THE IMPACT OF OUT-OF-STATE PRISON POPULATION ON STATE HOMICIDE RATES: DISPLACEMENT AND FREE-RIDER EFFECTS*

Past studies of the impact of prison population on homicide rates have produced widely divergent results. Those using state-level data find small impacts, but those using national data find very large ones. We use displacement/free-rider theory to explore the difference between these results. Displacement, in the current context, refers to a criminal's movement away from states with higher imprisonment rates. Free riding occurs when a state benefits from criminals being incarcerated in other states. If the displacement effect holds, a state's prison population has a stronger impact on crime within the state than would be accomplished by deterrence and incapacitation alone. If the free-rider effect holds, higher prison populations outside the state reduce homicide in the state because criminals are incapacitated elsewhere. Using vital statistics data for 1929 to 1992, we conduct separate homicide regressions for each state using both in-state and out-of-state prison population as independent variables. We find that the out-of-state variable has a much larger (negative) association with homicide, indicating substantial free riding. We also find evidence of a small displacement impact.     

NATIONAL PROJECTS IN CIVILIAN TECHNOLOGY

National projects in civilian technology initiated and implemented by the federal government generally cost in excess o f $1 billion and often extend beyond the political lifetime of a particular presidential administration. The authors explore the consequences of the U.S. political and administrative system on government-sponsored technology development by examining four such national projects: the SST, civilian nuclear power, synfuels, and the supercomputer. They relate the absence of planning and often tortuous course that characterizes these cases to the functioning–for better or worse–of American pluralistic politics.     

Law and the Protection of Cultural Communities: the Case of Native American Fishing Rights

This essay explores the Salish peoples' quest for protection of traditional culture through the legal protection of traditional fishing practices. Through a history of political confrontation, the politically symbolic and culturally significant issue of fishing rights came before the courts. In one case, the courts came to recognize the cultural import of traditional fishing and made provisions for enhanced fishing opportunities based on treaty rights. Paradoxically, implementation of the decision exacerbated internal divisions in Salish society and the integrity of the cultural community continues to disintegrate at an accelerated pace.