Stats
Power Point Statistics – Condensed
In the U.S. 1 in every 31 adults, were incarcerated or on probation or parole at yearend 2006.
(Source: Glaze, Lauren E., and Bonczar, Thomas P., Bureau of Justice Statistics,
Probation and Parole in the United States 2006 (Washington, DC: US Department
of Justice, December 2007), NCJ220218, p. 2.)
A report released 2/28/08 indicates that in the United States more than 1 in 100 adults is now confined in an American jail or prison.
(Pew Public Safety Performance Project. http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org)
DOING THE MATH
PRISON POPULATION 1,596,127
+
JAIL POPULATION 723,131
TOTAL BEHIND BARS 2,319,258
2,319,258 ÷ TOTAL U.S. POPULATION OF 229,786,080 = ONE IN EVERY 99.1 U.S. ADULTS ARE BEHIND BARS
(Pew Public Safety Performance Project. http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org)
Over the past twenty-five years, the United States has built the largest prison system in the world.
(Source: Currie, E., Crime and Punishment in America (New York, NY: Metropolitan Books, Henry Holt and Company, Inc., 1998), p. 3.)
Prison population increased an average of 1,100 new inmates EACH WEEK. That’s more than double the rate of population growth for both the USA and the world.
SOURCE: ICFI: Spencer, Naomi. US Prison Population Continues to Soar in 2005. 5 June 2006.
In the United States, 95% of the current prison population will be eligible for release from prison; nearly 80% of these will be on parole.
(U.S. Dept. of Justice; Bureau of Justice Statistics)
A record 7 million people were behind bars, on probation, or on parole at the end of 2005. An estimated 700,000 inmates were released back into society in 2006 alone.
(U.S. Dept. of Justice; Bureau of Justice Statistics)
On average, 50% of released offenders commit an average of 162 new crimes, 40% commit an average of 5 crimes, and 10% commit an average of 650 crimes.
SOURCE: Vance, Carol. Former Executive Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Those 700,000 released in 2006 result in
50% x 162 = 56,700,000
40% x 5 = 1,400,000
10% x 650 = 45,500,000
Average New Crimes 103,600,000
Of those released, 67% will be back behind bars within three months.
(U.S. Dept. of Justice; Bureau of Justice Statistics)
YOUTH:
Each year, there are more than 600,000 admissions to secure youth detention facilities. Youth put in these institutions have increased almost 100 percent since 1985.
(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, “The AFCARS Report—Preliminary FY 2005 Estimates as of September 30, 2006)
Incarcerated youth without support systems are more likely to re-offend and get re-arrested. Numerous studies point to recidivism rates of 50 percent to 75 percent.
(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, “The AFCARS Report—Preliminary FY 2005 Estimates as of September 30, 2006)
The average daily cost for each state prison adult inmate in the US is $67.55 per day. State prisons and jails held 2,319,258 inmates at the end of 2007. That means it cost states approximately $156,665,878. per day, or $57,183,045,470. per year.
(Sources: American Correctional Association, 2006 Directory of Adult and Juvenile Correctional Departments, Institutions, Agencies and Probation and Parole Authorities, 67th Edition (Alexandria, VA: ACA, 2006), p. 16; Sabol, William J., PhD, Couture, Heather, and Harrison, Paige M., Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prisoners in 2006 (Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, December 2007), NCJ219416, p. 24, Appendix Table 9.)
The State of California lists its costs to house a single juvenile offender at a whopping $175,616. per year.
(California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)
A past analysis showed the most expensive inmates each cost the State of Texas more than $1 million per year in healthcare costs. And a whopping 48% of TDCJ’s total pharmacy budget goes to pay for drugs for inmates with HIV.
(Texas Senate Criminal Justin Committee Hearing, Austin, TX April 2, 2008)
Any public school of 1500 has an average of 40% of its students with a parent imprisoned at one time or another.
(US News & World Report, April 29, 2002. Volume 132, Number 14, pp. 48 – 51. “Breaking the Cycle”)
10 million young people nationwide have had a mother or father – or both – behind bars at some point in their lives.
(US News & World Report, April 29, 2002. Volume 132, Number 14, pp. 48 – 51. “Breaking the Cycle”)
In 2000, more than 1.5 million children had a parent in prison, an increase of more than half a million since 1991.
(US News & World Report, April 29, 2002. Volume 132, Number 14, pp. 48 – 51. “Breaking the Cycle”)
78 percent of women behind bars are mothers.
64 percent of men behind bars are fathers.
The children of incarcerated parents are five times more likely to end up in jail themselves.
(US News & World Report, April 29, 2002. Volume 132, Number 14, pp. 48 – 51. “Breaking the Cycle”)
ALABAMA:
“Without the foundation of spiritual wellness, no lasting impact on crime and prison crowding can be made… In Alabama, one small program at Bullock County Correctional Facility has over an eighty-six percent (86%) rate of success of its graduates over the past ten years.”
(Kenneth G. Brothers, Chairman, Reentry Task Force, Report to Alabama Governor Bob Riley, December 20, 2005.)
A conservative 10% reduction in recidivism will produce 2,319,258 x 10% = 231,926 offenders
231,925 x $67.55 = $15,666,534. per day savings in prison costs, or $5,718,284,910 per year.
Just those 231,926 will save the American taxpayers $57,182,849,100 in a 10-year period and $114,365,598,200. in 20 years.
If we repeat the process each year, leaving the prison population constant and not adjusting for rising costs and inflation, in twenty years we can save $ 1,103,629,221,564.
20-Year Savings to America – $ 1,103,629,221,564
