A Bigger Piece of the Pie? State Corrections Spending and the Politics of Social Order

Abstract

The dramatic increase in American state prison populations over the last three decades has sparked considerable research interest. Empirical research has most often examined changes in prison admissions or populations. Few studies, however, have considered another important indicator of punishment-shifts over time in state corrections budgets. This study examines variation in annual, state-level corrections expenditures as a proportion of state total expenditures from 1980 to 1998. We draw together existing theoretical arguments about criminal punishment under a common rubric that we call a "politics of social order perspective" which focuses on state responsibility for the maintenance of social order and the need for state officials to maintain office through popular election. From this view, partisan politics, economic and racial threat, citizen preferences, fiscal considerations, policy priorities, and crime are important explanations of corrections spending because they affect strategies for maintaining social order, garnering votes and maintaining political office. Our findings generally support this perspective. Specifically, partisan politics, racial threat, state economic prosperity, and budgetary priorities all play a role in determining the proportion of state expenditures devoted to corrections over time.

Race and Women’s Imprisonment: Poverty, African American Presence, and Social Welfare

“…These studies report that governments that spend less on welfare spend more on corrections (Stucky et al 2007) and incarcerate a larger share of their residents (Beckett and Western 2001;Greenberg and West 2001). 7 These findings have been interpreted as consistent with the premise that modern societies trade-off welfare for criminal justice institutional controls.…”

“…Blalock hypothesized that once minority populations reached a threshold, population growth would no longer be threatening and (negative) reactions from other groups would decrease. Studies show that growth in the percent of the population that is African-American or nonwhite is associated with increases in public support for criminal punishment (Baumer et al 2003;King and Wheelock 2007), spending on corrections (Jacobs and Helms 1999;Stucky et al 2007), police strength and relative size of law enforcement agencies (Liska et al 1981;Jackson 1989;D'Alessio et al 2005;Stults and Baumer 2007), incarceration rates (Jacobs and Helms 1996;Beckett and Western 2001;Greenberg and West 2001;Jacobs and Carmichael 2001;Sorensen and Stemen 2002) and use of capital punishment Carmichael 2002, 2004). The findings regarding the influence of increases in Latino populations are less clear, however, with one study reporting an association with imprisonment rates (Jacobs and Carmichael 2001) and others finding no relationship once other relevant variables are controlled (Greenberg and West 2001;Stucky et al 2005).…”

Modeling the Politics of Punishment: A Contextual Analysis of Racial Disparity in Drug Sentencing

“…Previous punishment studies support claims that political jurisdiction and race influence a wide range of corrections outcomes (Helms, 2009;Helms & Jacobs, 2002;Jacobs & Helms, 1996, 1999, 2001Stucky, Heimer, & Lang, 2007).…”

Explaining Dimensions of State-Level Punitiveness in the United States

“…The literature on punitiveness and state incarceration rates discusses a multitude of variables that may offer explanations for variations in state behavior, including Republican dominance in elected positions (Jacobs & Carmichael, 2001;Yates & Fording, 2005), the religiosity of the citizenry (Jacobs & Carmichael, 2001), unemployment rates (Chiricos & Delone, 1992;Rusche & Kirchheimer, 1939), size of Black representation in state legislatures (Stucky, Heimer, & Lang, 2007;Yates & Fording, 2005), and whether the state is located in the South (Goldfield, 1990;Unnever & Cullen, 2010). However, initial analyses found these variables to lack significance; due to space limitations they have been omitted from the literature review.…”

“…Frost (2008) measures state punitiveness in two ways: (a) the propensity to imprison convicted offenders, and (b) the intensity of punishment, or average length of imprisonment. Comparing corrections expenditures has been used as another way to test state preferences for punishment (Stucky, Heimer, & Lang, 2007). Although these measures may indicate a state's reliance on imprisonment, they do not necessarily capture lawmaker intent when crafting crime policy and leave out other areas of criminal justice policy that may have significant punitive impact on the targeted population.…”