Nordic and U.S. data indicate that a nontrivial share of men acquire convictions or prison stints over a lifetime: Sweden ~7% convicted of violent crime; Denmark 6–7% receive unsuspended prison sentences; U.S. lifetime prison risk ranges from ~1/15 for white men to ~1/3 for Black men. Crime isn’t only the domain of a tiny set of offenders.
— This challenges narratives that crime is confined to a minuscule cohort and has implications for background checks, reintegration policy, and sentencing reform.