Incarceration and Social Inequality.

The article explores social inequality in the U.S. penal system. The authors report that the prison and jail population is experiencing rapid growth and producing a disadvantaged social group. They focus on the lives and families of young African American men in prisons and local jails and the increase in incarceration rate for African American males from 1980 to 2010. The authors suggest that incarceration creates inequality that is invisible to mainstream society but that diminishes social and economic opportunities for people who are already disadvantaged. The authors suggest that social policy that improves opportunity and employment is a better way to reduce crime. Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) is presented.