Prison Statistics

Prison Population
o Over 2 million prisoners are held in federal and state prisons or local jails which
gives the U.S. one-quarter of the worlds 8 million prisoners
o Currentl! there are almost ".# million people $eing held under State or %ederal
&urisdiction
o &ustice 'olic (nstitute released that the jail population has nearl dou$led in less
than 2 decades! and last ear the prison population grew $ 2)!***
o +ore than " in "** ,merican adults is $ehind $ars
o ,s of &une 2**#! 2*-!"** women were in state or federal prisons or local jails
which is a #./ increase from "00)
o (n 2**#! there were more than ".- million women inmates! parolees! and
pro$ationers in the U.S.
Literacy
o +ore than #*/ of all prison inmates are functionall illiterate
o 8)/ of all juveniles who go through the juvenile court sstem are functionall
illiterate
o 'enal institution records show that inmates have a "#/ chance of returning to
prison if the receive literac help! as opposed to 1*/ who receive no help
o 2he 3epartment of &ustice stated! 42he lin5 $etween academic failure and
delinquenc! violence! and crime is welded to reading failure.4
Race and Ethnicity
o , report! from the 'ew Center on the States! found that onl " in -)) white
women $etween the ages of -)--0 are incarcerated! $ut that " in "** $lac5 women
is $ehind $ars
o ,frican ,mericans are nearl ) times as li5el to $e incarcerated in jails as whites
and almost - times as li5el as 6atinos
o 7ased on &ustice 3epartment statistics for 2**#! " in ") $lac5 adults and " in -#
8ispanic adults is $ehind $ars
o One in 0 $lac5 men $etween the ages of 2*--. is in prison
Single Mothers
o 18/ of the nation9s jail and prison inmates grew up in a fatherless household!
even though onl ")/ of toda9s adult population grew up without a father
o 11/ of women in prisons or jails are single mothers
o :ationall! nearl 8.1 million children have parents under correctional
supervision ;either in prison or jail! or on pro$ation or parole<. ,lmost ".8 million
children have parents in state or federal prison
o +ore than #)/ of women and ))/ of men in state prisons report $eing parents of
children under "8. #./ of mothers in state prisons report living with their
children $efore prison. One-third of mothers lived alone with their children in the
month prior to arrest. One in ) children of incarcerated mothers witnessed their
mothers arrest.
o 88/ of fathers in :ew =or5 State prisons report that their children live with their
mothers! while onl 2*/ of incarcerated mothers in :ew =or5 report that their
children live with their fathers. +ore than 1./ of incarcerated mothers report
that their children live with a grandparent or other relative and "8/ report that
their children live in foster homes or agencies.
o ,frican ,merican children are nearl 0 times more li5el to have a parent in
prison than white children. 6atino children are - times more li5el than white
children to have an incarcerated parent.
Sexual Abuse
o ,$out 8*/ of women prisoners have $een se>uall or phsicall a$used $efore
$eing incarcerated
o 81/ of female inmates who spent their childhood in foster care or institutions
report that the had $een a$used at some point in their lives
o (n some facilities! " in . women are se>uall a$used while in prison
o ?omen inmates in :ew &erse9s prisons are twice as li5el to $e raped and nearl
# times more li5el to $e otherwise se>uall a$used $ other inmates than their
male counterparts
Physical Abuse and Retaliation
o 7attering is the single major cause of injur to women! more frequent than auto
accidents! muggings and rapes com$ined
o ,n act of adult domestic violence occurs ever ") seconds! more frequentl than
an other crime in the U.S.
o %7( data indicate that -*/ of female homicide victims are 5illed $ their
hus$ands or $ofriends
o @esearch shows that when victims 5ill it is much more li5el to $e in self-defense
than when a$users perpetrate homicide. Aictims who resort to homicide have
often tried repeatedl and unsuccessfull to o$tain protection from their a$users.
o , 'olice %oundation stud in 3etroit and Bansas Cit found that in 8)-0*/ of
4partner4 homicides! police had $een called to the home at least once during the 2
ears preceding the incidentC in more than half of these cases the had $een called
) times or more.
o , Coo5 Count ;(llinois< 3ept. of Corrections stud of the Chicago women9s
prison found that .* percent of inmates incarcerated for murder or manslaughter
had 5illed partners who repeatedl assaulted them. 2hese women had sought
police protection at least five ) $efore resorting to homicide.
o , stud on a California state prison found that 0-/ of women who had 5illed
their mates had $een $attered $ themC #1/ of these women indicated the
homicide resulted from an attempt to protect themselves or their children.
Drug Abuse
o ,s of &anuar 2**1! almost 18/ of women in prison and just under 0"/ of men
in prison for drug offenses were ,frican ,merican or 6atina! even though studies
show that Caucasians use! sell! and $u drugs in greater num$ers than people of
color
o 2he :ational Center of ,ddiction and Su$stance ,$use at Colum$ia Universit
reports that drug and alcohol a$use pla a role in the incarceration of 8*/ of the
individuals imprisoned in U.S. jails and prisons
o ,s of 2***! more than 1*/ of women inmates were incarcerated for non-violent
drug! propert or pu$lic offenses
Mental Health
o Dach ear a$out ")* prisoners commit suicide! a$out 1* perish in deaths caused
$ another! and .** die of un5nown causes that were apparentl not natural! self-
inflicted! accidental! or resulting from homicide
o &ails are la$eled the Enew aslums!F since # out of "* people in jail are living with
a mental illness
o ,s of 2**. government stud found that 1-/ of women in state prisons
nationwide either had smptoms or a clinical diagnosis of mental illness andGor
were receiving treatment from a mental health professional in the past ear!
compared to ))/ of men
Labor and Costs
o 'risoners who wor5 earn as little as H*.*8 per hour. %emale incarcerated in
federal prisons ma5e a minimum of H).1) per month.
o (n 2**1! according to the :ational ,ssociation of State 7udgeting Officers! states
spent H.. $illion in ta> dollars on corrections which drasticall contrasts the
H"*.# $illion spent in "081.
o (n 2**)! it cost on average H2-! 81# dollars to imprison someone! et the cost of
outpatient drug treatment ranges from H.!-**-H1!)** per person per ear
References:
httpIGGwww.prisonerlife.comGa$outus.cfm
httpIGGwww.justicepolic.orgGcontent.phpJhm(3K"8""Lsm(3K")8"Lssm(3K1-
httpIGGwww.justicepolic.orgGcontent.phpJhm(3K"8""Lsm(3K")8"Lssm(3K1-
httpIGGwww.womenprisoners.orgGresourcesGcriticalMstatistics.html
www.ojp.usdoj.govG$jsGprisons.htm
httpIGGwww.claim-il.orgGa$out.html
httpIGGwww.writeaprisoner.comGprisoner-statistics.asp>
httpIGGwww.ntimes.comG2**8G*2G28GusG28cnd-prison.html
httpIGGwww.correctionalassociation.orgGgeneralGpu$s.html
httpIGGwww.writee>press.comG6earn2o@eadGresearchGliteracstatistics.html
httpIGGchristianpart.netGchildren.htm
httpIGGwww.fathermag.comG1*"G2rev"G
httpIGGwww.harpers.orgGsu$jectsG'risonGSu$jectOfG%act
httpIGGwww.a5hopecenter.orgGlethal.htm
httpIGGwww.alternet.orgGreproductivejusticeG
httpIGGwww.fo>news.comGstorG*!20--!2"10.)!**.html