A new study shows criminals who earn money illegally, are caught, sent to prison, get out and resume their criminal enterprise, earning more money than felons who earn money illegally, but never run into the law.
Crime Pays: The Connection Between Time in Prison and Future Criminal Earnings, analyses how longer prison terms facilitate an offender’s ability to connect with like minded persons to improve ways they could make money illegally. (http://tpj.sagepub.com/content/92/3/315)
In 2008, over 2.3 million Americans were in prison or jail, and one of every 48 working-age men was behind bars, according to The High Budgetary Cost of Incarceration. (www.cept.net)
Federal, state, and local governments spent about $75 billion on corrections, the large majority of which was spent on incarceration.
Ninety-five percent of incarcerated Americans will be release back into the community at some point and 70 percent will be back behind bars within three years, according to Crime Pays.
Crime Pays examines young adults involved in criminal activity and illustrate two potential outcomes as they mature.
Incarceration potentially interrupts defining life stages, according to Crime Pays. Spending significant time in jail or prison deprives a person of the social connections needed for networking and finding gainful employment.
However, Crime Pays found when an offender completes high school, or gets a regular job, or goes to college, or joins the military, or gets married and have children these stabilizing milestones re-establishes a connection with the community. Future crime is avoided by these individuals because of a strengthened social web and a commitment to social obligations
Time spent in prison raises the incarcerated person’s illegal social and human capital, while depriving them of the same capital acceptable to mainstream society, and keeping them from illegal activities, according to Crime Pays. The research found prison strengthens gang and criminal ties, simplifying the ability for offenders to get involved in illegal activities to learn and grow in sophistication.
When an offender’s ability to benefit from stabilizing milestones are slowed down, or blocked, the person seeks money from illegitimate means,” Crime Pays claims.
“Formerly incarcerated are more likely to participate in drug trafficking than individuals never incarcerated,” Crime Pays finds. “Prior illegal income, hardcore drug use, criminal and gang associations, race and gender,” lead to high levels of illegal earnings.
