At no time in history and certainly in no other democratic society have prisons been filled so quickly and to such capacity than in the united states and nowhere has this growth been more concentrated than in the disadvantaged and primarily minority neighborhoods of americas largest urban cities in the most impoverished places as much as 20 of the adult men are locked up on any . Imprisoning communities how mass incarceration makes disadvantaged neighborhoods worse by todd r clear new york oxford university press 2009 253pp 2195 pb i mprisoning c ommunities h ow m ass i ncarceration m akes d isadvantaged n eighborhoods w orse. In the first detailed empirical exploration of the effects of mass incarceration on poor places imprisoning communities demonstrates that in high doses incarceration contributes to the very social problems it is intended to solve it breaks up family and social networks deprives siblings spouses and parents of emotional and financial support and threatens the economic and political infrastructure of already struggling neighborhoods especially at risk are children who research shows . Imprisoning communities how mass incarceration makes disadvantaged neighbourhoods worse todd clears main focus is continuous increase in prison population in the usa since the 1970s despite the decline in crime rates which removes poor people from their neighbourhoods. Imprisoning communities how mass incarceration makes disadvantaged neighborhoods worse city university of new york todd r clear distinguished professor john jay college of criminal justice