🎯 Myth
Prisons Make Us Safer
Victoria Law’s book Prisons Make Us Safer: And 20 Other Myths about Mass Incarceration challenges this and other commonly held assumptions It’s a concise, accessible read perfect for educators and activists. Read Nicole Frisch-Scott’s excellent review here.
Non-fiction. By Victoria Law. 2021. 240 pages
An accessible guide for activists, educators, and all who are interested in understanding how the prison system oppresses communities and harms individuals.
Time Periods: 20th Century, 1961, 21st Century, All US History
Themes: Criminal Justice & Incarceration, Immigration, Laws & Citizen Rights
Over the past 40 years, the number of people behind bars in the United States has increased by 500%.
Journalist Victoria Law explains how racism and social control were the catalysts for mass incarceration and have continued to be its driving force: from the post-Civil War laws that states passed to imprison former slaves, to the laws passed under the “War Against Drugs” campaign that disproportionately imprison Black people.
Law challenges the common belief that incarceration enhances public safety, arguing instead that the prison system often harms individuals and communities.
✅ The Reality:
High incarceration ≠ low crime: Multiple studies show that even countries with extremely high incarceration rates don’t see proportionately lower violent crime.
Incarceration doesn’t deter everyone: Crimes persist despite harsh punishments. Meanwhile, research finds more deterrent and rehabilitative potential in community-based approaches.
It perpetuates harm: Prison also exacts massive financial, social, and intergenerational costs for individuals and communities. Many end up in jail again within three years.
Alternatives work – and cost less
From education to mental health treatment to community supervision improvements, proven alternatives save money and reduce recidivism.
A short prison sentence may stop one crime, but a community investment stops many more.
Why It Matters
When we believe prisons = safety, we invest in more cages, less community, and more patterns of harm. But if we shift the narrative and insist on prevention, healing, and repair, we find smarter, more humane paths forward.
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