What is mass incarceration, and what policy shifts contributed to it since the 1980s?

• A. A small increase in jail populations due to misdemeanor enforcement.
• B. A large, rising prison population in the U.S.; driven by mandatory minimums, determinate sentencing, aggressive drug policy, and increased policing.
• C. A policy of indefinite detention within probation.
• D. A concept describing mass use of electronic monitoring.

Answer: (B)

Mass incarceration refers to a rapid, sustained rise in the United States’ prison and jail population starting in the 1980s, leading to a system with many more people behind bars than in the past and far more than in other peer countries. The policy shifts that fueled this growth include mandatory minimum sentencing laws that require long, fixed terms for many offenses, reducing judges’ discretion; determinate sentencing that sets fixed release dates and limits parole opportunities; aggressive drug policies that imposed harsh penalties for drug offenses (notably the crack-versus-powder disparities); and broader policing strategies that increased arrests and enforcement. These combined to keep more people in prison for longer periods, driving the large-scale incarceration pattern.

Other options don’t fit this big-picture trend: it isn’t a small rise from misdemeanor enforcement, it isn’t about indefinite detention within probation, and it isn’t simply about widespread use of electronic monitoring.