This article from the January edition of the National Institute of Justice Journal summarizes, in eight packed pages, significant data on crime and punishment in America over the course of the last century, with emphasis on the last few decades. Among other things, the report examines the recent decline in property crimes comparing figures to other countries, discusses the apparent drop in...

This new special project from Mother Jones magazine examines the "real price of prisons" as the American inmate population continues to balloon, currently topping two million persons. The site contains a number of brief essays (including two written by New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson and the Rev. Jesse Jackson), discussion boards, and a well-organized directory of resources. The heart of the site...

This report, posted May 14, 2001, from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), prepared by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, presents the results of a national study to examine the efficacy of prison privatization. The report looks at the factors that have contributed to the increase in prison populations (which has in turn fueled the movement to privatize prisons) as well as the role...

In late April 2001, Human Rights Watch released a much-publicized report on male rape in US prisons. Featured in the New York Times and on Nightline, the 378-page report is the result of three years of research to "expose the problem of male rape in U.S. prisons." "It is based on information from over 200 prisoners spread among thirty-four states . . . as well as an exhaustive survey of state...