Category Archives: NUMBERS

1.9 million people are locked up in the U.S. on any given day

1.9 million people are locked up in the U.S. on any given day

At least 1 in 4 people who go to jail will be arrested again within the same year — often dealing with poverty, mental illness and substance use disorders, problems that only worsen with incarceration.

We go to The Prison Policy Initiative for a study on the current state of mass incarceration in the U.S.

Summary By: Natalie Mattson
Summary By: Natalie Mattson
ORIGINAL STUDY

The Study's Critical Points

  • 8% or less of all people incarcerated in the U.S. are located in private prisons.

 

  • 4 out of 5 people who are incarcerated are charged with something other than a drug offense.

 

  • ⅔ of people in jail have substance use disorders, for which there is not adequate care provided.

 

  • 400% increase of people incarcerated dying of intoxication between 2000 and 2018.

 

  • 1 in 5 (18%) people in jail are there for a violation of probation or parole.

 

  • 153,000 people at least were incarcerated due to non-criminal violations of their parole or probation in 2019.

 

  • 25% of the daily national jail population is typically due to low-level offenses such as jaywalking or sitting on a sidewalk.

 

“In Monroe County, N.Y., for example, over 3,000 people have an active bench warrant at any time, more than 3 times the number of people in the county jails.”

 

 

  • 6,000 people are in federal prisons for convictions of immigration offenses

 

  • 16,000 more people are held in pretrial by the U.S. Marshals.

 

  •  22,000 people are civilly detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), facing deportation.

 

  • 38% of the incarcerated population is made up of Black Americans. However, they only represent 12% of the U.S. population.

VISUAL Breakdown

Above: A graphic depicting the number of people who got to jail and prison.

Resources

COVID: State policy changes. News. Bureau of Prisons updates. State court changes.

GENERAL: Prison holistic self care and protection. Jailhouse Lawyers Handbook. Advocacy Handbook. Handbook: safety planning w/ survivors of domestic violence.

Load More
More Voices of Justice To Come

The system shrank, but its unfairness grew.

The system shrank, but its unfairness grew.

When youth of color are arrested, they are more likely to be detained than their white peers.

We go to the The Sentencing Project for a study on youth incarceration. 

Below are excerpts from the study

Natalie Mattson
Natalie Mattson
ORIGINAL STUDY

Critical Points

Youth incarceration is most commonly measured by a one-day count every October. This results in a vast undercount, especially amongst detained youths.

  • 31 youths charged with drug offenses are detained for each one measured in the one-day count.
  • 25 youths charged with public order offenses are detained for each one measured in the one-day count.
  • 18 youths charged with property offenses are detained for each one measured in the one-day count.
  • 11 youths charged with person offenses are detained for each one measured in the one-day count.

Likelihood of detention by race and ethnicity in 2019:

  • Latinx youth – 32%
  • Black youth – 29%
  • Asian/NHPI youth – 26%
  • Tribal youth – 25%
  • White youth – 20%

Likelihood of commitment by race and ethnicity in 2019

  • All youth – 7.6%
  • Latinx youth – 9.3%
  • Black youth – 9.3%
  • Tribal youth – 7.9%
  • Asian/NHPI youth – 5.6%
  • White youth – 5.6%

Over the past 10 years, the likelihood of detention for white youth and Tribal youth has remained about the same. However, Latino youth’s likelihood increased by 4%; Black youth’s increased by 3%; Asian/Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander increased by 5%.

VISUAL Breakdown

Above: A graphic depicting the miscount of youths in detention.

Resources

COVID: State policy changes. News. Bureau of Prisons updates. State court changes.

GENERAL: Prison holistic self care and protection. Jailhouse Lawyers Handbook. Advocacy Handbook.

Load More
More Voices of Justice To Come

10-Year follow-up study of people released from state prisons in 2008

10-Year follow-up study of people released from state prisons in 2008

People released in 2008 had a median of nine prior arrests and five prior convictions in their history.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics study consisted of about 73,600 people released from state prisons in 2008 who were randomly selected to represent the approximately 409,300 people released across 24 states in 2008. Excerpts of the study are below.

Summary By: Natalie Mattson
Summary By: Natalie Mattson
ORIGINAL STUDY

The Study's Critical Points

  • 82% of study participants were arrested at least once during the 10 years following. 

  • 66% of study participants were rearrested within 3 years. 

  • 90% of study participants, aged 24 or younger at the time of their release, were arrested within the 10 years following. 

  • 85% of participants between the ages of 25 to 39 at their release, were arrested within 10 years. 

  • 75% of participants who were 40 or older at the time of their release were arrested within 10 years.

  • 81% of participants who served less than the 15-month median were arrested within 10 years of release.

  • 76% of participants who served more than the 15-month median were arrested within 10 years of release.

  • The annual arrest percentage among study participants decreased from 43% in Year 1 to 22% by Year 10.

Read the whole study here.

VISUAL Breakdown

Above: A graphic depicting the disparity national recidivism over ten years from state prisons.

Resources

COVID: State policy changes. News. Bureau of Prisons updates. State court changes.

GENERAL: Prison holistic self care and protection. Jailhouse Lawyers Handbook. Advocacy Handbook. Handbook: safety planning w/ survivors of domestic violence.

Load More
More Voices of Justice To Come

the worst place to be pregnant or postpartum: prisons

the worst place to be pregnant or postpartum: prisons

Carceral environments do not meet, or sometimes even recognize, the basic needs of pregnant and postpartum women, according to groundbreaking research from the Pregnancy in Prison Statistics Project. We go to the Prison Policy Initiative for this week’s study “Unsupportive environments and limited policies: Pregnancy, postpartum, and birth during incarceration,” by Leah Wang. Below are excerpts from the study.

Summary by: Abby Ilfeld
Summary by: Abby Ilfeld
Mckayla Buckly
Mckayla Buckly
ORIGINAL STUDY

The Study's Critical Points

  • Around 58,000 pregnant women enter jail or prison each year and many give birth or experience other outcomes during their sentence.

  • Premature birth, miscarriage, and C-Section rates were higher in some prison systems than among the general population.

  • There is a 3.3% pregnancy rate among confined youth, nearly the same as the 3.5% rate of pregnancy for incarcerated adults.

  • Paternal incarceration is also associated with adverse outcomes for babies that can have long-lasting impacts, like a low birth weight.

 

  • Only one-third of prisons and jails had a written policy concerning lactation.

  • Postpartum women are often left to the care of untrained staff who may not understand why lactation is important.

  • In facilities where women are allowed to lactate, their milk was sometimes cast-off and wasted because of mother-infant separation.

 

  • 26% of pregnant women entering prison and 14% entering jail had opioid use disorder (OUD).

  • 22 of 28 research sites offered medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) but most of these facilities, they only offered MOUD to women who had begun treatment before admission.

  • In most facilities that offered MOUD, they would discontinue treatment postpartum.

  • In one-third of the research sites, facilities would treat OUD with detoxification or “medically supervised withdrawal” which is often painful, has a high failure rate, and ultimately increases the risk of future overdoses.

 

The Prison Policy Initiative recommends that prisons and jails create policies for pregnancy care that follows guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and uphold the National Commission on Correctional Health Care’s standards. Additionally, the researchers are still working to investigate and understand the likely racial disparities that exist during pregnancy behind bars.

 

Read the whole report here.

VISUAL Breakdown

Above: A graphic depicting the disparity in mortality rates between Black and Non-Black participants within the study.

Resources

COVID: State policy changes. News. Bureau of Prisons updates. State court changes.

GENERAL: Prison holistic self care and protection. Jailhouse Lawyers Handbook. Advocacy Handbook. Handbook: safety planning w/ survivors of domestic violence.

Load More
More Voices of Justice To Come

COVID-19 Mismanagement: A Fractured Prison System

COVID-19 Mismanagement: A Fractured Prison System

Covid has claimed more than 2,700 lives behind bars and infected 1 out of every 3 people in prison, a report from the Prison Policy Initiative rated prisons’ responses in fall 2021

 
Tiana Lockett
Tiana Lockett
& Mckayla Buckley
& Mckayla Buckley
ORIGINAL STUDY

The Study's Critical Points

Prison Policy Initiative assessed departments of corrections across the United States on the following criteria: their ability to limit the number of people in prison, reduce infection and death rates, vaccinate the population, and provide basic necessities of health.

 

  • Above all states, New Jersey received the highest rating for its ability to meet the criteria. 

  • Following behind New Jersey is California due to their heightened efforts of providing vaccinations, extending state offerings of free calls and dismissing medical co-pays. 

  • Despite the composite scores, there were a few states who excelled in a single category.

    • North Dakota, New Jersey, and Oregon all received high scores for providing vaccinations.

    • New Jersey, Connecticut and Illinois all reduced their prison populations. 

Read the whole study here. 

Visual Breakdown

Above: A graphic depicting the impact of covid on incarcerated people.

Our Latest
NUMBERS

Still locked out of the ballot box

 An estimated 4.6 million Americans are still unable to vote due to felony records despite reforms. This includes more than one in 10 Black adults in eight states – Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Virginia.

October 26, 2022
DISPATCHES

Bail industry gets away with murder, costing defendants and citizens alike

An investigation was published indicating that six NYC bail bond companies were using fake trade names in order to continue operations without being shut down by state officials for large amounts of debt. The ability of agencies to continue to profit off of the bail system despite state laws that allow officials to suspend agencies owing large sums of money is the sixth loophole emphasized by the report.

October 25, 2022
NUMBERS

Mass incarceration punishes kids too

The arrest of a parent can be traumatic and severe for children whose parents are incarcerated, causing emotional, physical, educational and financial well-being difficulties. According to a  new study, kids of incarcerated parents are likely to become incarcerated themselves.

October 25, 2022
Load More
More Voices of Justice To Come

Resources

COVID: State policy changes. News. Bureau of Prisons updates. State court changes.
GENERAL: Prison holistic self care and protection. Jailhouse Lawyers Handbook. Advocacy Handbook.

Pretrial detention led to a 42% increase in sentence length

Pretrial detention led to a 42% increase in sentence length

Our nation incarcerates almost half a million Americans not yet convicted of a crime but incarcerated because of their inability to pay bail, a new report from Thurgood Marshall Institute reports on money bail and algorithmic risk assessments.  

Summary By: Natalie Mattson
Summary By: Natalie Mattson
ORIGINAL STUDY

The Study's Critical Points

“Money bail is one of the many well-established practices in our criminal justice system that unjustly punishes people based on low-wealth and race.”

Kesha Moore, PhD Tweet

Highlights in numbers:

  • 90% of arrests are for misdemeanor charges
  • 80% of people released prior to trial were not arrested prior to trial and arrived at their court date
  • 98% of those released do not endanger public safety awaiting trial
  • 91% of people labeled high-risk for “new violent criminal activity” were not arrested for a violent crime awaiting trial
  • 66% of mothers cannot afford bail
  • $10,000 is the median money bail amount a felony
    • $16,000 is the average yearly income for a man who cannot afford bail
    • $11,000 is the average yearly income for a woman who cannot afford bail
  • 43% of people experiencing pretrial incarceration are Black
    • 13% of the U.S. population is
  • 20% of people experiencing pretrial incarceration are Latinx
    • about 13% of the U.S. population is
  • 48% of white people charged with felony crimes were incarcerated pretrial
  • 59% of Black people charged with the same crimes were incarcerated pretrial
  • A study conducted in 2014 found that Black people were 10% more likely to be incarcerated pretrial than white people who were accused of the same crime. Black people were 20% more likely to be incarcerated pretrial for misdemeanor property offenses than white people accused of the same crime.
 
 “Algorithmic risk assessments uncritically incorporate biased data infused with structural racism into what becomes biased decisions about pretrial incarceration.”

State stats:

  • In Broward County, Florida, the risk assessment algorithm was twice as likely to label Black people as high-risk for future criminal activity than white people.
  • A pretrial justice system study in Philadelphia reported that pretrial detention led to a 42% increase in the length of the sentence.
  • After Maryland introduced a statewide risk assessment tool, there was a 15.9% increase in the percentage of people held without bail in Montgomery County.
  • In Washington D.C., where there is no money bail, 94% of people awaiting trial are released, and 90% of them arrive at their court dates.
  • A pilot program started in Multnomah County, Oregon in 2007, made automatic reminder calls to people about their upcoming court dates. Court appearances increased by 31% and over a million dollars were saved by the county.
 

Read the whole study here.

VISUAL Breakdown

Above: A graphic depicting a quote of the issue of determining people’s risk through automated systems.

Resources

COVID: State policy changes. News. Bureau of Prisons updates. State court changes.

GENERAL: Prison holistic self care and protection. Jailhouse Lawyers Handbook. Advocacy Handbook. Handbook: safety planning w/ survivors of domestic violence.

Black girls arrested at 14 times the rate of white girls in school-related matters

Black girls arrested at 14 times the rate of white girls in school-related matters

The ACLU reported in a recent study that Allegheny County public school-related arrest rates matched national trends, but Black students and students with disabilities had disproportionally higher arrests.

Summary By: Natalie Mattson
Summary By: Natalie Mattson
ORIGINAL STUDY

The Study's Critical Points

  • 1 out of every 51 Black boys enrolled in schools was arrested, compared with 1 out of every 316 white boys.
  • 1 out of every 69 Black girls enrolled in schools was arrested, compared with 1 out of every 894 white girls.
  • Black girls were arrested 14 times more than the rate of white girls in school-related matters.
  • Students with disabilities were arrested almost three times as much as students without.

Black boys with a disability were arrested at 5.7 times the rate of white boys with a disability, while Black girls with a disability were arrested at 8.2 times the rate of white girls

ACLU Report Jan. 2022 Tweet

VISUAL Breakdown

Above: A graphic depicting the disparity in arrests between Black and white students.

The burden of prison medical costs, another barrier for the incarcerated finding healthcare

The burden of prison medical costs, another barrier for the incarcerated finding healthcare

For people earning 14-63 cents an hour in prison (many earn nothing at all for their work), a typical $2-5 copay is the equivalent of charging a free-world worker $200 or $500 for a medical visit.

 We go to the Prison Policy Initiative for a study on prison copays. Below are excerpts.

Summary By: Natalie Mattson
Summary By: Natalie Mattson
ORIGINAL STUDY

The Study's Critical Points

In 2017, only eight states did not charge medical copays for incarcerated people: Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Wyoming.

 

  • This study reviewed each state’s policy on the topic and any temporary changes they’ve made during COVID-19. 

  • Since 2017, California and Illinois have eliminated medical copays. 

  • For the last two years, Virginia has suspended medical copays as part of a pilot program. 

  • Texas reduced its exorbitant $100 yearly health care fee to a less atrocious, but still out-of-reach, $13.55 per-visit fee.

  • Idaho also reduced its medical copays in prison from $5 to $3 in 2018.

  • Twenty-eight states modified their policies during the first few months of the pandemic, and, ultimately, all but one state — Nevada — temporarily changed their policies.

  • Most states that have modified their copay policies during the pandemic only suspended copays for respiratory, flu-related, or COVID-19 symptoms. But these limitations ignore the facts that not all COVID-19 symptoms fall within these vague categories, and many people don’t display symptoms at all.

  • Five states — Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Minnesota, and Texas — rolled back their COVID-19 copay modifications at some point during the pandemic. 

  • Alabama went from suspending all copays to reinstating them for all cases in December 2020. 

  • Minnesota and Texas had modified copays to accommodate people with COVID-19 symptoms, but reinstated all copays in December 2020 and September 2021, respectively. We confirmed that 22 states continue to operate with their COVID-19 copay policy changes in place.

 

Read the whole study here.

VISUAL Breakdown

Above: A graphic depicting state prison co-pays.

Resources

COVID: State policy changes. News. Bureau of Prisons updates. State court changes.

GENERAL: Prison holistic self care and protection. Jailhouse Lawyers Handbook. Advocacy Handbook. Handbook: safety planning w/ survivors of domestic violence.

Serving time in prison during young adulthood is as common for Black men as college graduation is for White men​

Serving time in prison during young adulthood is as common for Black men as college graduation is for White men

A four decades study links mass incarceration to higher death rates of Black people.

 We go to the JAMA Network for a study completed over four decades on the mortality risks of U.S. incarceration and the impacts that it has on Black compared with non-Black populations. 

Below are excerpts from the study.

Summary By: Natalie Mattson
Summary By: Natalie Mattson
ORIGINAL STUDY

The Study's Critical Points

  • During the era of mass incarceration of the last four decades, the incarcerated population in the US has quadrupled in size.
  • Serving time in prison during young adulthood is as common for Black men as college graduation is for White men.
  • Incarceration in adulthood was associated with lower life expectancy for Black people in the study but not for non-Black participants.
  • The major factors are unequal rates of exposure to incarceration unequal impacts of that incarceration on people
  • The findings of this study suggest that in the US, incarceration may contribute to a lower life expectancy for Black US residents.

VISUAL Breakdown

Above: A graphic depicting the disparity in mortality rates between Black and Non-Black participants within the study.

Resources

COVID: State policy changes. News. Bureau of Prisons updates. State court changes.

GENERAL: Prison holistic self care and protection. Jailhouse Lawyers Handbook. Advocacy Handbook. Handbook: safety planning w/ survivors of domestic violence.

Covid strained an already broken healthcare system behind bars

Covid strained an already broken healthcare system behind bars​

inmates must work 18 hours in Tennessee to afford the copay for a medical visit, a new report from The Tennessee Justice Center reveals the extreme barriers to adequate medical care for prisoners. Below are excerpts from the report.

Summary By: Natalie Mattson
Summary By: Natalie Mattson
ORIGINAL STUDY

The Study's Critical Points

Between March and August of 2020, the 10 largest COVID-19 outbreaks in the country were linked to correctional facilities, with the 7th largest occurring at Trousdale Turner Correctional Center in Hartsville, TN.

  • At Trousdale, 53% of inmates, or 1,299, tested positive for coronavirus.

  • At South Central Correctional Facility in Clifton, 81% of all inmates, or 1,144, tested positive for COVID-19. 

  • After the first incarcerated person tested positive on March 23, 2020, Tennessee implemented mass COVID-19 testing for Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) staff and inmates in April.

  • As of December 14, 2021, there were 60 total deaths among TDOC prisoners, or 1 death out of every 360 prisoners. 

 

Among the 50 states, Tennessee ranks 20th for the highest number of state prisoners infected with coronavirus per capita, with 7,290 total cases.

  • There was 1 known case per every 3 prisoners, which was 74% higher than Tennessee overall.

  • Among TDOC staff, 1,546 individuals have been infected, and five have died.

Incarceration-associated health disparities

Incarcerated individuals experience higher rates of chronic and mental health conditions than the general population, and time spent incarcerated is associated with a significant decline in overall health.

 

  • 14.5% of men and 31% of women in jail have serious mental illness compared to 5% in the general population.

  • Suicide is the leading cause of death in jails and prisons, accounting for nearly half of deaths during incarceration from 2000-2016.

  • 40% of jail deaths occur within the first week of incarceration.

  • 67% of the prison population has substance use disorder, compared to 38% in the general population.

  • Only 15% of those who need treatment receive it while incarcerated.

Barriers to healthcare access for incarcerated individuals

  • In Tennessee, inmates are charged a $3.00 medical copay for physician visits, medication, and other health needs: these copays are paid by inmates who earn 17 cents an hour, meaning they would have to work for nearly 18 hours to afford a medical visit.

  • 20% of state inmates, and 68% of local jail inmates did not receive a medical examination while incarcerated.

Read the full report here.

VISUAL Breakdown

Above: A graphic depicting that only 15% of people received care in Tennessee prisons. 

Resources

COVID: State policy changes. News. Bureau of Prisons updates. State court changes.

GENERAL: Prison holistic self care and protection. Jailhouse Lawyers Handbook. Advocacy Handbook. Handbook: safety planning w/ survivors of domestic violence.