In the 1980s and '90s, American officials by and large believed the country was in the middle of a crime wave and an underincarceration crisis; they responded by increasing the length of prison sentences, enacting new mandatory minimums, and restricting the use of parole. Today, with crime rates lower, Americans more readily believe that the country has an overincarceration problem - one that disproportionately afflicts minority communities, as black and brown people are far more likely to be locked up than their white peers.