'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
PRISON POPULATION
The United States has the highest documented incarceration rate in the world. At year-end 2009 it was 743 adults incarcerated per 100,000 population. A 2008 New York Times article points out:
Still, it is the length of sentences that truly distinguishes American prison policy. Indeed, the mere number of sentences imposed here would not place the United States at the top of the incarceration lists. If lists were compiled based on annual admissions to prison per capita, several European countries would outpace the United States. But American prison stays are much longer, so the total incarceration rate is higher. ... "Rises and falls in Canada's crime rate have closely paralleled America's for 40 years," Mr. Tonry wrote last year. "But its imprisonment rate has remained stable."According to the Bureau of Justice, at the end of 2009:
- Over 7.2 million people were on probation, in jail or prison, or on parole - 3.1% of all U.S. adult residents or 1 in every 32 adults.
- A total of 4,203,967 adult men and women were on probation and 819,308 were on parole or mandatory conditional release following a prison term.
- State and federal prison authorities had jurisdiction over 1,613,740 prisoners: 1,405,622 under state jurisdiction and 208,118 under federal jurisdiction.
At mid year 2009, local jails held 760,400 adults awaiting trial or serving a sentence
So the total number of prisoners in 2009 peaked at around 2,374,140. See the chart below.
COST
In 2005 it cost an average of $23,876 dollars per year per state prisoner. State prison spending varied widely, from $45,000 a year in Rhode Island to $13,000 in Louisiana.
RECIDIVISM (relapse into crime)
A 2002 study survey showed that among nearly 275,000 prisoners released in 1994, 67.5% were rearrested within 3 years, and 51.8% were back in prison. However, the study found no evidence that spending more time in prison raises the recidivism rate, and found that those serving the longest time, 61 months or more, had a significantly lower re-arrest rate (54.2%) than every other category of prisoner. This is most likely explained by the older average age of those released with the longest sentences, and the study shows a strong negative correlation between recidivism and age upon release.
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And so much for prison being a deterrent to crime. Despite locking up millions of people, America still rates #7 out of 60 countries having the highest per capita crime rate. Yes, we have the 7th highest rate of crime in the world - higher than places such as Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, and Jamaica.
In my view, prisons serve two purposes: (1) a place to lock up bad people so good people are safer, and (2) a place to turn folks into hardened criminals.
I'll probably come under some heat for saying this, but how many criminals does our prison system create? We toss people in jail for stealing a car or some other first-time, non-violent lapse in judgement and, by the time they get out in 2 or 3 or 4 years, they have likely morphed into "real" criminals. Even if some manage not to get twisted by the prison experience, they now have a criminal record and so good luck with getting a decent job. And in the absence of a living wage, they will do what they must to survive... which often involves breaking the law.
Obviously there are no easy answers for reducing the number of people in our prisons. But we need to take a long hard look at our Justice system. Perhaps we should reduce the length of prison terms for certain crimes. Or not put people in prison for non-violent, first offender crimes - what about community service instead? I'm talking about real, constructive work - not picking up trash on the highway.
Do these facts and figures surprise you? Do you think we need to make some changes? What sort of reforms should we consider?
SOURCES
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