Incarceration in the United States

For the incarceration rate in particular, see United States incarceration rate.
See also: Comparison of United States incarceration rate with other countries

U.S. timeline graphs of number of people incarcerated in jails and prisons[1]

Incarceration in the United States is one of the primary means of punishment for crime in the United States. In 2021, over five million people were under supervision by the criminal justice system,[2][3] with nearly two million people incarcerated in state or federal prisons and local jails. The United States has the largest known prison population in the world. It has 5% of the world’s population while having 20% of the world’s incarcerated persons. China, with more than four times more inhabitants, has fewer persons in prison.[4][5] Prison populations grew dramatically beginning in the 1970s, but began a decline around 2009, dropping 25% by year-end 2021.[6]

Drug offenses account for the incarceration of about 1 in 5 people in U.S. prisons.[7] Violent offenses account for over 3 in 5 people (62%) in state prisons.[7] Property offenses account for the incarceration of about 1 in 7 people (14%) in state prisons.[7]

The United States maintains a higher incarceration rate than most developed countries.[8] According to the World Prison Brief on May 7, 2023, the United States has the sixth highest incarceration rate in the world, at 531 people per 100,000. Expenses related to prison, parole, and probation operations have an annual estimated cost of around $81 billion. Court costs, bail bond fees, and prison phone fees amounted to another $38 billion in costs annually.[9]

Since reaching its peak level of imprisonment in 2009, the U.S. has averaged a rate of decarceration of 2.3% per year.[7][10] This figure includes the anomalous 14.1% drop in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. There is significant variation among state prison population declines. Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York have reduced their prison populations by over 50% since reaching their peak levels.[11] Twenty-five states have reduced their prison populations by 25% since reaching their peaks.[11] The federal prison population downsized 27% relative to its peak in 2011.[12]

Although debtor's prisons no longer exist in the United States, residents of some U.S. states can still be incarcerated for unpaid court fines and assessments as of 2016.[13][14][15][16] The Vera Institute of Justice reported in 2015 that the majority of those incarcerated in local and county jails are there for minor violations and have been jailed for longer periods of time over the past 30 years because they are unable to pay court-imposed costs.[17]

  1. ^ Jacob Kang-Brown, Chase Montagnet, and Jasmine Heiss. People in Jail and Prison in Spring 2021. New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 2021.
  2. ^ "Correctional Populations in the United States, 2021 – Statistical Tables". Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  3. ^ Wang, Leah. "Punishment Beyond Prisons: Incarceration and Supervision by State". Prison Policy Initiative. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  4. ^ Robertson, Campbell (April 25, 2019). "Crime Is Down, Yet U.S. Incarceration Rates Are Still Among the Highest in the World". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  5. ^ Highest to Lowest. World Prison Brief (WPB). Use the dropdown menu to choose lists of countries by region or the whole world. Use the menu to select highest-to-lowest lists of prison population totals, prison population rates, percentage of pre-trial detainees/remand imprisoned people, percentage of imprisoned females, percentage of imprisoned foreign people, and occupancy rate. Column headings in WPB tables can be clicked to reorder columns lowest to highest, or alphabetically. For detailed information for each country click on any country name in lists. See also the WPB main data page and click on the map links and/or the sidebar links to get to the region and country desired.
  6. ^ Ghandnoosh, Nazgol (February 8, 2023). "Ending 50 Years of Mass Incarceration: Urgent Reform Needed to Protect Future Generations". The Sentencing Project. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d Carson, E. Ann (December 2022). "Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables" (PDF). U.S. Department of Justice.
  8. ^ Cullen, James (January 18, 2017). "The United States is (Very) Slowly Reducing Incarceration". Brennan Center of Justice.
  9. ^ "Mass Incarceration Costs $182 Billion Every Year". Equal Justice Initiative. February 6, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  10. ^ "Prisoners, 1925–81". Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Search Publications". Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  12. ^ "BOP: Population Statistics". www.bop.gov. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  13. ^ Staff Writer (April 14, 2009). "Debtors' prison – again". The Tampa Bay Times. United States. Archived from the original on July 6, 2010. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  14. ^ California, State of (2012). "CAL. PEN. CODE § 1205". Find Law.com. California Penal Code.
  15. ^ Knafo, Saki (February 12, 2014). The U.S. Is Locking People Up For Being Poor. The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  16. ^ Genevieve LeBaron and Adrienne Roberts (March 2012). "Confining Social Insecurity: Neoliberalism and the Rise of the 21st Century Debtors' Prison". Politics & Gender. 8 (1): 25–49. doi:10.1017/S1743923X12000062. S2CID 145437287.
  17. ^ Timothy Williams (February 11, 2015). Jails Have Become Warehouses for the Poor, Ill and Addicted, a Report Says. The New York Times. Retrieved February 11, 2015.