Prisons Weaken Democracy

We regularly talk about the consequences of incarceration, be they unemployment, homelessness or psychological trauma. But the discussion is almost universally focused on the consequences for the individuals involved, not society. And that makes sense, because the broader picture is poorly understood.

Recently, a study by political scientists Vesla Weaver and Amy Lerman took a stab at teasing out what effect mass incarceration policies have on democracy. They argue that: "encounters with criminal justice institutions can negatively affect perceptions of government, rates of political participation and engagement in civic life. Punitive developments therefore have an important feedback effect for politics."

Their paper “Political Consequences of the Carceral State” is fascinating, and well worth a read. Among the more significant findings:

There is a strong negative association between participating in the political system and having contact with the criminal justice system. The more contact a person has with the police, the less likely they are to vote. Even minor contact with the police—for instance a stop that does not result in an arrest—reduces the likelihood that a person will participate in the next election.

Similarly, people who experience punitive state intervention—again, even minor intervention—are far less likely to seek out civic society and “participate in cultural, social, or political groups.” They are more likely to distrust the government—and their distrust grows in relation to the amount of contact they have had with the criminal justice system.

In summary, the authors write:

There is a large, negative effect of criminal justice contact for several aspects of political life – turning out to vote, involvement in civic groups, trusting the government – and these effects persisted net of socioeconomic status and criminality. Consistent with our hypotheses, more severe encounters were associated with a decline in political participation and trust.

Which is a frightening finding, not least because the rise in our prison population over the last several decades has largely been due to legislative changes. Suggesting to me that we have created a sort of feedback loop, whereby legislation is passed, and once a group is affected by that legislation they become less likely to participate in the political system—and then more legislation is passed, and it affects the same group because they no longer advocate for themselves—and it is not opposed—and on, and on...

Photo credit: Demitrios Zampelis