Part II - The Building Blocks of Mass Incarceration

Summary

Mass Incarceration resulted from a uniform process that unfolded in different ways in different jurisdictions. But what triggered that process? The next chapters summarize the changes in public attitudes that transformed American criminal law enforcement, emphasizing the widespread consensus for the need both to replace the “revolving door” of the 1970s criminal justice system and to use criminal law to achieve broad policy goals, like reducing drug abuse and weapons possession.