Visualizing the racial disparities in mass incarceration

Racial inequality is evident in every stage of the criminal justice system - here are the key statistics compiled into a series of charts.

by Wendy Sawyer

Recent protests calling for radical changes to American policing have brought much-needed attention to the systemic racism within our criminal justice system. This extends beyond policing, of course: Systemic racism is evident at every stage of the system, from policing to prosecutorial decisions, pretrial release processes, sentencing, correctional discipline, and even reentry. The racism inherent in mass incarceration affects children as well as adults, and is often especially punishing for people of color who are also marginalized along other lines, such as gender and class.

Because racial disparity data is often frustratingly hard to locate, we’ve compiled the key data available into 17 charts, focusing on policing, juvenile justice, jails and pretrial detention, prisons and sentencing, and reentry. These charts provide a fuller picture of racial inequality in the criminal justice system, and make clear that a broad transformation will be needed to uproot the racial injustice of mass incarceration.

Our data visuals show that:

There are racial disparities in policing and arrests.

See more charts about racial disparities in policing.

There are racial disparities in the arrest and confinement of youth.

See more charts about racial disparities in youth confinement.

There are racial disparities in local jails and pretrial detention:

See more charts about racial disparities in jails/pretrial detention.

There are racial disparities in prisons, extreme sentences, and solitary confinement:

See more charts about racial disparities in prisons.

There are racial disparities in homelessness, unemployment, and poverty after release:

See more charts about racial disparities in reentry.

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To see 12 more charts illustrating racial disparities in the criminal justice system — as well as our answers to frequently asked questions about criminal justice race data — check out the web version of this article.