1/32 in prison or on parole

moultano

<div class="IPBDescription">in the US that is.</div><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061130/ap_on_re_us/prison_population" target="_blank">http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061130/ap_on_...ison_population</a>

Cxwf

Truly sad...

But I think you mischaracterized it a little to sound worse than it really is.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->A record 7 million people — or one in every 32 American adults — were behind bars, on probation or on parole by the end of last year, according to the Justice Department. Of those, 2.2 million were in prison or jail, an increase of 2.7 percent over the previous year, according to a report released Wednesday.

More than 4.1 million people were on probation and 784,208 were on parole at the end of 2005.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

More than half of those 7 million are on probation, meaning nothing happens to them as long as they don't commit ANOTHER crime. So about 1/75 are in prison or on parole, which is still pretty bad, but not quite AS bad as 1/32.

Cold_NiTe

Human morality is a hard thing to understand in the macroscopic view. That's a combination of sociology and criminology that can only be guessed at and theorized about. Why would the number of people willing to commit criminal acts go up. Has the definition of a criminal changed? Or has human nature changed? Or perhaps both?

The unexpected bonus is that we (not us personally) can change these people's actions in the long term using means that one might not think would affect them directly enough, dramatically enough or on a personal enough level. Things like economics, education, technology and let's not forget; popular culture have side effects that can be manipulated to enact some kind of healing process on the general populace.

But to even <i>begin</i> to touch that one must know the breakdown of information. What percentage committed what types of crime and so on.

moultano

Here's some data for you.
<a href="http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/corrtyp.htm" target="_blank">http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/corrtyp.htm</a>
<img src="http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/corrtyp.gif" border="0" alt="IPB Image" />

<a href="http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/corr2.htm" target="_blank">http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/corr2.htm</a>
<img src="http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/corr2.gif" border="0" alt="IPB Image" />

<a href="http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/fedtyp.htm" target="_blank">http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/fedtyp.htm</a>
<img src="http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/fedtyp.gif" border="0" alt="IPB Image" />

Private_Coleman

The general effect of music anti-piracy, media, the patriot act, pharma-fascism, corporate sentencing, the "War on Terror" and the like has applied a negative influence to society. These all bank up towards a general view that everybody is a criminal, and the line between morality and immorality blur to create an apathetic, uneducated and unmotivated society. The only way to stay on top is to do whatever it takes to not get caught. Our advancements in technology have been focused too narrowly into electronics and weaponry and social psyche has been neglected. Television, advertising, corporate greed and long working hours for low pay have severely compromised the family unit, aiding society's antisocial infection. Bias and lack of funding force down education levels resulting in drone-like uncaring and immoral populace.

Please fix these problems k?

3) They're very comfortable chrono, you should get some.

Cold_NiTe

<!--quoteo(post=1582584:date=Dec 1 2006, 04:04 AM:name=Private_Coleman)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Private_Coleman @ Dec 1 2006, 04:04 AM) [snapback]1582584[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
The general effect of music anti-piracy, media, the patriot act, pharma-fascism, corporate sentencing, the "War on Terror" and the like has applied a negative influence to society. These all bank up towards a general view that everybody is a criminal, and the line between morality and immorality blur to create an apathetic, uneducated and unmotivated society. The only way to stay on top is to do whatever it takes to not get caught. Our advancements in technology have been focused too narrowly into electronics and weaponry and social psyche has been neglected. Television, advertising, corporate greed and long working hours for low pay have severely compromised the family unit, aiding society's antisocial infection. Bias and lack of funding force down education levels resulting in drone-like uncaring and immoral populace.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Always good to hear an aussie chime in, eh? Nah, personally I'm of the opinion that even this nation's internal issues, like this one, are fair game for other nations, because we actively police other nations based on the same sorts of issues. And yes, the family unit is seemingly dead to so many people in so many ways. A great number of the safeguards it provided just don't exist anymore, and that's more to do with parental negligence than anything else. Repairing that can only do good. You mentioned media as one of the causes, and I agree, but in my mind it has always been popular culture that has done the most harm. So much of what people take to be a sort of constructive rebelliousness (an oxymoron, I know) also causes a moral erosion.

lolfighter

Any country with enough nuclear weapons to wipe out all life on the surface of planet earth can no longer claim that it doesn't concern others what they do with their country. Anything the U.S. (or the other major nuclear powers, for that matter) does concerns everyone. Aussies, chime in!

Thaldarin

I think the most powerful nations in the world today all have a similar problem. Oh and political correctness has gone mad.

Epidemic

I think it's the increased heavier drugs and substance-use in the nightlife.

Private_Coleman

<!--quoteo(post=1582741:date=Dec 1 2006, 10:01 AM:name=Thaldarin)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Thaldarin @ Dec 1 2006, 10:01 AM) [snapback]1582741[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
I think the most powerful nations in the world today all have a similar problem.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

That's because they are all socially modelled after the United States and are trying to absorb "American culture" because America is the current world leader, and are wishing to also gain power by using America's experience. The problem is American culture sucks due to heavy corrosion/there is no culture.

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I think it's the increased heavier drugs and substance-use in the nightlife.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I think you'll find that's a symptom more than a cause.