., the UK, Germany and Canada to establish specific cultural and structural differences that lead to the mass incarceration of people in the U.S. The dependent variable for this study is the number of incarcerated people due to criminal activities in the U.S. and other three nations as at 2018. The number of imprisoned people entails the number of people put in prison or a place that can be used as a prison as a single form of punishment for committing criminal offences ranging from a felony to other crimes.  These nations include the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada. These countries have been selected because they are industrialized democracies with recognizable criminal justice systems, which gives the researcher an explicit base to test the hypothesis. The independent variables for this study include crime trends, sentencing and punishment policies and the nation’s history in acknowledging the importance and quality of human rights. Cohen defined crime trends as a significant change in the nature of selected crime type within a given region at a given time and are used to help officials to allocate resources and determining which policies can be used to control the crime (p.139). However, there are no specific or criteria used to determine the type and level of crime between different countries because countries have different legal and criminal justice systems. This variable will measure whether countries are incarcerating due to increasing crime trends.  Sentencing and punishment policies entail fundamental laws and guidelines to guide decisions in the process of responding to crime (Travis et al., p70). The variable will measure whether incarceration is an ideological policy choice. Lastly, the nation’s history on human rights independent variable will measure whether incarceration is due to lack of considering the importance and quality of human rights.

The study will use exact numbers to represent the dependent variable on the number of incarcerated people. Using numbers will provide quantifiable information that can give an insight into incineration rates at a glance. All independent variables will be represented using “Yes” or “No” for simplicity and understanding of the correlation between variables of the study.  

Case #1: The United States

Internationally, U.S.’s incarceration rates continue to remain unprecedented as the country has experienced an increase of over 114% in the last decade (Weiss et al., p.274). The incarceration rate for the U.S. currently stands at 715 people per 100000 people (Liptak). On the mentioned counties in this study, the U.S. depicts a wide range of crime trends that have continued to be linked with increased incarceration. In the last decade, the country has experienced increased homicide, robbery, rape, aggravated assault, domestic burglary, and motor vehicle theft more than the U.K, Germany, and Canada. Weiss et al. (p.274) mentioned that U.S.’s incarceration rates are directly associated with the country’s reliance on incarceration as a sanction. It is associated with the country’s sentencing and punishment policies. The U.S. has several states which contribute to the variation of sentencing and punishment policies, particularly on specific crimes such as drugs and burglary (Kann). Liptak mentioned that U.S.’s incarceration is influenced by several factors, including harsher sentencing laws. Incarceration policies have continued to produce racial and ethnic disparities that have been considered a lack of consideration for the quality of human life. Mauer & King indicated that the imprisonments of people of color are incredibly high. For instance, African Americans recording up to 4710 per 100000 people in a single state and 1714 per 100000 people for Hispanics (p.7-12) when compared to the whites. Liptak referred to this element as a legacy of racial turmoil because of the country’s criminal justice system history on human rights. 

Case #2: The United Kingdom

Like the United States, the United Kingdom has also continued to experience increased incarceration rates by 61% in the last decade, however, at a low rate compared to the U.S. (Weiss et al., p.274). Currently, the incarceration rate for the U.K. is 151 people per 100000 people (Liptak). Although there has been increasing crime trends in the U.S. generally compared to the U.K., U.K. tends to experience more robbery crimes compared to the U.S. and increasing domestic burglary and moto vehicle theft cases like the U.S. Compared to the U.S., U.K. has lesser harsher sentencing and punishment policies because most minor, serious offenses tend to be discharged particularly when death penalties are not fixed. Equally, offenders can be sentenced communally rather than in prison and required to take unpaid work or treated for addiction in drug offenses (Central University of South Bihar). Like the U.S., the U.K. history regarding black people and minorities facing problems with the justice system with about 13.1% of prisoners being black (Roberts, p. 19). The author said that people of color are subjected to high adjudication rates and spend more time in prison.  However, the numbers are lower compared to those of the U.S.

Case #3: Germany

Unlike countries such as the U.S. and the U.K, Germany has continued to experience a stable incarceration rate that has remained relatively at 3% for the last decade (Weiss et al., p.274). The country is experiencing an incarceration rate of 88 people per 100000 people (Liptak). Compared to the US, Canada, and the UK, Germany has significantly experienced decreasing crime trends in property offences and violent offences (Jehle, p.14).  Unlike the U.S., the U.K., and Canada, Germany’s sentencing and punishment policies are anchored on resocialization and rehabilitation rather than incarceration as the best sanction. Although incarceration is embraced in Germany, it is shorter than in the U.K., which tends to be shorter than the one for the U.S. Generally, these policies are geared towards achieving normalization for imprisoned communities (Subramanian et al.). Unlike the U.S. and the U.K., race, and ethnicity are not used in issues associated with crime, criminal justice, and victimization; instead, crimes and the justice system is linked with immigration, where elements of ethnicity come in (Bechtel, p. 158).

Case #4: Canada

Unlike Germany, Canada has experienced a decrease in incarnation rates by 28% in the last decade (Webster et al., p.299). The current incarceration rate for Canada is 127 people per 100000 people (Malakieh P. 4). Like the United States and the United Kingdom, Canada has experienced a significant decline in crime trends than the U.S. and the U.K. Like the U.S. and UK, Canada depends on punitive policies with different repercussions for those found guilty. The court also decides the type and penalty combination. However, if accused people are found not guilty are acquitted. Unlike Germany that focuses on resocialization and rehabilitation, Canada focuses on promoting a sense of responsibility, separating offenders from society, and denounce unlawful conduct like U.S. and U.K.  Like U.S. and UK, Canada has a history associated with a lack of consideration for the quality of human rights. According to Chartrand, incarceration for minorities and indigenous people in the criminal justice system has raised concerns. Minorities and indigenous people experience police checks, bail denial, and detentions where indigenous people have been imprisoned between 50 and 80% per Canadian region compared to the whites (p. 69). The level of victimization in Canada is low compare to those in the U.S. and U.K. however; high compare to Germany.

Conclusion

Incarceration of criminal offenders has been an element embraced by several legal and justice systems for various countries for decades. However, the U.S. has continued to record unprecedented incarceration rates in the history of global imprisonment. The current research established that the U.S., and the U.K., have been experiencing incarceration rate increase in the last decade; however, the degree of increase defers across these states. Germany and Canada were found to have a stable and decreasing incarceration rate respectively. The U.S. and the U.K. were found to have increased crime trends than Canada, which had more crime trends than Germany. Although all these countries were found to have sentencing and punishment policies, U.S. had the harshest policies followed by the UK, Canada, and Germany. Although Canada is experiencing increased crime trends, its incarceration rates are low compared to the U.S. and U.K. but higher than Germany. Germany. U.S., U.K., and Canada have historical issues associated with a lack of consideration for the quality of human rights. This element has disproportionately impacted the justice system in these countries. Therefore, the tested hypothesis is valid because the research shows that when there are harsh sentencing and punishment policies, increased crime trends, and historical issues associated with human rights, there are high incarceration rates in a country.

Work Cited

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