US experiences largest prison increase since 2000

By the middle of 2006, the number of people incarcerated in the U. S. was 2,245,189, a 2.8% increase from 2005. This was the largest increase since 2000. One in every 133 residents of the United States was in prison or jail in June 2006.

2006 also saw the first increase in the number of people under 18 in state prisons since 1995. Between 2005 and 2006, the number of youth in state prisons increased 7.1%.

These are some of the many important pieces of information in the latest report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics on the country’s population of incarcerated people. Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2006 provides data on the racial disparity in the prison system, the number of women in prison, the numbers of people in private prisons, and more.

African American men make up 41% of people in prisons and jails. On June 30, 2006, 4.8% of all African American men in the United States were in prison or jail compared to 1.9% of Latino men and .7% of white men. More than 11% of African American men ages 25 to 34 are in prison or jail. African American women go to prison at a rate four times higher than white women and two times higher than Latina women.

The number of women in prison and jail continues to grow at a faster rate than men. While men make up the largest part of the incarcerated population (1,445,115 men in prison or jail in 2006), the number of women in prison (111,403) increased by 4.8% and the number of men in prison increased by 2.7% between 2005 and 2006.

Between 2005 and 2006, the number of people in private prisons increased by 10.1%.

This news brief is based on the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) Bulletin Prison and Jail inmates at Midyear 2006. If the link is broken, check the BJS web site.