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Posted: **Wed Jan 05, 2011 8:34 pm**

http://www.ajc.com/news....78.html

1 in 70 are actually locked up.

The article said harsher punishments were mandated after very high crime rates in the 90s.

The article says it is very expensive to lock up so many people, "Who probably won't commit crimes again."

I skimmed VERY fast, but I didn't see any numbers saying whether or not crime rates dropped when prison populations rose. That would be very relevant information, in my opinion. I am guessing crime rates did go down since they weren't mentioned at all, otherwise there would be a juicy "and locking up more people doesn't even help" argument.

Posted: **Wed Jan 05, 2011 9:05 pm**

Violent crime rates from 1960 to 2009 in Georgia have been remarkably in-line with violent crimes rates in the US as a whole. Using the US as a basis for comparison, whatever Georgia did does not seem to have abnormally affected crime rates.

Data

Posted: **Wed Jan 05, 2011 9:12 pm**

I didn't look at your data. Aren't prison rates up across the country, though? I wouldn't think that phenomenon would be confined to GA.

Posted: **Wed Jan 05, 2011 9:16 pm**

TheCatt wrote:Violent crime rates from 1960 to 2009 in Georgia have been remarkably in-line with violent crimes rates in the US as a whole. Using the US as a basis for comparison, whatever Georgia did does not seem to have abnormally affected crime rates.

Data

So Georgia's overly harsh sentences aren't really doing jackshit?

Posted: **Wed Jan 05, 2011 9:19 pm**

You should read Levitt's work.

Posted: **Wed Jan 05, 2011 9:29 pm**

TheCatt wrote:You should read Levitt's work.

I have a problem or two with a couple of his assertions on the surface. I may read closer.

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1 in 13 Georgians under some sort of corrections.