>I thought we just had a round of statistics on this?
>
>The main reason is that the US has a higher incidence of violent crime.
That doesn't explain the large and steady increase in U.S. prison population dating from the 1970s.
The growth in the U.S. prison population has more to do with tunnel vision law and order politics that has resulted in longer sentences, more things you can be sentenced to prison for, and high recidivism rates (largely caused by a dismal lack of support/intervention after people are released).