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Drugs and Prison
Prisons, Jails, Probation, and Parole
Table: Number of People in the US Serving Time in State and Federal Prisons, by age, sex, race, and ethnicity
Page last updated Dec. 15, 2021 by Doug McVay, Editor.
1. Imprisonment Rates In the US By Race, Gender, and Ethnicity
"• The imprisonment rate at yearend 2020 (358 per 100,000 U.S. residents) was the lowest since 1992 (330 per 100,000) (table 5 and appendix table 1).
"• From 2019 to 2020, imprisonment rates for state prisons fell 15% (from 371 per 100,000 U.S. residents to 315 per 100,000) and the BOP imprisonment rate decreased almost 11% (from 48 per 100,000 to 43 per 100,000).
"• The 2020 imprisonment rate for black U.S. residents showed a 37% decrease from 2010, when almost 1.5% of all black residents were serving a sentence of at least 1 year in state or federal prisons.
"• Of all the racial or ethnic groups, Hispanics and Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders showed the largest declines in imprisonment rates (16% each).
"• Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Other Pacific Islander U.S. residents had the lowest imprisonment rates of all racial or ethnic groups in 2020, with 74 per 100,000 Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Other Pacific Islander U.S. residents of all ages (table 5), and 93 per 100,000 ages 18 or older (table 6).
"• Each year from 2010 to 2020, more than 1% of black and American Indian or Alaska Native adults were serving a sentence of at least 1 year in prison."
E. Ann Carson, PhD. Prisoners In 2020 - Statistical Tables. Washington, DC: US Dept of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, December 2021, NCJ302776.
2. State and Federal Prison Populations in the US by Race, Gender, Age, and Ethnicity
"• At year-end 2019, an estimated 47% of sentenced prisoners in the U.S. were ages 25 to 39 (table 9).
"• While almost 22% of all sentenced male prisoners were age 50 or older at year-end 2019, the percentage differed across race or ethnicity, with 28% of white, 20% of black, and 16% of Hispanic sentenced male prisoners in this age group.
"• At year-end 2019, 3.2% of male prisoners and 1.6% of female prisoners sentenced to more than one year in state or federal prison were age 65 or older.
"• On December 31, 2019, an estimated 1% of U.S. residents ages 35 to 39 (1,000 per 100,000 residents) were in state or federal prison on a sentence (table 10).
"• The imprisonment rate of males in 2019 (789 prisoners per 100,000 male U.S. residents) was 13 times the imprisonment rate of females (61 per 100,000 female U.S. residents).
"• Together, state and federal correctional authorities held more than 1% of black male U.S. residents ages 20 to 64 at year-end 2019, and more than 1% of Hispanic male U.S. residents ages 20 to 54.
"• While the imprisonment rate of black males (2,203 per 100,000 black male U.S. residents) was 5.7 times the rate of white males (385 per 100,000 white male U.S. residents), the imprisonment rate of black females (83 per 100,000 black female U.S. residents) was 1.7 times the rate of white females (48 per 100,000 white female U.S. residents).
"• The imprisonment rate of Hispanic females (63 per 100,000 Hispanic female U.S. residents) was 1.3 times the rate of white females in 2019, and was higher than all age groups except white females ages 45 to 49.
"• Black males ages 18 to 19 were 12 times as likely to be imprisoned as white males of the same ages, the highest black-to-white racial disparity of any age group in 2019."
E. Ann Carson, PhD. Prisoners In 2019. Washington, DC: US Dept of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, October 2020, NCJ255155.
3. Number Of People In Jails In The US, By Gender, Race, And Ethnicity
City and county jails in the US held 734,500 people at on June 28, 2019. ("Rates are based on the number of inmates held on the last weekday in June.") Note: the jail population figure is only a one-day snapshot. There were a total of 10,300,000 admissions to jails in the US throughout calendar year 2019.
Demographics of the jail population on that date are as follows:
623,700 male, 110,700 female.
Juveniles: 2,200 held as adults, 700 held as juveniles.
Racial demographics were as follows:
White: 362,900
Black: 247,100
Latinx: 106,900
American Indian/Alaska native: 10,200
Asian/native Hawaiian/other Pacific islander: 4,700
"Other," including two or more races: 2,600
Only 253,700 people confined to a local jail had been convicted of any crimes and had either already been sentenced or were awaiting sentencing. The remaining 480,700 people confined to local jails were unconvicted and awaiting court action on a current charge.
"An estimated 224 inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents were incarcerated in local jails nationwide at midyear 2019. Blacks were jailed at a rate of 600 per 100,000 black U.S. residents (table 2). American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIANs) had a jail incarceration rate of 420 per 100,000 AIAN U.S. residents. Whites (184 per 100,000 white U.S. residents) and Hispanics (176 per 100,000 Hispanic U.S. residents) were jailed at similar rates. Asians were incarcerated in jails at a rate of 25 inmates per 100,000 Asian U.S. residents.
"From 2008 to 2019, the overall jail incarceration rate decreased 13%. The rate grew 10% for whites (from 167 to 184 per 100,000). It fell 27% for blacks (from 825 to 600 per 100,000), 32% for Asians (from 37 to 25 per 100,000), and 36% for Hispanics (from 273 to 176 per 100,000). The rate change for AIANs (from 386 to 420 per 100,000) was not statistically significant during this period.
"The male incarceration rate fell 16% from 2008 to 2019, declining from 457 to 386 inmates per 100,000 male U.S. residents. Females were incarcerated at a rate of 66 inmates per 100,000 female U.S. residents at midyear 2019, similar to their rate of 65 per 100,000 in 2008. The black jail population declined 20% from 2008 to 2019
"From 2008 to 2019, the total jail population declined 6% (down 51,000 inmates) (table 3). During this period, the number of black inmates (down 20%), Hispanic inmates (down 17%), and Asian inmates (down 6%) decreased, even though the overall number of blacks (up 10%), Hispanics (up 29%), and Asians (up 42%) in the U.S. increased (not shown in tables). The number of white inmates increased 9% from 2008 to 2019, while the change in the number of AIAN inmates was not statistically significant."
Zhen Zeng, PhD, and Todd D. Minton. Jail Inmates In 2019. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics. March 2021. NCJ255608.
4. Parents In Prison, by Race/Ethnicity
"• Among state prisoners, an estimated 3 in 5 white (60%) and Hispanic (62%) females and about 1 in 2 black (50%) females were mothers with minor children (table 3).
"• In state prison, 48% of black males, 51% of Hispanic males, and 40% of white males reported having a minor child.
"• Nearly 7 in 10 Hispanic (67%) females in federal prison were mothers with minor children, compared to about 1 in 2 white (49%) and black (54%) females.
"• Among federal prisoners, about 3 in 5 black (64%) and Hispanic (64%) males and 3 in 10 white (34%) males were fathers with minor children.
"• The average age of a minor child among parents in state prison was 9 years old (table 4).
"• Among minor children of parents in state prison, 1% were younger than age 1, about 18% were ages 1 to 4, and 48% were age 10 or older.
"• The average age of a minor child among parents in federal prison was 10 years old.
"• An estimated 13% of minor children of federal prisoners were age 4 or younger, and 20% were ages 15 to 17."
Laura M. Maruschak, Jennifer Bronson, PhD, and Mariel Alper, PhD. Parents in Prison and Their Minor Children. March 2021, NCJ 252645.
5. Black People in Prison in the US
6. Number of People In The US Sentenced To and Serving Time In State Prisons For Drug Offenses, by Race and Ethnicity
An illegal drug conviction was the most serious offense for 176,300 out of the 1,249,700 people in the US sentenced to and serving time in state prisons at year-end 2018. That represents 14.1% of all sentenced prisoners under state jurisdiction. Of those 176,300 people: 64,500 (36.6%) were non-Latinx white, 52,100 (29.6%) were non-Latinx African American, and 28,800 (16.3%) were Latinx. No race/ethnicity was reported for the remaining 30,900 people (17.5%) serving time in state prison for a drug offense.
(Note: The Bureau of Justice Statistics annual report on prisoners does not provide separate counts for inmates who identify as two or more races, nor of American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asians, Native Hawaiians, or other Pacific Islanders.)
7. Offense Characteristics of Sentenced People In State Prisons In the US, By Race, Ethnicity, and Gender
"• Violent offenders made up (55%) of all sentenced state prisoners at year-end 2018 (the most recent year for which such data are available) (tables 13 and 14).
"• An estimated 14% of sentenced state prisoners were serving time for murder or non-negligent manslaughter (177,700), and another 13% were serving time for rape or sexual assault (162,700) on December 31, 2018.
"• At year-end 2018, more than half of sentenced males (58%) and more than a third of sentenced females (38%) were serving time in state prison for a violent offense.
"• About 16% of sentenced state prisoners were serving time for a property offense (199,700), and 14% were serving time for a drug offense (176,300) at the end of 2018.
"• A larger percentage of female state prisoners were serving sentences for drug (26%) or property (24%) offenses than males (13% drugs, 16% property) at yearend 2018.
"• Among sentenced state prisoners at year-end 2018, a larger percentage of black (62%) and Hispanic (62%) prisoners than white prisoners (48%) were serving time for a violent offense.
"• Nineteen percent of Hispanics in state prison at yearend 2018 had been sentenced for murder or nonnegligent manslaughter, compared to 17% of black prisoners and 11% of white prisoners.
"• At year-end 2018, about 40% of sentenced prisoners serving time for rape or sexual assault were white (65,600 prisoners), while 22% were Hispanic (35,000) and 21% were black (34,800)."
8. Adults on Community Correctional Supervision in the US by Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Most Serious Offense
According to the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics:
Of the 3,539,950 adults in the US on probation as of 12/31/2018:
• 75% were male and 25% were female.
• 56% were White non-Latino, 30% were Black non-Latino, 13% were Latino, 1% were American Indian/Alaska Native, 1% were Asian, less than one percent were Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander, and less than one percent were two or more races.
• Drug offenses were the most serious offenses for 26% of all people on probation in 2018.
Of the 877,953 adults in the US on parole as of 12/31/2018:
• Drug offenses were the most serious offense for 30% of all people on parole in 2018.
Danielle Kaeble and Mariel Alper, PhD. Probation and Parole in the United States, 2017-2018. Washington, DC: US Dept of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, August 2020. NCJ252072.
9. Estimated Number of Young Adults in the US With a Parent Who Has Ever Spent Time in Jail or Prison
"The prevalence of any PI [Parental Incarceration] was 12.5% with the 95% confidence interval (CI) of 11.3% to 13.8%. The distribution of incarceration status by category was: neither parent (87.5%, 95% CI: 86.2%–88.7%), father only (9.9%, 95% CI: 8.9%–10.9%), mother only (1.7%, 95% CI: 1.4%–2.0%), and both parents (0.9%, 95% CI: 0.7%–1.2%). A significant association was found between race and PI. Black and Hispanic individuals had the highest prevalence of PI, 20.6% and 14.8%, compared with 11.9% for white individuals and 11.6% for those classified as other. Pairwise comparison indicated the black and white prevalence rates were significantly different."
Note: Regarding study sample size: "The current study used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a 4-wave longitudinal study following a nationally representative probability sample of adolescents in grades 7 through 12 in the 1994–1995 school year.46 The first 3 waves of Add Health data were collected from April to December 1995, from April to August 1996, and from August 2001 to April 2002. The fourth wave of data was collected in 2007 and 2008. The full sample for Wave 4 included 15 701 or 80.3% of the eligible participants from Wave 1. The response rates for Waves 1, 2, 3, and 4 were 79.0%, 88.6%, 77.4%, and 80.3%, respectively. The mean ages of participants during the 4 waves of data collection were 15.7 years, 16.2 years, 22.0 years, and 28.8 years, respectively.
"The current study was based on 14,800 participants who were interviewed during Wave 1 and Wave 4 and have a sampling weight. Of the 15,701 participants who participated in both Wave 1 and Wave 4 interviews, 14,800 participants have a sampling weight at Wave 4 interview that could be used to compute population estimates. For data analysis, data describing participants' sociodemographic characteristics from Wave 1 of the Add Health study were combined with Wave 4 self-reported health outcomes and PI history."
Rosalyn D. Lee, Xiangming Fang and Feijun Luo, "The Impact of Parental Incarceration on the Physical and Mental Health of Young Adults." Pediatrics 2013;131;e1188; originally published online March 18, 2013; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2012-0627.
10. A Growing Problem: Parents Behind Bars
"Among white children in 1980, only 0.4 of 1 percent had an incarcerated parent; by 2008 this figure had increased to 1.75 percent. Rates of parental incarceration are roughly double among Latino children, with 3.5 percent of children having a parent locked up by 2008. Among African American children, 1.2 million, or about 11 percent, had a parent incarcerated by 2008."
Western , Bruce; Pettit, Becky, "Incarceration & social inequality," Dædalus (Cambridge, MA: American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Summer 2010), p. 16.
11. Parents Behind Bars
"The growth of incarceration in America has intergenerational impacts that policy makers will have to confront. According to this analysis, more than 1.2 million inmates — over half of the 2.3 million people behind bars — are parents of children under age 18. This includes more than 120,000 mothers and more than 1.1 million fathers. The racial concentration that characterizes incarceration rates also extends to incarcerated parents. Nearly half a million black fathers, for example, are behind bars, a number that represents 40 percent of all incarcerated parents.
"The most alarming news lurking within these figures is that there are now 2.7 million minor children (under age 18) with a parent behind bars. (See Figure 9.) Put more starkly, 1 in every 28 children in the United States — more than 3.6 percent — now has a parent in jail or prison. Just 25 years ago, the figure was only 1 in 125.
"For black children, incarceration is an especially common family circumstance. More than 1 in 9 black children has a parent in prison or jail, a rate that has more than quadrupled in the past 25 years. (See Figure 10.)
"Because far more men than women are behind bars, most children with an incarcerated parent are missing their father.37 For example, more than 10 percent of African American children have an incarcerated father, and 1 percent have an incarcerated mother."
The Pew Charitable Trusts (2010). Collateral Costs: Incarceration's Effect on Economic Mobility.
12. Odds of Arrest and Incarceration for Marijuana Offenses in California
"Compared to Non-blacks, California's African-American population are 4 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana, 12 times more likely to be imprisoned for a marijuana felony arrest, and 3 times more likely to be imprisoned per marijuana possession arrest. Overall, as Figure 3 illustrates, these disparities accumulate to 10 times' greater odds of an African-American being imprisoned for marijuana than other racial/ethnic groups."
Males, Mike, "Misdemeanor marijuana arrests are skyrocketing and other California marijuana enforcement disparities," Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (San Francisco, CA: November 2011), p. 6.
http://www.cjcj.org/uploads/cj...
13. Changes In The Data On Race Collected And Reported By States And Federal Agencies
"Comparisons of changes in the racial composition of prison populations over time are constrained by new data collection methodologies. Following guidelines provided by the Office of Management and Budget, beginning in 2005 BJS estimated racial composition of the prison population separately for persons identifying with one race (97%) and those identifying with two or more races (3%). These guidelines have reduced the number and percent of persons identified as non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic black prisoners. In addition, administrative data on the race and Hispanic origin of prisoners reported to BJS by corrections officials also overstate the number of non-Hispanic white and black prisoners and understate the number of Hispanics and persons of two or more races.2
"Both administrative and estimated data indicate an overall decline among black prisoners from 2000 through 2006. The 2006 administrative data show a decline from 46.2% to 41.6%, while the estimated data indicate a decline from 42.4% to 37.5% (table 8)."
"2 Some jurisdictions are not able to report Hispanics or persons of two or more races as a separate category as requested under OMB guidelines."
Table: Estimated number of adults on probation, in jail, in prison, or on parole and their percent of the adult population, by sex and race, 1990.
Table: Imprisonment rate of sentenced people in state and federal prisons per 100,000 U.S. residents, by demographic characteristics, December 31, 2014
Table: Number of sentenced people under jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, by age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin, December 31, 2014
Table: Number of sentenced people under State or Federal jurisdiction, by gender, race, Hispanic origin, and age, 2000
Table: Sentenced people under State or Federal jurisdiction per 100,000 residents, by gender, race, Hispanic origin, and age, 2000
Table: Characteristics of adults on probation in the US, 2000, 2013, and 2014
Table: Characteristics of adults on parole in the US, 2000, 2013, and 2014
William J. Sabol, PhD, Heather Couture, and Paige M. Harrison. Prisoners in 2006. Washington, DC: US Dept of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, Dec. 2007. NCJ219416.
Carson, E. Ann. Prisoners In 2014. Washington, DC: US Dept of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, Sept. 2015. NCJ248955.
Kaeble, Danielle, Maruschak, Laura M., and Bonczar, Thomas P. Probation and Parole in the United States, 2014. Washington, DC: US Dept of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, Nov. 2015. NCJ249057, Table 4, p. 5, Table 6, p. 7, and Table 1, p. 2.
Beck, Allen J., PhD, and Harrison, Paige M. Prisoners in 2000. Washington, DC: US Dept of Justice Statistics, Aug. 2001. NCJ188207.
Jankowski, Louis W. Correctional Populations in the United States, 1990. Washington, DC: US Dept of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, July 1992, NCJ134946.
14. Incarceration of People of Color
"Mass arrests and incarceration of people of color – largely due to drug law violations46 – have hobbled families and communities by stigmatizing and removing substantial numbers of men and women. In the late 1990s, nearly one in three African-American men aged 20-29 were under criminal justice supervision, 47 while more than two out of five had been incarcerated – substantially more than had been incarcerated a decade earlier and orders of magnitudes higher than that for the general population.48 Today, 1 in 15 African-American children and 1 in 42 Latino children have a parent in prison, compared to 1 in 111 white children.49 In some areas, a large majority of African-American men – 55 percent in Chicago, for example50 – are labeled felons for life, and, as a result, may be prevented from voting and accessing public housing, student loans and other public assistance."
"Drug Courts Are Not the Answer: Toward a Health-Centered Approach to Drug Use" Drug Policy Alliance (New York, NY: March 2011), p. 9.
http://www.drugpolicy.org/site...
15. Female Incarceration Rates in the US in 2010 by Race/Ethnicity
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, at midyear 2010, the incarceration rate for women was 126 per 100,000 population. The rate for non-Hispanic white females was 91, for non-Hispanic black females the rate was 260, and for Hispanic women the rate was 133.
Glaze, Lauren E., "Correctional Population in the United States, 2010," Bureau of Justice Statistics (Washington, DC: Department of Justice, December 2011), NCJ 236319, Appendix Table 3, p. 8.
http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub...
16. Problems of Systemic Racial Biases Within Drug Courts
"Importantly, representation of African-Americans in jails and prisons was nearly twice that of both Drug Courts and probation, and was also substantially higher among all arrestees for drug-related offenses. On one hand, these discrepancies might be explained by relevant differences in the populations. For example, minority arrestees might be more likely to have the types of prior convictions that could exclude them from eligibility for Drug Courts or probation. On the other hand, systemic differences in plea-bargaining, charging or sentencing practices might be having the practical effect of denying Drug Court and other community-based dispositions to otherwise needy and eligible minority citizens. Further research is needed to determine whether racial or ethnic minority citizens are being denied the opportunity for Drug Court for reasons that may be unrelated to their legitimate clinical needs or legal eligibility."
West Huddleston and Douglas B. Marlowe, "Painting the Current Picture: A National Report on Drug Courts and Other Problem Solving Court Programs in the United States" (Alexandria, VA: National Drug Court Institute, July 2011), NCJ 235776, p. 29.
http://www.ndci.org/...
17. Racial Disparities in Enforcement and Incarceration
"The racial disparities in the rates of drug arrests culminate in dramatic racial disproportions among incarcerated drug offenders. At least two-thirds of drug arrests result in a criminal conviction.18 Many convicted drug offenders are sentenced to incarceration: an estimated 67 percent of convicted felony drug defendants are sentenced to jail or prison.19 The likelihood of incarceration increases if the defendant has a prior conviction.20 Since blacks are more likely to be arrested than whites on drug charges, they are more likely to acquire the convictions that ultimately lead to higher rates of incarceration. Although the data in this backgrounder indicate that blacks represent about one-third of drug arrests, they constitute 46 percent of persons convicted of drug felonies in state courts.21 Among black defendants convicted of drug offenses, 71 percent received sentences to incarceration in contrast to 63 percent of convicted white drug offenders.22 Human Rights Watch's analysis of prison admission data for 2003 revealed that relative to population, blacks are 10.1 times more likely than whites to be sent to prison for drug offenses.23"
Fellner, Jamie, "Decades of Disparity: Drug Arrests and Race in the United States," Human Rights Watch (New York, NY: March 2009), p. 16.
http://www.hrw.org/sites/defau...
18. Racism and the War on Drugs
"The main obstacle to getting black America past the illusion that racism is still a defining factor in America is the strained relationship between young black men and police forces. The massive number of black men in prison stands as an ongoing and graphically resonant rebuke to all calls to 'get past racism,' exhibit initiative, or stress optimism. And the primary reason for this massive number of black men in jail is the War on Drugs. Therefore, if the War on Drugs were terminated, the main factor keeping race-based resentment a core element in the American social fabric would no longer exist. America would be a better place for all."
McWhorter, John, "How the War on Drugs Is Destroying Black America," Cato's Letter (Washington, DC: The Cato Institute, Winter 2011), p. 1.
http://www.cato.org/sites/cato...
19. Incarceration Rates by Race and Gender in the US in 2007
"Changes in the incarceration rates for men and women by race were associated with changes to the overall composition of the custody population at midyear 2007. Black men had an incarceration rate of 4,618 per 100,000 U.S. residents at midyear 2007, down from 4,777 at midyear 2000. For white men, the midyear 2007 incarceration rate was 773 per 100,000 U.S. residents, up from 683 at midyear 2000. The ratio of the incarceration rates of black men to white men declined from 7 to 6 during this period.
"Changes in the incarceration rates for women were more distinct. At midyear 2000, black women were incarcerated at a rate 6 times that of white women (or 380 per 100,000 U.S. residents versus 63 per 100,000 U.S. residents). By June 30, 2007, the incarceration rate for black women declined to 3.7 times that of white women (or 348 versus 95). An 8.4% decline in the incarceration rate for black women and a 51% increase in the rate for white women accounted for the overall decrease in the incarceration rate of black women relative to white women at midyear 2007."
Sabol, William J., PhD, and Couture, Heather, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prison Inmates at Midyear 2007 (Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, June 2008), NCJ221944, p. 8.
20. Male Incarceration Rate In The US 2007, By Race/Ethnicity
"The custody incarceration rate for black males was 4,618 per 100,000. Hispanic males were incarcerated at a rate of 1,747 per 100,000. Compared to the estimated numbers of black, white, and Hispanic males in the U.S. resident population, black males (6 times) and Hispanic males (a little more than 2 times) were more likely to be held in custody than white males. At midyear 2007 the estimated incarceration rate of white males was 773 per 100,000.
"Across all age categories, black males were incarcerated at higher rates than white or Hispanic males. Black males ages 30 to 34 had the highest custody incarceration rate of any race, age, or gender group at midyear 2007."
21. People Held in Prisons in 2007, by Race/Ethnicity, Gender, and Age
"Of the 2.3 million inmates in custody, 2.1 million were men and 208,300 were women (table 9). Black males represented the largest percentage (35.4%) of inmates held in custody, followed by white males (32.9%) and Hispanic males (17.9%).
"Over a third (33.8%) of the total male custody population was ages 20 to 29 (appendix table 10). The largest percentage of black (35.5%) and Hispanic (39.9%) males held in custody were ages 20 to 29. White males ages 35 to 44 accounted for the largest percentage (30.1%) of the white male custody population.
"The largest percentage (35.9%) of the female custody population was ages 30 to 39. Over a third of white females (35.9%) were ages 30 and 39. The largest percentage (36.8%) of Hispanic females in custody was ages 20 to 29."
Sabol, William J., PhD, and Couture, Heather, "Prison Inmates at Midyear 2007," Washington, DC: US Dept. of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, June 2008, NCJ221944.
22. Racial And Gender Disparities In US Corrections
"Looking at the numbers through the lenses of race and gender reveals stark differences. Black adults are four times as likely as whites and nearly 2.5 times as likely as Hispanics to be under correctional control. One in 11 black adults—9.2 percent—was under correctional supervision at year end 2007. And although the number of female offenders continues to grow, men of all races are under correctional control at a rate five times that of women."
Pew Center on the States, "One in 31: The Long Reach of American Corrections," Washington, DC: The Pew Charitable Trusts, March 2009.
23. Number of People in the US Serving Time in State and Federal Prisons in 2015 by age, sex, race, and Latinx ethnicity
On December 31, 2015, state and federal prisons combined held a total of 1,476,847 people, of whom 499,400 were non-Latinx whites, 523,000 were non-Latinx blacks, 319,400 Latinx, and 135,100 whose race/ethnicity was counted as "other".
Click here for complete datatable of Number of People in the US Serving Time in State and Federal Prisons, by age, sex, race, and Latinx ethnicity, on December 31, 2015
Carson, E. Ann, and Mulako-Wangota, Joseph. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Estimated sentenced state and federal prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents, by sex, race, Hispanic origin, and age, December 31, 2015. Generated using the Corrections Statistical Analysis Tool (CSAT) - Prisoners at www.bjs.gov on December 31, 2016.
24. Chances Of Going to Prison In The US, By Race
"In 2001, the chances of going to prison were highest among black males (32.2%) and Hispanic males (17.2%) and lowest among white males (5.9%). The lifetime chances of going to prison among black females (5.6%) were nearly as high as for white males. Hispanic females (2.2%) and white females (0.9%) had much lower chances of going to prison."
Bonczar, Thomas P., US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, "Prevalence of Imprisonment in the US Population, 1974-2001," NCJ197976 (Washington DC: US Department of Justice, August 2003), p. 8.
25. Comparing Incarceration Rates By Gender, Race, and Ethnicity
"When incarceration rates by State (excluding Federal inmates) are estimated separately by gender, race, and Hispanic origin, male rates are found to be 10 times higher than female rates; black rates 5-1/2 times higher than white rates; and Hispanic rates nearly 2 times higher than white rates."
Harrison, Paige M., & Beck, Allen J., PhD, Bureau of Justice Statistics, "Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2005," Washington, DC: US Dept. of Justice, May 2006, NCJ213133.
26. Parents in Prison, 1999
"Of the Nation's 72.3 million minor children in 1999, 2.1% had a parent in State or Federal prison. Black children (7.0%) were nearly 9 times more likely to have a parent in prison than white children (0.8%). Hispanic children (2.6%) were 3 times as likely as white children to have an inmate parent."
Mumola, Christopher J., US Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, Incarcerated Parents and Their Children (Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, August 2000), p. 2.
27. Injustice of Racial Disparities
"The racially disproportionate nature of the war on drugs is not just devastating to black Americans. It contradicts faith in the principles of justice and equal protection of the laws that should be the bedrock of any constitutional democracy; it exposes and deepens the racial fault lines that continue to weaken the country and belies its promise as a land of equal opportunity; and it undermines faith among all races in the fairness and efficacy of the criminal justice system. Urgent action is needed, at both the state and federal level, to address this crisis for the American nation."
"Punishment and Prejudice: Racial Disparities in the War on Drugs," Washington, DC: Human Rights Watch, June 2000.
28. Effects of "Three-Strikes" Laws
Due to harsh new sentencing guidelines, such as 'three-strikes, you're out,' "a disproportionate number of young Black and Hispanic men are likely to be imprisoned for life under scenarios in which they are guilty of little more than a history of untreated addiction and several prior drug-related offenses... States will absorb the staggering cost of not only constructing additional prisons to accommodate increasing numbers of prisoners who will never be released but also warehousing them into old age."
Craig Haney, Ph.D., and Philip Zimbardo, Ph.D., "The Past and Future of U.S. Prison Policy: Twenty-five Years After the Stanford Prison Experiment," American Psychologist, Vol. 53, No. 7, July 1998.
29. Impact of the Over-Incarceration of Young Black Males in the US
"The spectacular growth in the American penal system over the last three decades was concentrated in a small segment of the population, among young minority men with very low levels of education. By the early 2000s, prison time was a common life event for this group, and today more than two-thirds of African American male dropouts are expected to serve time in state or federal prison. These demographic contours of mass imprisonment have created a new class of social outsiders whose relationship to the state and society is wholly different from the rest of the population."
30. Impact of Racial Disparities
At the start of the 1990s, the U.S. had more Black men (between the ages of 20 and 29) under the control of the nation's criminal justice system than the total number in college. This and other factors have led some scholars to conclude that, "crime control policies are a major contributor to the disruption of the family, the prevalence of single parent families, and children raised without a father in the ghetto, and the 'inability of people to get the jobs still available.'"
31. Strip Searches of Arrestees, England
"One study on the role of closed circuit television in a London police station emphasizes the potential for abuse and discrimination when police officers have discretion to strip search detainees.174 From May 1999 to September 2000, officers in the station processed over 7000 arrests.175 The station's policy allowed officers of the same sex to conduct strip searches only if they felt it was necessary to remove drugs or a harmful object.176
"For each arrest, the researchers documented the detainee's age, sex, ethnicity, and offense.177 A statistical analysis of these factors revealed that, as expected, people arrested for drug offenses were the most likely to be strip searched.178 The results also showed that while all other variables (age, sex, and offense) were controlled, females were less likely to be strip searched than males, and arrestees who were seventeen to twenty-three years old were more likely to be strip searched than other age groups.179 In addition, ethnicity influenced whether a strip search was conducted even when all other variables were taken into account. Specifically, compared to white Europeans, African-Caribbeans were twice as likely to be searched while Arabics and Orientals were half as likely.180 The researchers in the study concluded that the data at least 'raise . . . the spectre of police racism' and reveal that 'policing is unequally experienced,' though it is impossible to determine whether the disproportionate number of strip searches of African-Caribbeans is due to institutional racism or unintentional discrimination.181"
Ha, Daphne, "Blanket Policies for Strip Searching Pretrial Detainees: An Interdisciplinary Argument for Reasonableness," Fordham Law Review (New York, NY: Fordham University School of Law, May 2011) Vol. 79, No. 6, pp. 2740-2741.
Arrests and the Criminal Legal System
Cocaine & Crack
Drug Policies and Policy Reform
Drug Use Prevalence
Gateway Theory
Injection Drug Use and Race
Mental Health, Substance Use, Co-Occurring Disorders and Dual Diagnosis
New Psychoactive Substances including Synthetic Cannabinoids
Pain Management and Rx Drugs
Prisons Overview
Prison and Drugs
Prison and Race
Race, Injection Drug Use, and HIV
Race and Prison
Syringe Exchange