The Volume Problem

Abstract

This Introduction to the Spring 2023 William & Mary Law Review symposium highlights "the volume problem” at the core of critiques of criminal law enforcement in the United States.

“Despite all the variation, the volume problem offers a single theme to tie together America’s difficulties with criminal law and most critiques. There is broad consensus that there are, as a general matter, too many arrests, too many prosecutions, too many convictions, too many people on parole and probation, and—the theme of this symposium— too much incarceration. Putting aside the legitimacy of any piece of this vast fabric—and the pieces’ relative importance— volume itself is the problem that overshadows all others.”

The Introduction proposes that, scholars "de-emphasize disagreement about precise prescriptions by adopting a unifying focus on volume.”

Keywords: mass incarceration