Trends in U.S. Corrections
U.S. State and Federal Prison Population, 1925-2015
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics Prisoners Series.
International Rates of Incarceration per 100,000
Source: Walmsley, R. (2016). World Prison Brief. London: Institute for Criminal Policy Research. Available online: http://www.
prisonstudies.org/world-prison-brief
2015: 1,476,847
0 200,000 400,000 600,000 800,000 1,000,000 1,200,000 1,400,000 1,600,000
2015
2013
2010
2006
2002
1998
1994
1990
1986
19821978
1974
1970
19661962
1958
1954
1950
19461942
1938
1934
1930
1925
Number of People
India Sweden Denmark Germany Austria France Canada China Spain Australia Brazil Rwanda Russia
United States 670
439 434 307
162 129 118 114 101 93 76 59 53 30
State Expenditures on Corrections in Billions, 1985-2015
Source: National Association of State Budget Officers (1985-2015).
State Expenditure Report Series. Washington, DC: National Association of State Budget Officers.
Population Under Control of the U.S. Corrections System, 1980 and 2015
Sources: Kaeble, D. and Glaze, N. (2016). Correctional Populations in the United States, 2015. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics;
Corrections: Key Facts at a Glance. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
MASS INCARCERATION
The 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, 2015
Source: Carson, E.A. and Anderson, E. (2016). Prisoners in 2015. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Other Public Order
Property Drug Violent
Immigration Weapons
7.4%
49.5%
6%
36.3%
0.8%
Federal State
52.9%
15.7%
19.0%
11.6%
0.8%
Other
8.0% 16.3% 12.0%
Probation Parole
Jail Prison
319,598
1,526,800
182,288
728,200
220,438
870,500
1,118,097 3,789,800
2015
1980
36.4
6.7
16.9
26.1
51.4 42.3
56.9
2015 2010
2005 2000
1995 1990
1985
Number of People in Federal Prisons for Drug Offenses, 1980-2015
Sources: Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics Online; Carson, E.A. and Anderson, E. (2016). Prisoners in 2015. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Number of People in Prisons and Jails for Drug Offenses, 1980 and 2015
Sources: Carson, E.A. and Anderson, E. (2016). Prisoners in 2015.
Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics; James, D.J. (2004). Profile of Jail Inmates, 2002. Washington, DC: 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, DC: The Sentencing Project; Minton, T.D. and Zeng, Z. (2016). Jail Inmates in 2015. 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 469,545 in 2015. 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 just under 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
1980: 40,900 individuals 2015: 469,545 individuals
Jails Federal Prisons
State Prisons 19,000
206,300
92,000
4,700
17,200 171,245
1980
2015
2015 2010
2005 2000
1995 1990
1985 1980
4,749
22,037 24,297
56,909
74,276 131,739
97,800 186,545
9,491 35,555
46,667
83,669 87,800
160,524
92,000 185,917
Drug offenses
All offenses
Highest and Lowest State Incarceration Rates (per 100,000), 2015
Source: Carson, E.A. and Anderson, E. (2016). Prisoners in 2015. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
WOMEN
The 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, 1980-2015
Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics Prisoners Series; Minor-Harper, S. (1986). State and Federal Prisoners, 1925-1985. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Overall (National = 458)
State Rate
HIGHEST
Louisiana 776
Oklahoma 715
Alabama 611
Mississippi 609
Arizona 596
LOWEST
Maine 132
Massachusetts 179
Minnesota 196
Rhode Island 204
Vermont 206
Women (National = 64)
State Rate
HIGHEST
Oklahoma 151
Kentucky 115
Idaho 112
Arizona 105
Missouri 105
LOWEST
Rhode Island 11
Massachusetts 14
Maine 19
New Jersey 20
New York 23
Men (National = 863)
State Rate
HIGHEST
Louisiana 1,498
Oklahoma 1,290
Mississippi 1,172
Alabama 1,159
Arkansas 1,109
LOWEST
Maine 249
Massachusetts 355
Minnesota 366
Vermont 391
Utah 393
2015 2010
2005 2000
1995 1990
1985 1980
111,495
13,206 21,406
44,065
68,468
93,234
107,518 112,867
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, 2015
Source: Carson, E.A. and Anderson, E. (2016). Prisoners in 2015. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
People in State and Federal Prisons, by Race and Ethnicity, 2013/2014
Source: Carson, E.A. and Anderson, E. (2016). Prisoners in 2015.
Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
RACIAL DISPARITIES
More than 60% of the people in prison today are people of color. Black men are nearly six times as likely to be incarcerated as white men and Hispanic men are 2.3 times as likely. For black men in their thirties, 1 in every 10 is in prison or jail on any given day.
White Women Black Women Latina Women
White Men Black Men Latino Men
1 in 111 1 in 18 1 in 45
1 in 17 1 in 3 1 in 6
All Women
1 in 56 All Men
1 in 9
Black men Black women White women
Latina women White men
Latino men 52
103 63
1,043 457
2,613
Other Hispanic Black
White 499,400
523,000 319,400
135,000
33.8%
35.4%
21.6%
9.2%
Number of Youth Held in Jails and State Prisons, 1985-2015
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.
YOUTH
Since 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 35,246 in 2013.
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.
2015: 4,493
Number of Youth Committed to Juvenile Facilities, 1999-2013
Asian American Indian Hispanic Black
White 100
464 173
334 28
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.
Rate of Youth in Residential Placement per 100,000, by Race and Ethnicity, 2013
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.
2013 2011 2010 2007 2006 2003 2001 1999
48,423 64,532
68,982 76,190
77,835
60,412
41,934 35,246
20112010
200920082007
20062005
20042003200220012000
19981997199619951994199319921991199019891988198719861985 2012 2013
Youth in adult prisons Youth in adult jails
1999 2014
3,000 6,000 9,000 12,000 15,000
2015
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, 6.1 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, 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%
This fact sheet was updated June 2017.
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
2016 2012
2008 2003
1992 12,453
33,633 40,174
49,081 53,290
2016 2012 2008 2005
2003 1992
1984 34,000
69,845
127,677 132,000 142,727
157,966 161,957
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.
