Over the past 40 years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of inmates in America’s prisons and jails. Today more than 2 million people are imprisoned in this country — a 500% increase since 1978. There are many consequences of the mass incarceration in the United States, which has affected families and communities nationwide.
On this edition of UWM Today, we explore how the imprisonment of so many people in our country is affecting public attitudes toward the police and court system. Our guest is Tim O'Brien, associate professor of sociology and the director of undergraduate studies at UWM’s College of Letters & Science. O'Brien has recently published two major studies related to the public discourse about racial and social justice.
