1 in 100 Americans Behind Bars

A report released Thursday revealed that one in every 99.1 American adults is behind bars, a record-high ratio that makes the U.S. the world’s leader in incarcerations.

Reining in Corrections Costs

The report was compiled as part of a broader effort to cut back on corrections costs by implementing alternative sentencing programs, particularly for low-risk and lower-level offenders.  

Last year, nearly $50 billion was spent on corrections—a more than fourfold increase what it was just 20 years ago.  

According to the report, the ever-increasing population of inmates “is saddling cash-strapped states with soaring costs they can ill afford and failing to have a clear impact either on recidivism or overall crime.” 

Increase Linked to Tougher Penalties

In fact, the increase in inmate population does not reflect an increase in crime rates. Rather, the report said the soaring incarceration rate reflects tougher sentencing laws, such as “three strikes” laws.  

Texas and Kansas have already taken action to slow prison population growth and over a dozen other states are working with the Center on the State’s Public Safety Performance Project to develop strategies for diverting offenders from prison while maintaining public safety. 

World’s Leader in Incarcerations

As of January 1, 2008, there were approximately 2.3 million Americans behind bars out of a population of nearly 230 million adults. In contrast, China is far more populous than the U.S. and has a prison population of 1.5 million. 

(Source: Associated Press) 

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