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1The Sentencing Project • 1705 DeSales Street NW, 8th Floor • Washington, D.C. 20036 • sentencingproject.org
FACT SHEET: TRENDS IN U.S. CORRECTIONS
Trends in U.S. CorrectionsU.S. State and Federal Prison Population, 1925-2017
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics Prisoners Series.
International Rates of Incarceration per 100,000
Source: Walmsley, R. (2019). World Prison Brief. London: Institute for Criminal Policy Research. Available online: http://www.prisonstudies.org/world-prison-brief
2017: 1,439,808
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
1,200,000
1,400,000
1,600,000
2017
2014
2012
2010
2008
200
4
2000
1996
1992
1988
198
4
1980
1976
1972
1968
196
4
1960
1956
1952
194
8
194
4
194
0
1936
1932
1928
1925
Num
ber o
f Peo
ple
India
Sweden
Denmark
Germany
France
Canada
China
Spain
Australia
Brazil
Russia
Rwanda
El Salvador
United States 655
464
618
383
333
172
127
118
114
104
77
63
59
33
2The Sentencing Project • 1705 DeSales Street NW, 8th Floor • Washington, D.C. 20036 • sentencingproject.org
FACT SHEET: TRENDS IN U.S. CORRECTIONS
State Expenditures on Corrections in Billions, 1985-2017
Source: National Association of State Budget Officers (1985-2017). State Expenditure Report Series. Washington, DC: National Association of State Budget Officers.
Population Under Control of the U.S. Corrections System, 1980 and 2016
Sources: Kaeble, D. and Cowhig, M. (2018). Correctional Populations in the United States, 2016. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. Key Statistics: Total Correctional Population. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. Totals adjust for individuals with multiple correctional statuses to prevent double counting.
MASS INCARCERATIONThe United States is the world's leader in incarceration with 2.2 million people currently in the nation's prisons and jails — a 500% increase over the last forty years. Changes in sentencing law and policy, not changes in crime rates, explain most of this increase. These trends have resulted in prison overcrowding and fiscal burdens on states to accommodate a rapidly expanding penal system, despite increasing evidence that large-scale incarceration is not an effective means of achieving public safety.
State & Federal Prison Population by Offense
Source: Bronson, J. and Carson E.A. (2019). Prisoners in 2017. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
1980: 1,842,100 individuals 2016: 6,613,500 individuals
36.4
6.7
16.9
26.1
51.4
42.3
59.8
2017201020052000199519901985
Other
Public Order
Property
Drug
Violent
Weapons Other
7.9%
47.3%
5.9%
38.5%
0.4%
Federal (2017) State (2016)
55.2%
14.8%
17.5%
11.9%
0.6%
Immigration
6.7% 17.0% 14.0%
ProbationParoleJailPrison
319,598
1,505,400
182,288
740,700
220,438
874,800
1,118,097
3,673,100
2016
1980
3The Sentencing Project • 1705 DeSales Street NW, 8th Floor • Washington, D.C. 20036 • sentencingproject.org
FACT SHEET: TRENDS IN U.S. CORRECTIONS
Number of Sentenced People in Federal Prisons for Drug Offenses, 1980-2017
Sources: Prisoners Series. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Number of People in Prisons and Jails for Drug Offenses, 1980 and 2017
Sources: Bronson, J. and Carson, E.A. (2019). Prisoners in 2017. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics; James, D.J. (2004). Profile of Jail Inmates, 2002. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics; Zeng, Z. (2019). Jail Inmates in 2017. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Sentencing policies of the War on Drugs era resulted in dramatic growth in incarceration for drug offenses. Since its official beginning in the 1980s, the number of Americans incarcerated for drug offenses has skyrocketed from 40,900 in 1980 to 452,900 in 2017. Furthermore, harsh sentencing laws such as mandatory minimums keep many people convicted of drug offenses in prison for longer periods of time: in 1986, people released after serving time for a federal drug offense had spent an average of 22 months in prison. By 2004, people convicted on federal drug offenses were expected to serve almost three times that length: 62 months in prison.
At the federal level, people incarcerated on a drug conviction make up nearly half the prison population. At the state level, the number of people in prison for drug offenses has increased nine-fold since 1980, although it has begun declining in recent years. Most are not high-level actors in the drug trade, and most have no prior criminal record for a violent offense.
DRUG POLICY
1980: 40,900 individuals2017: 452,900 individuals
JailsFederal PrisonsState Prisons
19,000
190,100
78,800
4,700
17,200
184,000
1980
2017
20172010200520001995199019851980
4,749
22,037 30,470
56,989
74,276
131,739
97,800
186,545
9,491
35,555
52,782
88,658 87,800
160,524
78,800
166,776
Drug offensesAll offenses
4The Sentencing Project • 1705 DeSales Street NW, 8th Floor • Washington, D.C. 20036 • sentencingproject.org
FACT SHEET: TRENDS IN U.S. CORRECTIONS
Highest and Lowest State Incarceration Rates (per 100,000), 2017
Source: Bronson, J. and Carson, E.A. (2019). Prisoners in 2017. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
WOMENThe number of women in prison has been increasing at twice the rate of growth for men since 1980. Women in prison often have significant histories of physical and sexual abuse, high rates of HIV, and substance abuse problems. Women’s imprisonment in female-led households leads to children who suffer from their mother’s absence and breaks in family ties.
Number of Women in State and Federal Prisons, 1980-2017
Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics Prisoners Series; Minor-Harper, S. (1986). State and Federal Prisoners, 1925-1985. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Overall (All States = 390)State RateHIGHEST
Louisiana 719
Oklahoma 704
Mississippi 619
Arkansas 598
Arizona 569
LOWEST
Massachusetts 120
Maine 134
Rhode Island 170
Vermont 180
Minnesota 191
Women (All States = 57)State Rate
HIGHEST
Oklahoma 157
Kentucky 133
South Dakota 124
Idaho 114
Missouri 109
LOWEST
Massachusetts 9
Rhode Island 13
New Jersey 17
New York 22
Maine 22
Men (All States = 733)State RateHIGHEST
Louisiana 1,387
Oklahoma 1,262
Mississippi 1,189
Arkansas 1,122
Arizona 1,039
LOWEST
Massachusetts 239
Maine 250
Vermont 331
Rhode Island 337
Minnesota 357
20172010200520001995199019851980
111,360
13,20621,406
44,065
68,468
93,234
107,518112,867
5The Sentencing Project • 1705 DeSales Street NW, 8th Floor • Washington, D.C. 20036 • sentencingproject.org
FACT SHEET: TRENDS IN U.S. CORRECTIONS
Lifetime Likelihood of Imprisonment of U.S. Residents Born in 2001
Source: Bonczar, T. (2003). Prevalence of Imprisonment in the U.S. Population, 1974-2001. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Rate of Imprisonment per 100,000, by Gender, Race, and Ethnicity, 2017
Source: Bronson J. and Carson, E.A. (2019). Prisoners in 2017. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
People in State and Federal Prisons, by Race and Ethnicity, 2017
Source: Bronson J. and Carson, E.A. (2019). Prisoners in 2017. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
RACIAL DISPARITIESMore than 60% of the people in prison today are people of color. Black men are six times as likely to be incarcerated as white men and Hispanic men are 2.7 times as likely. For black men in their thirties, about 1 in every 12 is in prison or jail on any given day.
Other
Hispanic
Black
White 436,500
475,900
336,500
190,900
30.3%
33.1%
23.4%
13.3%
Black men
Black women
White women
Latina women
White men
Latino men
49
92
67
1,054
397
2,336
White Women Latina WomenBlack Women
White Men Latino MenBlack Men
1 in 111 1 in 451 in 18
1 in 17 1 in 61 in 3
All Women
1 in 56
All Men
1 in 9
6The Sentencing Project • 1705 DeSales Street NW, 8th Floor • Washington, D.C. 20036 • sentencingproject.org
FACT SHEET: TRENDS IN U.S. CORRECTIONS
Number of Youth Held in Jails and State Prisons, 1985-2017
Sources: Austin, J., Johnson, K. D., & Gregoriou, M. (2000). Juveniles in Adult Prisons and Jails: A National Assessment. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Assistance; Bureau of Justice Statistics Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear Series; Bureau of Justice Statistics Prisoner Series; Strom, K. J. (2000). Profile of State Prisoners under Age 18, 1985-1997. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
YOUTHSince 1999, commitment to secure juvenile facilities for youth who have been adjudicated delinquent has been steadily declining from a high point of 77,835 in 1999 to 31,487 in 2015. Still, troubling problems remain. Youth of color enter the system much more frequently than white youth and are more likely to be sentenced to harsher terms of punishment. In addition, young people are transferred to the adult system each year and tried as if they were adults, and many are sent to adult prisons and jails to serve their sentences.
Number of Youth Committed to Juvenile Facilities, 1999-2015
Source: Sickmund, M., Sladky, T.J., Kang, W., & Puzzanchera, C. (2016). Easy Access to the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement. Available: http://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezacjrp.
Rate of Youth in Residential Placement per 100,000, by Race and Ethnicity, 2015
Source: Easy Access to the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement: 97-17. Available: http://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezacjrp.
20172015201320112010200720062003200119991997
75,406
48,423
64,53268,982
76,19077,835
60,412
41,934
31,48735,246
26,972
Asian
American Indian
Hispanic
Black
White 86
433
142
261
23
2017
2011
2009
2007
2005
2003
2001
1997
1995
1993
1991
1989
1987
1985
2013
Youth in adult prisons: 935
Youth in adult jails: 3,600
1999
3,000
6,000
9,000
12,000
15,000
2015
7The Sentencing Project • 1705 DeSales Street NW, 8th Floor • Washington, D.C. 20036 • sentencingproject.org
FACT SHEET: TRENDS IN U.S. CORRECTIONS
In 48 states, a felony conviction can result in the loss of an individual’s voting rights. The period of disenfranchisement varies by state, with some states restoring the vote upon completion of a prison term, and others effectively disenfranchising for life. As a result of the dramatic expansion of the criminal justice system in the last 40 years, felony disenfranchisement has affected the political voice of many communities. As of 2016, 6.1 million Americans were unable to vote due to state felony disenfranchisement policies.
FELONY DISENFRANCHISEMENT
No restriction Prison Prison & parole
Prison, parole& probation
Prison, parole, probation& post-sentence
Felony Disenfranchisement Restrictions by State, 2016
Disenfranchised Population by Incarceration Status, 2016
Source: Chung, J. (2016). Felony Disenfranchisement: A Primer. Washington, DC: The Sentencing Project.
Source: Uggen, C., Larson, R., & Shannon, S. (2016). 6 Million Lost Voters: State-Level Estimates of Felon Disenfranchisement, 2016. Washington, DC: The Sentencing Project.
Rate of Disenfranchisement, by Race, 2016
Source: Uggen, C., Larson, R., & Shannon, S. (2016). 6 Million Lost Voters: State-Level Estimates of Felon Disenfranchisement, 2016. Washington, DC: The Sentencing Project.
African American
Non-African American 2.47%
7.44%
Completed sentence
On probation or parole
In prison or jail 23%
26%
51%
8The Sentencing Project • 1705 DeSales Street NW, 8th Floor • Washington, D.C. 20036 • sentencingproject.org
FACT SHEET: TRENDS IN U.S. CORRECTIONS
8
This fact sheet was updated June 2019.
The Sentencing Project works for a fair and effective U.S. justice system by promoting reforms in sentencing policy, addressing unjust racial disparities and practices, and advocating for alternatives to incarceration.1705 DeSales Street NW, 8th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20036
sentencingproject.org
The number of people serving life sentences continues to grow even while serious, violent crime has been declining for the past 20 years and little public safety benefit has been demonstrated to correlate with increasingly lengthy sentences. The lifer population has nearly quintupled since 1984. One in nine people in prison is now serving a life sentence and nearly a third of lifers have been sentenced to life without parole.
Number of People Serving Life Sentences, 1984-2016
Number of People Serving Life Without Parole Sentences, 1992-2016
LIFE SENTENCES
20162012200820031992
12,453
33,63340,174
49,08153,290
2016201220082005200319921984
34,000
69,845
127,677132,000
142,727
157,966161,957
Ohio
Georgia
New York
Florida
California 39,697
13,005
9,535
8,776
6,515
Life without parole
All life sentences
Source: Nellis, A. (2016). Still Life: America’s Increasing Use of Life and Long-Term Sentences. Washington, DC: The Sentencing Project.
States with the Most People Serving Life Sentences, 2016
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