Section I: Crime & Punishment in the U.S.

Crime & Public Perception

Percent of public in 1994 that thought crime was the most important issue facing the country18: 37%
Number of murders, per 100,000 population, 199419: 8.9
Percent of public in 1982 that thought crime was the most important issue facing the country20: 3%
Number of murders, per 100,000 population, 198221: 9.9
Percent of public in 1982 that thought unemployment was the most important issue facing the country22: 61%

Percentage of New Jersey Superior Court judges and court managers who saw bias against minorities in the justice system23: 98%
Percentage of African-Americans who agreed with the statement "Blacks are treated more harshly than Whites in the U.S. criminal system" 24: 74%
Percentage of Whites who disagreed25: 65%

Percent of the public that forms their opinions about crime based on what they see or read in the news26: 76%
Percent of California news stories on violence that involve youth27: 70%
Percent of California violent crime arrests that were of youth28: 14%

This page is an excerpt from The Prison Index: Taking the Pulse of the Crime Control Industry (April 2003) by Peter Wagner, published by the Western Prison Project and the Prison Policy Initiative.

18 Bureau of Justice Statistics, Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, 2000, Table 2.1.

19 Bureau of Justice Statistics, Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, 2000 Table 4.2

20 Bureau of Justice Statistics, Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, 2000, Table 2.1.

21 Bureau of Justice Statistics, Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, 2000 Table 4.2

22 Bureau of Justice Statistics, Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, 2000, Table 2.1.

23 Jerome Miller, Search and Destroy, p. 61.

24 Jerome Miller, Search and Destroy, p. 61.

25 Jerome Miller, Search and Destroy, p. 61.

26 Justice Policy Institute, Schools and Suspensions, P3.

27 Justice Policy Institute, Schools and Suspensions, P3.

28 Justice Policy Institute, Schools and Suspensions, P3.