[slice_of_life]

> 1 in 3 adults—with criminal records

I must admit I haven't ever thought about these numbers but it strikes me as insanely high. How can this be explained? Is it a feature of just America or is it reproducible in other countries as well?

[adventured]

This is from 2002, but it makes the point:

"... that almost a third of men [in Britain] have a criminal conviction by the age of 30, according to the Home Office. Research on men born in 1953 showed that about 30 per cent had clocked up a standard list offence - one that is dealt with by the courts but excludes minor motoring offences - by their thirtieth birthday. Research in Scotland points in the same direction, suggesting that about 25 per cent of men have a record by age 24."

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2002/apr/14/workandcareers...

[dsfyu404ed]

Wow, and that was for people born in 1953(!!).

The net cast by law enforcement has not gotten smaller since then.

[danesparza]

Pretty sure it's uniquely a USA issue: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_incarceration_ra...

[RBBronson123]

Right you are. The US has 5% of the world's population, and 25% of the world's incarcerated population. Per capita, more than China, Iran, N Korea.