1 in 100 U.S. Adults Behind Bars, New Study Says

[kedzieb]

This was completely shocking to me.


1 in 100 U.S. Adults Behind Bars, New Study Says (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/us/28cnd-prison.html?ex=1361941200&en=353bf6ba42c6ee84&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss)

For the first time in the nation’s history, more than one in 100 American adults is behind bars, according to a new report.

Nationwide, the prison population grew by 25,000 last year, bringing it to almost 1.6 million. Another 723,000 people are in local jails. The number of American adults is about 230 million, meaning that one in every 99.1 adults is behind bars.

Incarceration rates are even higher for some groups. One in 36 Hispanic adults is behind bars, based on Justice Department figures for 2006. One in 15 black adults is, too, as is one in nine black men between the ages of 20 and 34.

The report, from the Pew Center on the States, also found that only one in 355 white women between the ages of 35 and 39 are behind bars but that one in 100 black women are.

The report’s methodology differed from that used by the Justice Department, which calculates the incarceration rate by using the total population rather than the adult population as the denominator. Using the department’s methodology, about one in 130 Americans is behind bars.

more at the link

[imagirliegirl]

At least this is finally getting some attention. Maybe once people are aware they will demand some change. We have the highest incarceration rate in the world. Pretty pathetic.

[thelittlebabu]

From the article:
“While we certainly want to be smart about who we put into prisons,” Professor Cassell said, “it would be a mistake to think that we can release any significant number of prisoners without increasing crime rates. One out of every 100 adults is behind bars because one out of every 100 adults has committed a serious criminal offense.”
No...

“Our violent offenders, we lock them up for a very long time — rapists, murderers, child molestors,” said John Whitmire, a Democratic state senator from Houston and the chairman of the state senate’s criminal justice committee. “The problem was that we weren’t smart about nonviolent offenders. The legislature finally caught up with the public.”

He gave an example.

“We have 5,500 D.W.I offenders in prison,” he said, including people caught driving under the influence who had not been in an accident. “They’re in the general population. As serious as drinking and driving is, we should segregate them and give them treatment.”

The Pew report recommended diverting nonviolent offenders away from prison and using punishments short of reincarceration for minor or technical violations of probation or parole. It also urged states to consider earlier release of some prisoners.

Before the recent changes in Texas, Mr. Whitmire said, “we were recycling nonviolent offenders.”
Non-violent prisoners fill up the majority of prisons. They're much easier to oversee than violent prisoners so they'll sit in their cells while the violent offenders are first in line to be let go when the prisons become overpopulated.

There's a huge prison lobby in this country. It's big business. It's sad.

[kedzieb]

I know all about the prison lobby and how building new prisons is big business. I guess I'm just so far out of the loop when it comes to the prison culture that the numbers are completely shocking to me still.

I mean, I'm 30 and over the course of my life I've meet thousands of people through work, friends, school, travel, family. I know of one person (a friend's ex) who went to prison. It was for 1 year in the 90's for what he claimed was a car insurance violation. Obviously bullshit, but since I don't know what he was actually in for I'd guess it was non-violent.

So the idea of 1 out of every 100 adults being CURRENTLY in prison is insane to me. I don't consider myself sheltered and have friends from all over the world, but I can't imagine knowing 10 people (if I conservatively know 1000 people) behind bars.

[LittleFredPunkinHead]

Beyond the numbers overall, it's absolutely disgusting to me that 1 in 9 young black men are in prison. That's just wrong.

[miel]

it's absolutely disgusting to me that 1 in 9 young black men are in prison

It's so bad. For every person in prison, you have kids and parents and siblings--people that suffer. It's unimaginable how that must impact some communities. I had a cousin in prison. It made me so sad. He wasn't a bad guy, I swear, even if he had some impulse control and liked to get high. One time he ended up in prison for public urination--which is bad, I know--but it was because it was viewed as a parole violation. Another time he was arrested in a mall for trespassing because the security guard told him to leave and he did not leave. (Obviously, he is a dumba**. But for this he went to prison again.) His first crime was stealing beer off the back porch of a restaurant. It all went downhill from there. It also made me realize just how easy it is to go to prison if you screw up once and get into the penal system. Parole violations are very easy to make.

I know the SWEETEST kid...and I mean SWEET, ADORABLE, GENTLE who is in prison right now because he was always late to his parole hearings and then he missed one. Basically, he's spending a year behind bars for (a) committing a minor theft for which he did serve time and (b) being an 18 year old flake. He has some kind of ADD or something. And his aunt was telling me how there are other kids in there with him for similar sorts of things. He's being brave about it, she says, and trying to say how it's teaching him to be responsible and stuff but it sort of breaks your heart.

If he ever screws up again in any way--which he might because he is kind of a hugely gullible idiot who lacks good judgment--then he could be in and out of the system for quite some time.

Meanwhile, rich kids do the exact same things he did and get off all the time because it is understood that they will outgrow it or whatever. Hello? Almost every major politician has admitted to drug use. If you are poor and black that might be it for you if you also happen to be unlucky. The president was once found to be drunk driving in Maine, by the way.

I mean, this is just anecdotal. I'm not saying people in prison have not done anything wrong. Obviously, they have and this is a problem. But a lot of those nonviolent offenders started out as teenage screw ups who take some drugs or steal a case of beer and happen to be the wrong color. Then, they get a record and they can get in and out over and over. There has to be another way to handle dumb unruly people who pose no real threat to other people than to send them to prison.

I know someone reading this is going to probably freak out because once someone becomes a prisoner they assume they must be a dangerous person. But try and think about any young man you know and try to think if he has ever broken the law in any way. Ever gotten into a fistfight? Ever possessed drugs? Ever stolen a case of beer off a porch? Ever thrown a rock through a window? (And yes, sometimes burglary is involved or other things like that.) Are you necessarily scared of him? It's very different when it happens to someone you know.

[ysolde]

One in nine? I just cannot get that figure out of my head. We are losing an entire generation of young men to prison (and I say "we" although I am not AA, because, well, when our society loses one out of every nine young men in any group, we are all made poorer for it). It breaks my heart.

[imagirliegirl]

Beyond the numbers overall, it's absolutely disgusting to me that 1 in 9 young black men are in prison. That's just wrong.

I'm currently in a minorities and crime class and it's shocking. I *think* the current stat is that 1 in 3 black boys can expect to be incarcerated at some point in their life. Something like 1 in 20 can expect to be the victim of a violent assault. I need to find the exact numbers...

What's worse is that kids whose parents are in prison run something like a 75% increased chance of being incarcerated themselves one day. So if you think about the high numbers of black men particularly who are in prison, imagine how many of their children will end up in the same place.

It's going to get worse unless society stands up and says no more. Which probably won't happen, not for awhile at least.

I know all about the prison lobby and how building new prisons is big business.

It's not the big business it used to be. Prisons are closing, releasing people, and not being opened at all because it's so damn expensive now. We've just overloaded the system.

[miel]

I *think* the current stat is that 1 in 3 black boys can expect to be incarcerated at some point in their life. Something like 1 in 20 can expect to be the victim of a violent assault.

The statistic I heard was 1 in 4. WTF??? Is that not insane? How can that be?

They almost all get into trouble when they are really young and dumb and then get stuck in the system for years.

On NPR today I heard a letter from someone who was basically talking about the same thing I mentioned--their relative (maybe their child) got into a bar fight and spent 6 years in, starting at 19. Then he went in two more times for parole violations. Now he is 27 and basically thinks like a 19 year old. They think he's headed for more trouble given his difficulty adjusting. But you just think about the life ruined because of a mistake. What do you do? It's so hard to know but there has to be another way.

[imagirliegirl]

A lot of the problem seems to be the mandatory sentences for drug convictions. Crack is a "black" drug and carries a high mandatory sentence for the first offense. This, coupled with many disadvantages associated with minority communities (poverty, few opportunities for advancement etc...) lands a significant amount of people in jail. The "war on drugs" has increased the prison pop by some obscene amount.

We were watching a video about this girl who gave her friend's mom a ride to somewhere that the mom was going to sell drugs. They were both busted and this poor girl got like, a 20 year sentence.

Then, of course, there are the people who are too poor to make bail or hire decent defenders (both of which can lead to reduced or no jail time) who have committed low level offenses but end up serving too much time.

It's such a crap shoot.

[ysolde]

Meanwhile, such paragons of virtue as Rush Limbaugh are walking free, get to keep their jobs, and their status as, well, paragons of virtue to a certain class of people. The hypocrisy is amazing.

[miel]

Yeah, Rush Limbaugh!!! Good example!!! The thing is that I don't want things to be more consistent because then we'd just have more people in prison. The solution has got to involve changing drug laws.

[phoenics]

One in nine? I just cannot get that figure out of my head. We are losing an entire generation of young men to prison (and I say "we" although I am not AA, because, well, when our society loses one out of every nine young men in any group, we are all made poorer for it). It breaks my heart.

Mine too. Not to sound facetious, but - is this why I can't find a husband? Er, why he can't find me?

*laughs dryly*

These statistics really sadden me though - because it just leaves me with dwindling hope. I don't understand what happened. When I was growing up, there was a problem with keeping our young black brothas off the streets - but I do remember that there were always more black girls in the advanced classes than black boys... but I just didn't 'get it' until I graduated from college (going to college across the street from Morehouse makes you think you live in nirvana) and the black men all but disappeared!

I'd like to marry a black man. Of course, if the right non-black man stepped up I don't think I would turn him away (but he would have to be off the chain!), but I would like to marry a black man. Statistics like these just remind me of how blessed I would be to marry one at this point, as there seem to be so few! LOL.

It becomes a repetitive cycle too - young black men grow up without positive black male role models, get into trouble and then they have young black men who grow up without positive role models. I have a friend whose church runs a ministry called 'Boys 2 Men' that reaches into the community to lift up and mentor young black men by playing sports with them, talking about college, talking about anything, talking about God and Jesus. It's a great program and there are others like it all over - but we have to do more.

I just wish I knew what 'more' meant.

[phoenics]

[FONT="Century Gothic"]
We were watching a video about this girl who gave her friend's mom a ride to somewhere that the mom was going to sell drugs. They were both busted and this poor girl got like, a 20 year sentence.



Oh my Lord that's awful.

[kedzieb]

Mine too. Not to sound facetious, but - is this why I can't find a husband? Er, why he can't find me?

*laughs dryly*

These statistics really sadden me though - because it just leaves me with dwindling hope. I don't understand what happened. When I was growing up, there was a problem with keeping our young black brothas off the streets - but I do remember that there were always more black girls in the advanced classes than black boys... but I just didn't 'get it' until I graduated from college (going to college across the street from Morehouse makes you think you live in nirvana) and the black men all but disappeared!

I'd like to marry a black man. Of course, if the right non-black man stepped up I don't think I would turn him away (but he would have to be off the chain!), but I would like to marry a black man. Statistics like these just remind me of how blessed I would be to marry one at this point, as there seem to be so few! LOL.


Well, if 11% are currently in prison, that does cut down on the dating pool! Your post reminded me of an article a few years ago about the achievement gap between black men and women over our generation. I think it was mainly focused on college graduation rates, but did mention that it was having a strong resulting impact on marriage/dating too.

Since income/schooling is an even stronger draw than race when it came to finding an acceptable partner. Men are more able to "date-down" with women who have less income and schooling, but even that gap is closing. They were talking about all races too, but said the disparity in the percentage of college educated black women to men was the most striking.

Well, I don't know what to do to make it better either, but I think acknowledging that it's a huge number of people in prison overall and black men in particular is a good first step.

[phoenics]

Well, I don't know what to do to make it better either, but I think acknowledging that it's a huge number of people in prison overall and black men in particular is a good first step.

I guess I feel like this has been a known issue in the black community for ages - but I don't think anything has really been done about it. This article to me is just more of the same things I've heard since I was in high school and probably earlier and nothing changed. It's actually gotten worse - much worse - since then.

[Asha]

its not only about changing the drug laws,sentencing, judicial system. even if the stats were lower, would it really mean that we have come so far? so if someone is strung out on drugs, selling drugs, stealing, etc but not in prison mean that we as a nation are doing any better? its a disservice to people at risk to not have adequate services to help lift them up. the prison population is a reflection of our society not only a reflection of the enforcement of laws. yes, there are instances where people are wrongly accused and sent to prison, but there are many people who committed crimes and are serving the correct sentence. we need to focus on how to stop people from committing crimes in the first place.

i am strong believer in improving the education of at risk youth which usually means all the youth in the inner city. as a former teacher in the inner city, it is shameful how little we are doing to help support these children. teaching them to pass a standardized test is only one small piece of the puzzle. many of these children come to school not even knowing how to socialize with others. they face situations which would make many of us literally crazy. we had one part time psychologist for a school of 1,000 students. teachers were punished for sending students to the guidance counselor for help. i sent a student to the guidance counselor bc he was making suicidal threats and i was told that i just wanted to get him out of my hair. principals hide instances of violence by not suspending children bc they don't want the reports published on their websites. sometimes teachers were blamed if students got violent in the classroom. usually, there were at least 5 kids in each classroom with severe psycological issues. most of those were boys. we are also failing to seek help for the quiet girls who are also dealing trauma, but we don't offer them guidance bc they are quiet. those girls will usually end up pregnant teenagers. little educational tutoring or help was offered to kids until they hit the third grade (testing year). by then, students who couldn't read were so frustrated they gave up. by offering students real help in the early years and small class sizes so teachers can manage the students, i think it would go a long way in helping improve our society so children have more opportunities for them ad adults.

[imagirliegirl]

its a disservice to people at risk to not have adequate services to help lift them up. the prison population is a reflection of our society not only a reflection of the enforcement of laws. yes, there are instances where people are wrongly accused and sent to prison, but there are many people who committed crimes and are serving the correct sentence. we need to focus on how to stop people from committing crimes in the first place.


I totally agree with you, we have got to change society. Unfortunately, not enough people in the right places give a shit. If I may be so blunt. The problem I have is people going to prison for the "right" reasons. Our nation has longer sentences and harsher punishments in place than any other "civilized" nation in the world. Our incarceration rate FAR exceeds that of all comparable nations. That is shameful.

It's an issue we revisit over and over in my classes. If a disproportionate number of people that society cared about was locked up, you bet your sweet butt things would change. But who cares about the poor black people? Most people don't identify with "them", therefore they don't sympathize with "their" problem, and nothing gets done. It's just like women's prisons in this country - they are really pitiful. Does anyone notice or care? Nope.

I guess I feel like this has been a known issue in the black community for ages - but I don't think anything has really been done about it. This article to me is just more of the same things I've heard since I was in high school and probably earlier and nothing changed. It's actually gotten worse - much worse - since then.

This is a HUGE problem. And just a further example of how people would rather think of it as "their" problem and ignore it until it goes away...or gets too expensive and then oh crap, it matters. :rolleyes:

The thing is, this is coming out now because of the $$$ aspect. Suddenly prison is becoming overcrowded and too damn expensive to run. States are having to release inmates. Violent offenders are being released to make room for the non-violent drug offenders that have mandatory sentences. We would have sailed along in blissful ignorance forever if money wasn't involved.

Sorry to be so bitter, but sheesh.

[imagirliegirl]

Okay since we're on the subject, some of you may be interested in Race to Incarcerate by Marc Mauer. It's quite an eye opener.

Here are a few stats from the 2006 version of his book:

-Since 1972, the inmate population has risen 500% while the overall population has risen 37%.

-Nearly half of all prison inmates are African American while they hold 13% of the overall population. On any given day, 1 in 14 black males is in prison or jail.

-In 1995, 1 in 3 black males were under some form of supervision on any given day (probation, parole, prison etc...).

-A black boy born in 2001 stood a 32% of being incarcerated at some point in his life.

-He also focuses a bit on how most crime is intraracial, so black criminals have black victims. Why don't people care...

I also found a handout from a class that says that the US has 738/100,000 people in prison. The UK has 145/100,000 and Canada has 107/100,000. The closest to us are Russia with 607/100,000 and Cuba with 487/100,000. (Source: National Council on Crime and Delinquency)