While many still refer to the United States as the land of the free in truth we’re a police state. The incarceration rate is astounding with 2,292,133 adults in prison and 86,927 children in juvenile detention (not to mention those on probation or otherwise under surveillance). A new study shows that one in three people will have been arrested by the age of 23:
Parents and non-parents alike might be shocked to learn a new study estimates that roughly 1 in 3 U.S. youths will be arrested for a non-traffic offense by age 23 – a “substantively higher” proportion than predicted in the 1960s.
The study, posted online by the journal Pediatrics, shows that between about 25% to 41% of 23-year-olds have been arrested or taken into police custody at least once for a non-traffic offense. If you factor in missing cases, that percentage could lie between about 30% and 41%.
While I haven’t read the study yet (I am being provided the PDF by a friend though, expect more on this after I’ve read it) I’m not at all surprised by this number. The Justice Policy Institute has a report [PDF] that explains how many students in public schools are not being arrested for absolutely trivial matters. It’s true, when you criminalize everything everybody becomes a criminal.
Honestly I’m still shocked that anybody can deny the fact that this is the United Police State of America.