FACTS ABOUT PRISONS AND PEOPLE IN PRISON
- The number of people incarcerated in state and federal prisons increased by 13% from 1,317,300 to 1,483,900 between 2000 and 2012, although the totals have declined modestly since 2009.
- In addition to the nearly 1.5 million people in state and federal prisons, there were 744,500 people in local jails in 2012, yielding a total incarcerated population of 2.2 million.
- Between 2002 and 2011, state prison populations grew at an average rate of 0.8% per year, and the federal population at 3.2%.
- Between 2009 and 2012, the number of people in American prisons decreased by 2.8%.
- 1 in every 108 adults in America was in prison or jail in 2012.
- 4,781,300 people were on probation or parole in 2012, for a total of 6,937,600 people in America under some form of criminal justice supervision.
- The 2011 U.S. incarceration rate of 716 people per 100,000 population is the highest in the world.
CHARACTERISTICS OF PEOPLE IN PRISON
* 93% of people in prison are male, 7% are female
* 108,722 Women were in State or Federal prison in 2012
* 38% of people in State or Federal prisons were Black, 35% were White, and 21% were Hispanic in 2011
* 1 in every 13 Black males ages 30 to 34 was in prison in 2011, as were 1 in 36 Hispanic males and 1 in 90 White males in the same age group.
* Black males have a 32% chance of serving time in prison at some point in their lives; Hispanic males have a 17% chance; White males have a 6% chance.
* In 2011, the rate of prison incarceration was 2.5 times higher than the rate for white women; the rate for Hispanic women was 1.4 times higher.
* Nearly half (47%) of people incarcerated in state prisons in 2011 were convicted of non-violent drug, property or public order crimes.
* People convicted of drug offenses were 17% of state prison populations in 2010 and 48% of federal prison populations in 2011 1
SOURCE: BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS (FROM THE SENTENCING PROJECT) UPDATED JANUARY 2014
* 108,722 Women were in State or Federal prison in 2012
* 38% of people in State or Federal prisons were Black, 35% were White, and 21% were Hispanic in 2011
* 1 in every 13 Black males ages 30 to 34 was in prison in 2011, as were 1 in 36 Hispanic males and 1 in 90 White males in the same age group.
* Black males have a 32% chance of serving time in prison at some point in their lives; Hispanic males have a 17% chance; White males have a 6% chance.
* In 2011, the rate of prison incarceration was 2.5 times higher than the rate for white women; the rate for Hispanic women was 1.4 times higher.
* Nearly half (47%) of people incarcerated in state prisons in 2011 were convicted of non-violent drug, property or public order crimes.
* People convicted of drug offenses were 17% of state prison populations in 2010 and 48% of federal prison populations in 2011 1
SOURCE: BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS (FROM THE SENTENCING PROJECT) UPDATED JANUARY 2014