the FAC SHEE RENDS IN U.S. CORRECIONS TRENDS IN U.S ...€¦ · U.S. State and Federal Prison Population, 1925-2013 Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics Prisoners Series. TRENDS IN

1The Sentencing Project • 1705 DeSales Street NW, 8th Floor • Washington, D.C. 20036 • sentencingproject.org

SentencingProject

the

FACT SHEET: TRENDS IN U.S. CORRECTIONS

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

1,400,000

1,600,000

2013

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

U.S. State and Federal Prison Population, 1925-2013

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics Prisoners Series.

TRENDS IN U.S. CORRECTIONS

International Rates of Incarceration, 2012/2013

Source: Walmsley, R. (2013). World Population List, 10th Ed. Essex: International Centre for Prison Studies.

2013: 1,516,879

India

Sweden

Denmark

Germany

France

Austria

Canada

China

Australia

Spain

Brazil

Russia

Rwanda

U.S.

Imprisonment rate per 100,000 population

716

492

475

274

147

130

121

118

98

98

79

73

67

30


SentencingProject

the


36.4

2013201020052000199519901985

6.7

16.9

26.1

51.951.4

42.3

State Expenditures on Corrections in Billions, 1985-2013

Source: National Association of State Budget Officers (1985-2013). State Expenditure Report Series. Washington, D.C.: National Association of State Budget Officers.

Population Under Control of the U.S. Corrections System, 1980 and 2013

Source: Glaze, L. E. and Herberman, E.J. (2014). Correctional Populations in the United States, 2013. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics; Corrections: Key Facts at a Glance. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

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, 2013

Source: Carson, E.A. (2014). Prisoners in 2013. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

ProbationParoleJailPrison

319,598

1,574,700

182,288

731,200

220,438

853,200

1,118,097

3,910,600

2013

1980

Other

Public Order

Property

Drug

Violent

Immigration Weapons

7%

50.7%

5.9%

35.7%

0.7%

Federal State

53.8%

16%

18.8%

10.7%

0.8%

Other

9.9% 15.5% 10.4%


SentencingProject

the


Number of People in Federal Prisons for Drug Offenses, 1980-2013

Sources: Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics Online; Carson, E.A. (2014). Prisoners in 2013. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Number of People in Prisons and Jails for Drug Offenses, 1980 and 2013

Sources: Carson, E.A. (2014). Prisoners in 2013. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics; Mauer, M. and King, R. (2007). A 25-Year Quagmire: The War on Drugs and its Impact on American Society. Washington, D.C.: The Sentencing Project; Glaze, L. E. and Herberman, E.J. (2014). Correctional Populations in the United States, 2013. Washington, D.C.: 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 41,000 in 1980 to nearly a half million in 2013. Furthermore, harsh sentencing laws such as mandatory minimums keep 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 half the prison population. At the state level, the number of people in prison for drug offenses has increased ten-fold since 1980. Most of these people are not high-level actors in the drug trade, and most have no prior criminal record for a violent offense.

DRUG POLICY

JailsFederal PrisonsState Prisons

19,000

210,200

98,200

4,70017,200

180,600

1980

2013

20132010200520001995199019851980

4,749

22,037 24,297

56,909

74,276

131,739

97,800

186,545

9,491

35,55546,667

83,669 87,800

160,524

98,200

193,775

Drug offensesAll offenses

1980: 40,900 individuals2013: 489,000 individuals


SentencingProject

the


Highest and Lowest State Incarceration Rates (per 100,000), 2013


a. Counts for 2013 are not comparable to earlier years do to a change in reporting methodology. See Jurisdiction notes for more detail.b. Prisons and jails form one integrated system. Data include total jail and prison populations.

WOMENThe number of women in prison has been increasing at a rate 50 percent higher than 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, 1980-2013

Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics Prisoners Series; Bureau of Justice Statistics Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear Series; Hester, T. (1987). Correctional Populations in the United States, 1985. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

State prisons

Federal prisons

20132010200520001995199019851980

104,134

13,258

23,099

43,845

68,544

85,044

98,688104,629

Overall (National = 478)State Rate

HIGHEST

Louisiana 847

Mississippi 692

Oklahomaa 659

Alabama 647

Texas 602

LOWEST

Maine 148

Minnesota 189

Massachusetts 192

Rhode Islandb 194

North Dakota 211

Women (National = 65)State Rate

HIGHEST

Oklahomaa 136

Idaho 127

South Dakota 104

Alabama 103

Arizona 101

LOWEST

Rhode Islandb 15

Massachusetts 15

Maine 20

New Jersey 22

New York 23

Men (National = 904)State Rate

HIGHEST

Louisiana 1,633

Mississippi 1,328

Alabama 1,225

Oklahomaa 1,191

Texas 1,120

LOWEST

Maine 282

Minnesota 354

North Dakota 371

Massachusetts 380

Rhode Islandb 384


SentencingProject

the


Lifetime Likelihood of Imprisonment

Source: Bonczar, T. (2003). Prevalence of Imprisonment in the U.S. Population, 1974-2001. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Rate of Incarceration per 100,000, by Gender, Race, and Ethnicity, 2013


People in State and Federal Prisons, by Race and Ethnicity, 2013


RACIAL DISPARITIESMore than 60% of the people in prison today are people of color. Black men are six times more likely to be incarcerated than white men and Hispanic men are 2.4 times more likely. For black men in their thirties, 1 in every 10 is in prison or jail on any given day.

Other

Hispanic

Black

White 505,600

549,100

332,200

130,000

36.2%

33.3%

21.9%

8.6%

Black men

Black women

White women

Latina women

White men

Latino men

65

113

66

1,134

478

2,805

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


SentencingProject

the


Number of Youth Held in Jails and State Prisons, 1985-2013

Sources: Austin, J., Johnson, K. D., & Gregoriou, M. (2000). Juveniles in Adult Prisons and Jails: A National Assessment. Washington, D.C.: 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, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

YOUTHOver the past 15 years, commitment to secure juvenile facilities for youth who have been adjudicated delinquent has been steadily declining from a high point of 77,800 in 1999 to 41,900 in 2011. 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, thousands of young people are transferred to the adult system each year, and many are sent to adult prisons and jails to serve their sentences.

3,000

6,000

9,000

12,000

15,000

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

200

4

2003

2002

2001

2000

1998

1997

1996

1995

1994

1993

1992

1991

1990

1989

1988

1987

1986

1985

2012

2013

Youth in adult prisons

Youth in adult jails

1999

2013: 5,788

Number of Youth Committed to Juvenile Facilities, 1997-2013

Asian

American Indian

Hispanic

Black

White 112

521

202

361

36

Source: Sickmund, M., Sladky, T.J., Kang, W., & Puzzanchera, C. (2013). 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, 2011

201320112010200720062003200119991997

75,406

48,423

64,53268,982

76,19077,835

60,412

41,93435,246

Source: Sickmund, M., Sladky, T.J., Kang, W., & Puzzanchera, C. (2015). Easy Access to the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement. Available: http://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezacjrp.


SentencingProject

the


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. Today, 5.85 million Americans are 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, 2015

Disenfranchised Population by Incarceration Status, 2010

25%

75%

In prison or jail

Not in prison or jail

Source: Chung, J. (2014). Felony Disenfranchisement: A Primer. Washington, D.C.: The Sentencing Project.

Source: Uggen, C., Shannon, S., & Manza, J. (2012). State-Level Estimates of Felon Disenfranchisement in the United States, 2010. Washington, D.C.: The Sentencing Project.

Rate of Disenfranchisement, by Race, 2010

Black

White 2.5%

7.66%

Source: Uggen, C., Shannon, S., & Manza, J. (2012). State-Level Estimates of Felon Disenfranchisement in the United States, 2010. Washington, D.C.: The Sentencing Project.


SentencingProject

the


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 more than quadrupled 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, 1984-2012

Number of People Serving Life Without Parole Sentences, 1992-2012

Source: Nellis, A. (2013). Life Goes On: The Historic Rise in Life Sentences in America. Washington, D.C.: The Sentencing Project.

LIFE SENTENCES

201220082005200319921984

34,000

69,845

127,677132,000

142,727

159,520

2012200820031992

12,453

33,63340,174

49,081

Updated April 2015

People Serving Life Sentences, by Race and Ethnicity, 2012


Other

Latino

Black

White 34.7%

47.2%

16%

6%


Documents

the FAC SHEE RENDS IN U.S. CORRECIONS TRENDS IN U.S ...€¦ · U.S. State and Federal Prison Population, 1925-2013 Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics Prisoners Series. TRENDS IN