The United States locks up more people than any other country by both volume--total number of people--and ratio--the number of people per 100,000.

A system this big and complicated has its own language.

Here’s how I think about some of the most commonly used phrases. Feel free to use.

Abolitionist

An abolitionist seeks to eradicate, eliminate, and permanently dismantle a system.

Abolitionists don’t believe that a current system could be or should be reformed. Instead, they believe a system should be completely replaced with a new one.

People typically think that the abolitionist went extinct after the end of slavery, but there are still abolitionists today.

Angela Davis is a well-known prison abolitionist. There are people who seek to abolish a wide range of things, from the police to the death penalty.

You can be an abolitionist while also being a reformist or decarcerator.

Criminal Justice System

The criminal justice system consists of four major areas: policy, policing, courts, and corrections.

It consists of governmental bodies, politicians, unions, lawyers, judges, private companies, non-profit organizations, and Wall Street.

The role of the criminal justice system is unclear.

Does it exist to punish people? To cure people? To control undesirable populations? Confusion has contributed as much to mass incarceration as has any policy.

I tend not to use this term. Instead, you’ll most often hear me say “criminal legal system.”

Decarceration

Decarceration is the act of decreasing the number of people behind bars or under supervision. It is the aggressive opposite of incarceration.

Decarceration is also the act of preventing people from incarceration. That’s why I see things like access to excellent mental healthcare, economic development, or housing-first solutions to homelessness (to name a few) as actions of decarceration.

Decarcerator

A decarcerator is a person or organization who works relentlessly to decrease the number of people behind bars or under supervision.

Decarcerators prevent incarceration, shorten incarceration, and protect against re-incarceration.

You can be a decarcerator while also being an abolitionist and a reformist.

Detention Center

When people mention detention centers, they’re typically referring to immigrant detention centers.

Detention centers incarcerate immigrants as they await the court’s determination of their immigrant status or potential deportation.

In short, detention centers are immigrant prisons.

The United States has created the largest immigrant detention system in the world.

Around 500,000 people were booked into an immigrant detention center in FY 2019, and about 70,000 people are incarcerated at these detention centers at any given moment.

While private prison companies incarcerate less than 10% of the total prison population (which is still too many), they incarcerate more than 70% of our detained immigrant population.

The US’s detention centers are known for human rights abuses.

Incarceration

Incarceration is the state of being confined.

When I use the term “incarceration,” I’m usually referring specifically to people in jail, prison, or detention centers. When I’m getting philosophical, I’ll use it to talk about how our minds are trapped and trained to think a certain way about incarceration itself.

Jail

A jail is a place where people are incarcerated, but it isn’t the same as a prison.

A jail operates at the local level by either a town, city, or county. More than 70% of the people in jail haven’t been convicted of a crime. They’re there because they can’t afford to pay their bail.

You’ll find more than 600,000 people in jail at any given moment, but at least 4.9 million people are arrested and jailed throughout the course of a year.

Some of those people will be sent to jail multiple times. This contributes to enormous churn. Within the course of a year, you’ll see more than 10 million admissions into our jails.

Jail is certainly the front door to mass incarceration.

Justice Involved

The term “justice involved” is used to describe people who have interacted with any part of the criminal justice system.

I haven’t gotten on board yet with the term “justice involved.” This term started replacing the word “criminal” in many government materials in 2016.

While I like that we’re replacing “criminal,” the term “justice involved” isn’t accurate enough for me.

First, the term is written in the passive voice. This makes the term sound vague and soft. The criminal justice system is rarely soft on the people caught up in it.

Next, it sounds as if people voluntarily involved themselves with the system. That’s obviously not the case.

Last, the system fails over and over again to deliver justice.

Let’s say we jail a homeless person living with a substance abuse disorder. I can’t quite see how they were involved with anything that looks like justice. Or how about someone who is still incarcerated for getting caught 20 years ago with a small amount of weed. What justice have they seen?

Instead of “justice involved,” I tend to use more accurate descriptions that don’t dehumanize the person.

If they’re incarcerated, then they are “incarcerated people.” If they’re on parole, then they are “people on parole.” You picking up what I’m putting down?

Mass incarceration

People typically assume that “mass incarceration” refers only to the abnormally high number of people behind bars in the U.S. Literally, the masses that are incarcerated.

But that definition isn’t accurate enough. Here’s a more accurate way to think about mass incarceration.

Mass incarceration is a complex system that leads to an abnormally high number of people behind bars and under supervision.

Parole

Like probation, parole is a form of court-ordered supervision. However, parole has some unique characteristics.

Parole is not part of someone’s initial sentence like probation. However, a judge can give someone a sentence without parole. If someone is eligible for parole, it becomes available after someone has served time in prison.

People will often go before parole boards to earn their parole.

People on parole are not free from the system. There are many ways to violate parole, and many people end up violating it.

One study suggests that 1 in 4 people in state prisons are there as a result of violating their parole.

Prison

A prison is a place where people are incarcerated, but it isn’t the same as a jail.

Prisons are operated at the state or federal level. Nearly everyone incarcerated in a prison has been convicted of a crime.

There are around 1.5 million people incarcerated in a state or federal prison at any given moment. About 600,000 people will walk through prison gates throughout the course of the year.

Private prisons receive a lot of attention. These institutions are tumors on a sick system, but they only hold a little less than 10% of our incarcerated population.

1 out of 5 people in prison are there for non-violent drug offenses.

This means that if we’re serious about decarceration, we have to think critically about how we treat people who commit other offenses.

Probation

Probation is a form of supervision. It’s ordered by a court in place of incarceration.

The rules of someone’s probation can vary from state to state, judge to judge, and offense to offense.

Here are some examples of probation requirements:

• Community service

• Attending a drug treatment facility

• Passing drug tests

• Never missing school

• Staying within a certain radius of your home

Violating probation could result in re-arrest and incarceration.

You’ll commonly hear “probation” and “parole” used in a single phrase—”probation and parole.” I’ll do this as a shortened way to talk about court, community, and state supervision.

You might also hear people use “probation” and “parole” interchangeably.

Although people will understand what they mean, the two terms aren’t the same! Probation is different than parole.

Recidivism

To recidivate is to be sent back to jail or prison.

Our system has created a real recidivism problem. Our recidivism rate hovers around 70%. That means that two thirds of formerly incarcerated people will be re-incarcerated.

You might hear some people define recidivism as “a relapse of criminal behavior.”

Reformist

A reformist is a person or organization who changes the shape of the systems that are currently in place.

Reformists adjust policies, practices, and perceptions about any aspect of the criminal justice system and the systems that surround it.

You can be a reformist while also being an abolitionist and decarcerator.

Substance Use Disorder

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) notes that substance use disorders occur “when the recurrent use of alcohol and/or drugs causes clinically significant impairment, including health problems, disability, and failure to meet major responsibilities at work, school, or home.”

Here’s a simpler definition that makes it easier for you to share with others.

A substance use disorder (SUD) occurs when a person loses control over the drug—or drugs—they use.

Research has indicated that as much as 65% of our prison population is living with an SUD.

It’s irresponsible to talk about reforming the criminal justice system without also addressing how we criminalize drugs and their users.

Decarceration is really a war of ideas.

For ideas of decarceration to spread, people like you need to be equipped to talk about the system.

Take your time with these concepts. Get to know them well. Your confidence around the subject will grow the more your use the language.

Buena suerte.

Aye, I’m Jay. You’re on my personal site where I post things I make about interrupting mass incarceration, protecting migration, environmental justice & sustainability, language, communications, storytelling, creativity, and tech.

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