In This Article
Subscribe to National Updates
U.S. Prison Population Soars to Record High
March 02, 2008 05:00 AM
by
findingDulcinea Staff
For the first time in history, more than 1 in every 100 Americans is in prison. The numbers are disproportionately high among minorities.
30-Second Summary
According to a new report by the Pew Center on the States, 2,319,258 people, or 1 in every 99.1 adults, were in U.S. prisons at the beginning of 2008. That prison population sets a new U.S. record and is larger than any other in the world.
According to a story in USA Today, state governments spent more than $49 billion on corrections last year, up from $11 billion 20 years ago.
The Pew report says that Kentucky is the state with the most inmates. There the number of prisoners soared 12 percent in 2007 to 22,402. In a budget speech last month, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear noted that although the state’s crime rate had only risen 3 percent over the last 30 years, its prison population had climbed 600 percent.
On a national level, the numbers are disproportionately high among some minority groups, reports the International Herald Tribune.
One in 36 Latino adults, 1 in 15 black adults and 1 in 9 black men between the ages of 20 and 34 is behind bars, according to Department of Justice figures.
“Without a substantive national effort to help at-risk kids find a path to hope and achievement,” the numbers will get worse, and prison budgets will continue to soar, writes Dan Brown on The Huffington Post.
Crowded prisons have repercussions in American health care as well. The CDC reports that rates of infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and sexually transmitted diseases are higher in prisons than in the general public.
According to a story in USA Today, state governments spent more than $49 billion on corrections last year, up from $11 billion 20 years ago.
The Pew report says that Kentucky is the state with the most inmates. There the number of prisoners soared 12 percent in 2007 to 22,402. In a budget speech last month, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear noted that although the state’s crime rate had only risen 3 percent over the last 30 years, its prison population had climbed 600 percent.
On a national level, the numbers are disproportionately high among some minority groups, reports the International Herald Tribune.
One in 36 Latino adults, 1 in 15 black adults and 1 in 9 black men between the ages of 20 and 34 is behind bars, according to Department of Justice figures.
“Without a substantive national effort to help at-risk kids find a path to hope and achievement,” the numbers will get worse, and prison budgets will continue to soar, writes Dan Brown on The Huffington Post.
Crowded prisons have repercussions in American health care as well. The CDC reports that rates of infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and sexually transmitted diseases are higher in prisons than in the general public.
Headline Links: One in 100 American adults behind bars
According to a new Pew Center on the States report, one in every 99.1 American adults is in jail or prison. Pew’s Public Performance Project Director Adam Gelb points out that "for all the money spent on corrections today, there hasn't been a clear and convincing return for public safety.”
Source: USA Today
The American incarceration rate is much higher for minority groups, reports the International Herald Tribune. While 1 in every 100 black women between the ages of 35 and 39 is in prison, the number among white women is 1 in every 355.
Source: International Herald Tribune
The Pew Center on the States provides the full report as a PDF on its Web site.
Source: Pew Center on the States
Background: 'Can the American Prison System Be Fixed?'
A 2006 Talk of the Nation radio show addresses the question “Can the American Prison System be Fixed?” In response to a highly critical report on U.S. prisons, the head of a prison watchdog organization, a psychiatrist and the commissioner of the New York City Department of Correction discuss the idea that prisons create “hardened criminals and a cycle of crime.”
Source: NPR
Opinions & Analysis: Intervention lacking for high-risk groups
Dan Brown worries that “America's disproportionate investment in corrections rather than prevention” will lead to even higher incarceration numbers, particularly among minority populations. He calls for intervention measures earlier in life, such as those recommended by the Children’s Defense Fund.
Source: The Huffington Post
“Black Americans, a mere 13 percent of the population, constitute half of this country’s prisoners,” writes Orlando Patterson in a New York Times opinion piece published last year. The “catastrophic” effect of the situation in black communities will persist until the United States places “a far higher priority on moral and social reform within troubled black communities,” he says.
Source: The New York Times
Related Topics: The public health component
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Web site says that, “studies have shown that infectious diseases and traumatic brain injuries are found at higher rates among inmates than among the general public.” The site contains a guide to correctional health, including reports on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and sexually transmitted diseases in prisons.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Tuberculosis (TB) has been a global health threat for years, but with the emergence of a multi-drug-resistant strains of the disease, it is becoming increasingly virulent. PBS reported in 2001 that “as tens of thousands of infected inmates re-enter the civilian world every year, TB spreads when they cough and sneeze.” A television report on the issue is available on the PBS Web site.
Source: PBS
New law aimed at addressing racial inequality
In December, the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted to retroactively apply more lenient sentences to crimes involving crack cocaine in order to bring them more in line with those given out for powder cocaine offenses. Supporters said the past laws were racist, but opponents said drug dealers are being let off too lightly.
Source: findingDulcinea
Reference: Justice Department figures
The U.S. Department of Justice provides prison statistics on its Web site, which includes reports on disease, drug use and mental health problems in prisons.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
© 2009 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
