Nearly 3 million Americans in Jail

[trex]

1 in 100 Americans behind bars, report finds

Prison spending ballooned from $11 billion to $49 billion in 2 decades

Thurs., Feb. 28, 2008

NEW YORK - For the first time in U.S. history, more than one of every 100 adults is in jail or prison, according to a new report documenting America’s rank as the world’s No. 1 incarcerator. It urges states to curtail corrections spending by placing fewer low-risk offenders behind bars.

Using state-by-state data, the report says 2,319,258 Americans were in jail or prison at the start of 2008 — one out of every 99.1 adults. Whether per capita or in raw numbers, it’s more than any other nation.

The report, released Thursday by the Pew Center on the States, said the 50 states spent more than $49 billion on corrections last year, up from less than $11 billion 20 years earlier. The rate of increase for prison costs was six times greater than for higher education spending, the report said.

According to the report, the inmate population increased last year in 36 states and the federal prison system.

The largest percentage increase — 12 percent — was in Kentucky, where Gov. Steve Beshear highlighted the cost of corrections in his budget speech last month. He noted that the state’s crime rate had increased only about 3 percent in the past 30 years, while the state’s inmate population has increased by 600 percent.

Four states — Vermont, Michigan, Oregon and Connecticut — now spend more on corrections than they do on higher education, the report said.

“These sad facts reflect a very distorted set of national priorities,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, referring to the full report. “Perhaps, if we adequately invested in our children and in education, kids who now grow up to be criminals could become productive workers and taxpayers.”

“For some groups, the incarceration numbers are especially startling,” the report said. “While one in 30 men between the ages of 20 and 34 is behind bars, for black males in that age group the figure is one in nine.”

The racial disparity for women also is stark. One of every 355 white women aged 35 to 39 is behind bars, compared with one of every 100 black women in that age group.

The nationwide figures, as of Jan. 1, include 1,596,127 people in state and federal prisons and 723,131 in local jails. That’s out of almost 230 million American adults.

The report said the United States incarcerates more people than any other nation, far ahead of more populous China with 1.5 million people behind bars. It said the U.S. also is the leader in inmates per capita (750 per 100,000 people), ahead of Russia (628 per 100,000) and other former Soviet bloc nations which round out the Top 10.

The U.S. also is among the world leaders in capital punishment. According to Amnesty International, its 53 executions in 2006 were exceeded only by China, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq and Sudan.

----

- THESE FIGURES DO NOT EVEN INCLUDE THOSE OUT ON PAROLE OR WHO FINISHED THEIR SENTENCE BUT CARRY A CRIMINAL RECORD.

- COMING SOON TO A COUNTRY NEAR YOU!!

[Leafless]

Using state-by-state data, the report says 2,319,258 Americans were in jail or prison at the start of 2008 — one out of every 99.1 adults. Whether per capita or in raw numbers, it’s more than any other nation.

I wonder if this why the high prison population exist:

Who is investing? At least 37 states have legalized the contracting of prison labor by private corporations that mount their operations inside state prisons. The list of such companies contains the cream of U.S. corporate society: IBM, Boeing, Motorola, Microsoft, AT&T, Wireless, Texas Instrument, Dell, Compaq, Honeywell, Hewlett-Packard, Nortel, Lucent Technologies, 3Com, Intel, Northern Telecom, TWA, Nordstrom’s, Revlon, Macy's, Pierre Cardin, Target Stores, and many more. All of these businesses are excited about the economic boom generation by prison labor. Just between 1980 and 1994, profits went up from $392 million to $1.31 billion. Inmates in state penitentiaries generally receive the minimum wage for their work, but not all; in Colorado, they get about $2 per hour, well under the minimum. And in privately-run prisons, they receive as little as 17 cents per hour for a maximum of six hours a day, the equivalent of $20 per month. The highest-paying private prison is CCA in Tennessee, where prisoners receive 50 cents per hour for what they call "highly skilled positions." At those rates, it is no surprise that inmates find the pay in federal prisons to be very generous. There, they can earn $1.25 an hour and work eight hours a day, and sometimes overtime. They can send home $200-$300 per month.

http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2005/octubre/j...42carceles.html

Maybe we should try this in Canada with prison inmates building cheap automobiles like the Russians did with the Lada.

And just think how much safer the streets would be.

[White Doors]

Don't do the crime and you won't do the time.

[margrace]

Received a Government paid paper from Mr. Clement yesterday, please reply, no stamp needed. In it he is asking that we stop such things as house arrest. There are a lot of people in jail who are white collar criminals. What good does it do to pay the horrendous cost of keeping them there? So the tax payer gets dinged twice. And we continuously hear on here about high taxes. Putting more in jail would save us money, stop crime? Give me a break.

The Conservative gov't has made it plain that they want supper jails and then they want chain gangs running from them. I believe the one in Ontario will revert back to gov't hands when the contract is up.

Look at what Mr. Black is costing in the US. What else could they do with him? I have no answers except that he is being made an example of.

I wonder if the next thing is to put poor people in workhouses and force them to work at non paying jobs. In the late 1800's in Britian it was common to put widows and such in these places but only basic food was given if at all. We could get rid of a lot of people that way.

I think Canadians as a whole are pretty good people and a lot of them would not support this type of thing.

Edited February 29, 2008 by margrace

[Borg]

1 in 100 Americans behind bars, report finds

Prison spending ballooned from $11 billion to $49 billion in 2 decades

Thurs., Feb. 28, 2008

NEW YORK - For the first time in U.S. history, more than one of every 100 adults is in jail or prison, according to a new report documenting America’s rank as the world’s No. 1 incarcerator. It urges states to curtail corrections spending by placing fewer low-risk offenders behind bars.

Using state-by-state data, the report says 2,319,258 Americans were in jail or prison at the start of 2008 — one out of every 99.1 adults. Whether per capita or in raw numbers, it’s more than any other nation.

The report, released Thursday by the Pew Center on the States, said the 50 states spent more than $49 billion on corrections last year, up from less than $11 billion 20 years earlier. The rate of increase for prison costs was six times greater than for higher education spending, the report said.

According to the report, the inmate population increased last year in 36 states and the federal prison system.

The largest percentage increase — 12 percent — was in Kentucky, where Gov. Steve Beshear highlighted the cost of corrections in his budget speech last month. He noted that the state’s crime rate had increased only about 3 percent in the past 30 years, while the state’s inmate population has increased by 600 percent.

Four states — Vermont, Michigan, Oregon and Connecticut — now spend more on corrections than they do on higher education, the report said.

“These sad facts reflect a very distorted set of national priorities,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, referring to the full report. “Perhaps, if we adequately invested in our children and in education, kids who now grow up to be criminals could become productive workers and taxpayers.”

“For some groups, the incarceration numbers are especially startling,” the report said. “While one in 30 men between the ages of 20 and 34 is behind bars, for black males in that age group the figure is one in nine.”

The racial disparity for women also is stark. One of every 355 white women aged 35 to 39 is behind bars, compared with one of every 100 black women in that age group.

The nationwide figures, as of Jan. 1, include 1,596,127 people in state and federal prisons and 723,131 in local jails. That’s out of almost 230 million American adults.

The report said the United States incarcerates more people than any other nation, far ahead of more populous China with 1.5 million people behind bars. It said the U.S. also is the leader in inmates per capita (750 per 100,000 people), ahead of Russia (628 per 100,000) and other former Soviet bloc nations which round out the Top 10.

The U.S. also is among the world leaders in capital punishment. According to Amnesty International, its 53 executions in 2006 were exceeded only by China, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq and Sudan.

----

- THESE FIGURES DO NOT EVEN INCLUDE THOSE OUT ON PAROLE OR WHO FINISHED THEIR SENTENCE BUT CARRY A CRIMINAL RECORD.

- COMING SOON TO A COUNTRY NEAR YOU!!

The thread title shows almost glee at the issues in the U.S. How canuckleheadian.

Your comments about capital punishment may be true - I strongly suppport killing killers - but to compare the U.S. system to the "world leaders" you like to tout is misleading - however Amnesty International pamphlets do make excellent ass wipe.

As for parole - we have our share of horror stories on the street.

Coming to a country near you? We ourselves are in danger of many of the same things. If only because we think we are so pure in our leftist world.

I never thought I would be defending the Yanks - in fact they do a fine job themselves - but your arrogance in this matter is quite typical of canadians as a whole. One of the reasons they are not so well thought of in the world as many parochial canuckleheads might think they are.

The maple leaf on the back pack is not always a welcome sign in many countries today - if only because we tend to project our "purity" - at the expense of others - much like you are doing here.

Borg

Edited February 29, 2008 by Borg

[Topaz]

I have read in the past that Canada pays $83,000 per person yearly for a peron to be in jail. I don't know how many we have in jail but it sound like we are going to have alot more and the government will have to build more prisons to hold them. I think the government should keep the most dangerous people in jail and have the rest, treated with a brace on their leg and allow to work but must to restricted to their homes the rest of the time until their sentence has been paid.

[Borg]

I have read in the past that Canada pays $83,000 per person yearly for a peron to be in jail. I don't know how many we have in jail but it sound like we are going to have alot more and the government will have to build more prisons to hold them. I think the government should keep the most dangerous people in jail and have the rest, treated with a brace on their leg and allow to work but must to restricted to their homes the rest of the time until their sentence has been paid.

Interesting thought and it might have merit - but if restricted to the home - does that mean they get their food bought and paid for? Utilities and mortgage?

Sounds like a good deal to me.

Minor crime - live at home and be guaranteed to make all my bills - move ahead financially - and live on the tax payers dollar.

Like your idea but hate the thoughts of someone GAINING by his criminal behaviour.

Borg

[M.Dancer]

Minor crime - live at home and be guaranteed to make all my bills - move ahead financially - and live on the tax payers dollar.

Like your idea but hate the thoughts of someone GAINING by his criminal behaviour.

Borg

Minor crime rarely receives a prison sentence or a long sentence. A disbarred Lawyer I know who was convicted of money laundering only served 8 months in a low security facility. In effect, the remainder of his sentence is served on probation.

The real danger to going soft is allowing people who repeatedly committ crimes to get the impression the rewards are greater than the penalties.

[Drea]

Interesting thought and it might have merit - but if restricted to the home - does that mean they get their food bought and paid for? Utilities and mortgage?

Sounds like a good deal to me.

Minor crime - live at home and be guaranteed to make all my bills - move ahead financially - and live on the tax payers dollar.

Like your idea but hate the thoughts of someone GAINING by his criminal behaviour.

Borg

No, wearing the "bracelet" does not mean that the government pays one's mortgage or utility bills. Where did you ever get that idea?

I know a guy who got caught DUI and he served a year on the bracelet. Why not just throw him in jail you ask? Because he had a job and kids to support. He was able to go to work and function almost normally except for a curfew from 6pm to 6am. All non-violent first-time criminals should be treated this way in my opinion. It would save us taxpayers in the end. If he would have been thrown in jail not only would it have cost us taxpayers the better part of a hundred grand, it would also cost us taxpayers to support his children for that year.

The bracelet is a good option in many cases.

[bush_cheney2004]

Look at what Mr. Black is costing in the US. What else could they do with him? I have no answers except that he is being made an example of. ...

It's OK...we have plenty of room for all the Canadian criminals too. Mr. Black will report to a Florida prison next week. The Millennium Bomber is already doing time in a federal pen. We're saving a cell for Mr. Emery.

Crime rates are lowest since 1970's.

[eyeball]

Crime rates are lowest since 1970's.

You obviously need more laws to break.

[bush_cheney2004]

You obviously need more laws to break.

Not really, the Canadians and Mexicans are too busy breaking the old laws.

[Guest American Woman]

Crime rates are lowest since 1970's.

Hmmmm. If the crime rates are at their "lowest since the 70's" during the same time the number of those incarcerated has reached an all time high, one has to wonder who's in jail? One would think since there are more people in jail, there would be more people committing crimes.

Edited February 29, 2008 by American Woman

[M.Dancer]

Hmmmm. If the crime rates are at their "lowest since the 70's" during the same time the number of those incarcerated has reached an all time high, one has to wonder who's in jail? One would think since there are more people in jail, there would be more people committing crimes.

Or more people are being caught and being convicted...

I imagine the Population of the US had risen some what over the last 30 years....

[Guest American Woman]

Or more people are being caught and being convicted...

Which would make the crime rate higher, right? Yet it's apparently at a 30+ year low.

I imagine the Population of the US had risen some what over the last 30 years....

Yes, but the article said the incarceration rate is over and above the population growth.

Edited February 29, 2008 by American Woman

[M.Dancer]

Which would make the crime rate higher, right? Yet it's apparently at a 30+ year low..

No....if the murder rate was 10 in 100,000 in 70 and say, 9 in 100,000 in 08....the crime rate is what it is whether 100% are caught or 0 are caught, the crime happens whether they are caught or escape

[Guest American Woman]

No....if the murder rate was 10 in 100,000 in 70 and say, 9 in 100,000 in 08....the crime rate is what it is whether 100% are caught or 0 are caught, the crime happens whether they are caught or escape

Oh yeah. Now it makes sense to me.

[M.Dancer]

That said I have no idea whether the calim is true or not....I bet computer crime is way up over the 70s....

[Guest American Woman]

That said I have no idea whether the calim is true or not....

Right. I realize you were just putting it out there as a possible explanation, but at least it makes sense to me how it could happen now.

I bet computer crime is way up over the 70s....

That's most likely a pretty safe bet.

[trex]

Canada is not better than the United States, and we are about to implement "Mandatory Minimums" just as they have, which give judges very little room for discretion about the particulars of the case. So, it's off to jail you go in these cases. Thats why there are so many more in prison now than before. Many more, than is so-called dictatorships which are "un-free". Hence the irony

Me, I believe there are other ways to deal with those who break the law, than always putting them in jail. Of course it depends on the crime, but jail should only be for those who can no longer be trusted to behave in society, who are a threat to us. Not, for purely punitive measures where no threat to society exists.

Let alone the stigma of having done time at some point in the past, which really equates to a life sentence

[Regulus de Leo]

OP What is your point? Free societies are full of lawless people who end up gettng locked up.

[bush_cheney2004]

...Let alone the stigma of having done time at some point in the past, which really equates to a life sentence

Indeed....I'm sure this consideration weighs heavily on the minds of would be criminals. Incarceration is a growth industry.

[August1991]

There is one word that explains this situation in US prisons: drugs.

Most of these people (mostly men and many of them black) are in prison because of drug related offenses. As a side point, most drug consumers in the US are white.

This is what happens when a rich country tries to forbid access to drugs.

More than half a million people were behind bars for drug offenses in the United States at the end of last year, according to numbers from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. In a report released Sunday, Prisoners in 2004, the Justice Department number-crunchers found that people sentenced for drug crimes accounted for 21% of state prisoners and 55% of all federal prisoners.

Link

The percentage for drug-related offenses is even higher.

Of the 249,400 state prison inmates serving time for drug offenses at yearend 2004, 112,500 (45.1%) were black, 51,800 (20.8%) were Hispanic, and 65,900 (26.4%) were white.

Link

[Shady]

Many more, than is so-called dictatorships which are "un-free". Hence the irony

Yep, in "so-called" dictatorships that are un-free, people are killed, they don't bother with a trial and jury, and all of that "due process" crap. Btw, which countries do you consider so-called dictatorships?

[Simon Did It !]

Canada is not better than the United States, and we are about to implement "Mandatory Minimums" just as they have, which give judges very little room for discretion about the particulars of the case. So, it's off to jail you go in these cases. Thats why there are so many more in prison now than before. Many more, than is so-called dictatorships which are "un-free". Hence the irony

Me, I believe there are other ways to deal with those who break the law, than always putting them in jail. Of course it depends on the crime, but jail should only be for those who can no longer be trusted to behave in society, who are a threat to us. Not, for purely punitive measures where no threat to society exists.

Let alone the stigma of having done time at some point in the past, which really equates to a life sentence

One of my main issues with the Conservatives coming to power in Canada was to impliment mandatory sentences. I of one Joe Blow tax paying fool are very tired of this Judicial system that favours Lawyers & Criminals.

Now, that will come to an end even though Clay Powell continues to spew off in local papers. Saying it does not lower crime rates is one thing but when it pumps up defence lawyers buinesses then we have conflict of interest .

So you think only those who cannot be trusted in society should be locked up. That's exactley the point here they are now going to be locked up.

Child molesters top the list who have had nothing but a free run for 20 years now. Getting shipped into honest peoples neighbourhoods to live amongst us is going to be over with.

And the local crack heads who have about 12 offences on their rap sheets with guns issues will also be going to the big house.

And please put the molesters in general population. None of this protecting the rapists for another 10 years behind bars.

This will lower crime rates.