Sarah Walton
Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Maine
Chapter Member: Maine SSN
Areas of Expertise:
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About Sarah
Walton's research focuses on the rural front of mass incarceration, the relationships between county-level jail incarceration and privatization, and local institutional contexts, with an emphasis on the local state. Overarching themes in Walton's writings include spatial inequality, mass incarceration, and the local social safety net.
Contributions
Publications
"The Gateway to Mass Incarceration: A County-Level Analysis of Jails in the United States," Ohio State University, Forthcoming Aiugust 7, 2024.
Finds that a range of outcomes--total jail incarceration rates, pre-trial jail rates, and the percentage of jail inmates who are held for other jurisdictions--are all related to county-level social contexts. Determines that local government spending and programs, politics, economic conditions, and spatial location (rural vs. urban) are important factors for understanding jail incarceration.