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December 6, 2007

Disturbing Prison Statistics

The New York Times reports the disturbing rate of imprisonment within the United States:

About one in every 31 adults in the United States was in prison, in jail or on supervised release at the end of last year, the Department of Justice reported yesterday.

An estimated 2.38 million people were incarcerated in state and federal facilities, an increase of 2.8 percent over 2005, while a record 5 million people were on parole or probation, an increase of 1.8 percent. Immigration detention facilities had the greatest growth rate last year. The number of people held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities grew 43 percent, to 14,482 from 10,104.

The rate of imprisonment among blacks is significantly higher than whites and the number of women in prison is at a record high.  The key statistic, the one that would help bring about change, are the underlying factors filling our prisons.  Have we become tougher on crime or is there an increase in criminality?

Posted by Vital at December 6, 2007 1:25 AM