Less Incarceration, Less Crime

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Stitcher | Download | Transcript | RSS | New to podcasts?

In this episode

States are finding new ways to get smart on crime and, in the process, changing how America views crime and punishment. After decades of rising prison populations, reforms in 33 states have helped cut the national incarceration rate by 13 percent since 2007. That data point drives this episode’s conversation about the new approaches, informed by research-based sentencing and corrections policies, that are slowing prison growth and helping communities become safer. Host Dan LeDuc speaks with Adam Gelb, director of Pew’s public safety performance project, as well as two leaders in South Carolina—state Senator Gerald Malloy (D), who has led his state’s reform efforts; and Bryan Stirling, state corrections director, who is implementing these transformative changes.

Related Pew Research

State Reforms Reverse Decades of Incarceration Growth

U.S. Adult Incarceration Rate Declines 13% in 8 Years

National Imprisonment and Crime Rates Continue to Fall

Time Served in South Carolina

33 States Reform Criminal Justice Policies Through Justice Reinvestment

Episode transcript (PDF)