5 myths about putting people in prison and what actually works.
Why putting people in prison might not be the best way to keep us safe.
I used to think the prison system was just a fact of life.
One of my relatives spent 10 years in prison when I was a kid, and I would visit him with my mom several times a year.
So as I grew up, I understood prison as just another place: You go to the grocery store when you need food, you go to church on Sundays, and you go to prison if you do something bad.
Is this the best way to rehabilitate people? Photo via tiegeltuf/Wikimedia Commons.
It wasn't until I got older that I started really thinking about the criminal justice system.
And the more I thought about it, the weirder it sounded: When people commit crimes, we send them away from their families and communities to become better by locking them in cells.
That idea really starts to fall apart when you consider the number of people who abuse drugs, people with mental illness, and people of color in the prison system.
Sometimes society's most egregious myths are right in front of our faces.
But because they're so integrated into our realities and systems, we don't even notice them.
Thankfully, as a society, we're starting to take a second look at the parts of our criminal justice system, especially prisons, that might not be working well.
Photo via Jess Judd/Wikimedia Commons.
Here are some things that we're learning along with the actual facts about what really keeps communities safe:
Myth 1: Higher incarceration rates cause corresponding decreases in crime.
Truth: Imprisoning people isn't always a good way to fight crime.
A study by The Sentencing Project found that simply putting more people in prison isn't an effective strategy for fighting crime.
In fact, states that imprisoned fewer people actually saw significant improvements in crime reduction compared with states who were more aggressive about incarceration.
In the words of the study's authors, "Increasing incarceration while ignoring more effective approaches will impose a heavy burden upon courts, corrections and communities, while providing a marginal impact on crime."
Myth 2: Downsizing prisons makes surrounding communities unsafe.
Truth: Research proves otherwise; just look at California.
In 2011, California decided to address prison overcrowding by shrinking the state's prison population by 30%. Some people feared that downsizing prisons (basically, putting fewer people in jail) would cause a jump in crime rates, but that wasn't the case. Researchers found that in 2012, 2013, and 2014, rates of violent crime and property crime stayed the same in California.
Myth 3: Prisons make communities safer by reforming criminals.
Truth: Recidivism rates (people returning to prisons) are high in the U.S., in part because prison doesn't prepare people for life after their sentences.
In theory, prisons exist to rehabilitate people who commit crimes. But in practice, prisons don't usually provide healthy rehabilitation programs. Plus, there aren't enough resources for people who want to get a job, a home, and a stable life free of crime after they serve their sentence.
A U.S. marshal guards prisoners. Photo via US Marshals/Wikimedia Commons.
Myth 4: Even if prison isn't an ideal solution, it's the only solution we have to deal with crime.
Truth: There are a lot of alternatives to incarceration.
These other alternatives help prevent crime and are actually cheaper than prison, including drug courts, halfway houses, and restorative justice programs.
Particularly for drug-related crimes, there are so many alternatives to incarceration that actually improve the lives of offenders. Drug courts prioritize addiction treatment and accountability over punishment, and they actually save taxpayer money.
Incarceration doesn't have to be the only option on the table when someone commits a crime.
Myth 5: Alternatives to prison aren't worth the money.
Truth: Other solutions, like the above, are generally more cost-effective. They're also healthier for offenders and their families.
A prison sentence doesn't just affect the prisoner. Incarceration can be devastating for a whole family, both emotionally and financially. And the emotional strain prison puts on the children of incarcerated individuals can cause significant developmental delays as well.
60% of fathers and 39% of mothers in the U.S. hold full-time jobs, so losing that paycheck could push a family into poverty. In short, incarceration can cause lifelong harm for not just incarcerated people, but families of incarcerated people too.
Photo via jmiller291/Flickr.
As citizens, it's our job to think about whether our criminal justice system is actually just!
Looking at the evidence is just the first step. But to actually achieve progress, we need better policies for mandatory minimum sentences, alternatives to incarceration, and reintegrating prisoners to the outside.
Let's get to it.
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."