FAC SHEE RENDS IN U.S. CORRECIONS Trends in U.S. …

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, 1925-2019

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics Prisoners Series.

International Rates of Incarceration per 100,000

Data sourced from the World Prison Brief website, compiled and hosted by the Institute of Crime and Justice Policy Research at Birckbeck, University of London.

2019: 1,380,427

India

Sweden

Denmark

Germany

France

Canada

China

Spain

Australia

Russia

Brazil

Rwanda

El Salvador

United States 639

511

572

357

331

160

122

121

104

93

69

68

68

35

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

1,400,000

1,600,000

Num

ber o

f Peo

ple

2019

2016

2012

2008

2004

2000

1996

1992

1988

1984

1980

1976

1972

1968

1964

1960

1956

1952

1948

1944

1940

1936

1932

1925



State Expenditures on Corrections in Billions, 1985-2019

Source: National Association of State Budget Officers. State Expenditure Report Series.

Population Under Control of the U.S. Corrections System, 1980 and 2018

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics. Correctional Populations in the US Series.

MASS INCARCERATIONThe United States is the world's leader in incarceration with 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: Bureau of Justice Statistics Prisoners Series.

1980: 1,842,100 individuals2018: 6,621,600 individuals

ProbationParoleJailPrison

319,598

1,465,200

182,288

738,400

220,438

878,000

1,118,097

3,540,000

2018

1980

36.4

6.7

16.9

26.1

51.4

42.3

56.6

2019201020052000199519901985

Other

Public Order

Property

Drug

Violent

Weapons Other

8%

46%

5%

41%

0.4%

Federal (2019) State (2018)

56%

14%

16%

12%

0.6%Immigration

5% 19% 17%



Number of Sentenced People in Federal Prisons for Drug Offenses, 1980-2019

Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics Prisoners Series.

Number of People in Prisons and Jails for Drug Offenses, 1980 and 2019

Sources: Carson, E.A. (2021). Prisoners in 2019. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics; James, D.J. (2004). Profile of Jail Inmates, 2002. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics; Zeng, Z. (2020). Jail Inmates in 2018. 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 430,926 in 2019. 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 individuals2019: 430,926 individuals

JailsFederal PrisonsState Prisons

19,000

176,300

73,204

4,70017,200

181,422

1980

2019

20192010200520001995199019851980

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

73,204

158,107

Drug offensesAll offenses



Highest and Lowest State Incarceration Rates (per 100,000), 2019

Source: Carson, E.A. (2021). Prisoners in 2019. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

WOMENNumber of Women in State and Federal Prisons, 1980-2019

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 = 371)State RateHIGHEST

Louisiana 680

Oklahoma 639

Mississippi 636

Arkansas 586

Arizona 558

LOWEST

Massachusetts 133

Maine 146

Rhode Island 156

Minnesota 176

Vermont 182

Women (All States = 54)State Rate

HIGHEST

Idaho 138

Oklahoma 129

Kentucky 128

South Dakota 127

Wyoming 118

LOWEST

Massachusetts 10

Rhode Island 11

New Jersey 15

New York 19

Maine 22

Men (All States = 698)State RateHIGHEST

Louisiana 1,320

Oklahoma 1,158

Mississippi 1,224

Arkansas 1,089

Arizona 1,010

LOWEST

Massachusetts 263

Maine 275

Rhode Island 309

Minnesota 331

Vermont 341

State Prison

Federal Prison201920152010200520001995199019851980

13,25823,099

68,468

43,845

93,234

107,518112,822

107,955111,491



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, 2019


People in State and Federal Prisons, by Race and Ethnicity, 2019


RACIAL DISPARITIESBlack men are six times as likely to be incarcerated as white men and Latinx men are 2.5 times as likely. For Black men in their thirties, about 1 in every 12 is in prison or jail on any given day.

Other

Latinx

Black

White 422,800

452,800

320,700

180,000

31%

33%

23%

13%

Black men

Black women

White women

Latinx women

White men

Latinx men

48

83

63

979

385

2,203

White Women Latinx WomenBlack Women

White Men Latinx 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



Number of Youth Confined in Jails and State Prisons, 1985-2019

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 26,972 in 2017. 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, 1999-2017

Source: Sickmund, M., Sladky, T.J., Kang, W., & Puzzanchera, C. (2019). Easy Access to the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement. Available: http://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezacjrp.

Rate of Secure Placement of Juveniles per 100,000, by Race and Ethnicity, 2017

Source: Sickmund, M., Sladky, T.J., Kang, W., & Puzzanchera, C. (2019). Easy Access to the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement. 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

Latinx

Black

White 55

226

71

149

11

2011

2009

2007

2005

2003

2001

1997

1995

1993

1991

1989

1987

1985

2013

Youth in adult prisons: 653

Youth in adult jails: 2,900

1999

3,000

6,000

9,000

12,000

15,000

2015

2019



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 2020, 5.2 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, 2021

Disenfranchised Population by Incarceration Status, 2020

Source: Uggen, C., Larson, R., Shannon, S, & Pulido-Navo, A. (2020). Locked Out 2020: Estimates of People Denied Voting Rights Due to a Felony Conviction. Washington, DC: The Sentencing Project.

Uggen, C., Larson, R., Shannon, S, & Pulido-Navo, A. (2020). Locked Out 2020: Estimates of People Denied Voting Rights Due to a Felony Conviction. Washington, DC: The Sentencing Project.

Rate of Disenfranchisement, by Race/Ethnicity, 2020

Source: Uggen, C., Larson, R., Shannon, S, & Pulido-Navo, A. (2020). Locked Out 2020: Estimates of People Denied Voting Rights Due to a Felony Conviction. Washington, DC: The Sentencing Project.

All Others

Latinx

African American 6.3%

2%

1.6%

Completed sentence

On probation or parole

In prison or jail 25%

32%

43%



8

This fact sheet was updated May 2021.

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 endures 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. This population has nearly quintupled since 1984. One in seven people in prison are serving life with parole, life without parole, or virtual life (50 years or more).

Number of People Serving Life Sentences, 1984-2020

Relative Expansion of Life Without Parole, 2003-2020

LIFE SENTENCES

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Life Without ParoleLife With Parole

12%

66%

20202016201220082005200319921984

34,000

69,845

127,677132,000

142,727

157,966

204,191 203,865

Age 55 or more

Less than 55

30%

70%

Source: Nellis, A. (2021). No End In Sight: America’s Enduring Reliance on Life Imprisonment. Washington, DC: The Sentencing Project.

Percent of Life Sentenced Population Who Are 55 and Older

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FAC SHEE RENDS IN U.S. CORRECIONS Trends in U.S. …