Source:   ABC News
Contact:     Second Highest Among Industrialized Nations
   Number of Prisoners Doubles

   By David Phinney
   ABCNEWS.com

   The U.S. prison population, which has doubled in the past 10 years, is
   now only second to Russia among industrialized nations, according to a
   new study, `American Behind Bars.'

        The explosive increase in this country came as overall crime
   levels dropped only slightly. The study concludes that prisons
   don’t reduce crime.

        `We see no strong relationship between record levels of
   incarceration and crime,' says Mark Mauer, author of the report
   published by the Sentencing Project, a Washingtonbased nonprofit
   organization that studies alternative methods in fighting crime.

        Both Russian and the United State surged ahead of other nations
   in the number of prisoners behind bars. When compared to most
   industrialized countries, U.S. prison populations were six to 10 times
   larger, the report finds.

        Russia has roughly 690 prisoners per 100,000; the United States
   has 600 per 100,000. Most European nations have less than 100 per
   100,000.

        The report studied crime rates of 59 nations over a 10year
   period, between 1985 and 1995.

        Several crime and human rights experts concurred with the
   findings among industrialized nations, but were wary of statistics
   available from developing nations.

        It's difficult to rely on figures put out from nations in
   Latin America, Africa and Asian nations, they said.

        `We have enough trouble keeping track of figures in our own
   country. God only knows how a place like Cambodia might keep
   record,' says Peter Reuter, professor of public affairs at the
   University of Maryland. `What is important is how we compare to
   other countries that we are similar to, including Europe and
   Japan.'

   Drug Convictions Drive Prisoner Increase
   Strict drug laws cause the high rates of incarceration in the United
   States, Reuter said.

        `We have a very high crime rate, but clearly drugs are the
   joker in the pack because are so much more punitive,' he said.

        Others agreed, including Joseph McNamara, former police chief of
   San Jose, Calif., and now Stanford University research fellow. He said
   60 percent of all federal prisoners are now serving time for drug
   convictions.

        `We have quadrupled the number of people in prison largely
   due to a drug war that increases violence, racism and
   criminality,' he said. `Although we pressure other nations
   to emulate our madness in the war against drugs, only the Muslim world
   is more strict than we are.'

        As an alternative to the threat of prison sentences in fighting
   crime, the Sentencing Project called for a number of initiatives,
   including increased gun control, expanded drug abuse programs and
   community policing efforts.

   1995 Incarceration Rates, Selected Nations

   1. Russia 690 people per 100,000 population

   2. United States 600 people per 100,000 population

   3. Belarus 505 people per 100,000 population

   4. Ukraine 390 people per 100,000 population

   5. Moldova 275 people per 100,000 population

   6. South Africa 265 people per 100,000 population

   7. Poland 170 people per 100,000 population

   8. New Zealand 127 people per 100,000 population

   9. Canada 105 people per 100,000 population

   10. England and Wales 100 people per 100,000 population

   11. France 95 people per 100,000 population

   12. Germany 85 people per 100,000 population

   13. Switzerland 80 people per 100,000 population

   14. Netherlands 65 people per 100,000 population

   15. Norway 55 people per 100,000 population

   16. Japan 37 people per 100,000 population

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