3 ms·

so, what this article is saying is that while crime has gone down, the average offender has a much more extensive criminal record today than in the past? Doesn'

by meetri 10y ago

so, what this article is saying is that while crime has gone down, the average offender has a much more extensive criminal record today than in the past? Doesn't that argument contradict itself? Wouldn't that mean that the real reason prisons continue to grow is that judges hand out more convictions for pettier crimes than in the past?

CM30 10y ago
Not really. It means there are less crimes and criminals overall, but the criminals that do commit crimes are repeat offenders and hence have a more extensive criminal record than before. So a few prolific criminals vs many more occasional ones.