Some of the most useful stats for advocates, policymakers, and journalists.
Prison Policy Initiative updates for October 24, 2023 Exposing how mass incarceration harms communities and our national welfare
Ten statistics about the scale and impact of mass incarceration in the U.S. [[link removed]] A curated list of some of the most useful statistics to help the public comprehend the magnitude of criminalization in the U.S. [[link removed]]
by Emily Widra
The United States’ reliance on incarceration outpaces most of the globe: every single state incarcerates more people per capita [[link removed]] than virtually any independent democracy on Earth. But the sheer magnitude and impact of a system so large can be hard to fully comprehend. We looked back over some of the best criminal legal system research and chose these ten statistics as some of the most handy for advocates, policymakers, and journalists working to help the public appreciate just how far-reaching mass incarceration is in this country.
A note on our sources: All of the following statistics come from different sources and have been calculated using different methodologies, and are not necessarily compatible with one another. In addition, some of these statistics have been calculated by the Prison Policy Initiative, while others are from academic research and other organizations’ work in the field.
On any given day, about 2 million people [[link removed]] in the U.S. are locked up in jails, prisons, and other spaces of confinement.
People cycle through local jails more than 7 million times [[link removed]] each year.
3.7 million people [[link removed]] are held under community supervision such as probation and parole — more people than are held in jails and prisons combined.
Police threaten or use force against more than 1 million people [[link removed]] each year, disproportionately against Black and Latinx people.
More than 79 million people in the U.S. have a criminal record, creating barriers to housing [[link removed]], jobs [[link removed]], healthcare [[link removed]], and food assistance [[link removed]], among many other collateral consequences [[link removed]].
Half of all Americans [[link removed]] have an immediate family member who has been incarcerated. 1 in 5 people [[link removed]] have had a parent incarcerated and 2.6 million children [[link removed]] have a parent who is currently incarcerated.
Incarcerated people and their families spend upwards of $2.9 billion [[link removed]] per [[link removed]] year [[link removed]] on phone calls and commissary, and annually, people owe more than $50 billion [[link removed]] in court-ordered fines and fees.
The median felony bail amount ($10,000) represents eight months of income [[link removed]] for the typical detained defendant.
Every state locks up Black people at a higher rate than white people. On average, Black people are imprisoned at rates six times [[link removed]] higher than those of white people.
80% of women [[link removed]] in jails and 58% of women [[link removed]] in prisons are mothers, and most are the primary or sole caretakers of young children.
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For more information, including links and footnotes, see the full version of this blog post [[link removed]] on our website.
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Our work is made possible by private donations. Can you help us keep going? We can accept tax-deductible gifts online [[link removed]] or via paper checks sent to PO Box 127 Northampton MA 01061. Thank you!
Other news: Webinar: Combating "carveouts" in criminal justice reforms [[link removed]]
On November 1, at 1 p.m. EST, join the Prison Policy Initiative and a panel of criminal justice leaders for a discussion on how advocates for reform can talk to policymakers about carveouts, with a particular focus on addressing fentanyl and sex offense-related charges.
Register for the webinar here [[link removed]].
You can learn more about "carveouts" in our Advocacy Toolkit [[link removed]].
No Release: Parole grant rates have plummeted in most states since the pandemic started [[link removed]]
We surveyed the available data from states that have discretionary parole systems to see what's happened since the onset of COVID-19.
In this new briefing [[link removed]], we show that nearly every state is now releasing fewer people than before the pandemic and holding fewer hearings.
New resource: Prison discipline policies [[link removed]]
In the newest addition to our Data toolbox [[link removed]], we added a collection of discipline policies [[link removed]] for all 50 state prison systems, the Washington, D.C. Department of Corrections, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Advocates, researchers, and lawmakers can use this collection [[link removed]] to examine the rules, offenses, procedures, and associated punishments for each prison system.
Please support our work [[link removed]]
Our work is made possible by private donations. Can you help us keep going? We can accept tax-deductible gifts online [[link removed]] or via paper checks sent to PO Box 127 Northampton MA 01061. Thank you!
Our other newsletters Ending prison gerrymandering ( archives [[link removed]]) Criminal justice research library ( archives [[link removed]])
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