ABSTRACT
In a manifestation of the core of the hyperincarceration and mass imprisonment arguments, in 2005 one-third of young black men aged between 20 and 29 were in prison, jail or on probation or parole on any day. Developments across a number of the leading jurisdictions with high imprisonment rates by international standards, such as US, UK, Australia and New Zealand, raise the prospect of change. Imprisonment rates of the remaining, predominantly white European inhabitants are much less dramatic, as are any rates of increase. Imprisonment ceases to be a fate of a few criminal individuals and becomes a shaping institution for whole sectors of the population. The key immediate drivers of increased imprisonment rates are relatively easy to identify, as against the more complex political, economic and cultural factors which contribute to increasing recourse to imprisonment. On the imprisonment rates measure, arguably the crucial significance of race and colonialism/post colonialism in the production of imprisonment rates is significantly under explored.
