Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice and the Carceral State

The United States has experienced a period of prolonged and unprecedented carceral state control and growth over the last forty years. This immense growth reflects changes in sentencing policies, including mandatory and determinate terms for a broader range of offenses and an emphasis on punishment rather than rehabilitation. In what Frost and Clear (2009) described as the grand social experiment of mass incarceration," more people go into prison for more extended periods, creating a buildup that harmsadults, children, families, communities, and society. The justification for incarceration has been seeded in two ideas: incapacitation-separating "bad actors" from would-be victims---and deterrence, discouraging repeat crimes due to the fear of punishment. In what is referred to as the "prison paradox" (Steman, 2017), an analysis of the imprisonment and crime rate relationship for the last two decades has shown that increased incarceration has had a weak connection to lowered crime rates. Steman describes other factors that explain the decrease in crime rates, including an aging population, increased employment and wages, boosted consumer confidence, enlarged law enforcement personnel, and different policing strategies"--