More than 2.2 million people are currently incarcerated in the United States today, according to the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics. About 1.5 million are in federal or state facilities for adults. The remainder are in local jails, juvenile facilities, military prisons, jails on Indian reservations, or immigration facilities. This is not the full picture, however. More than 5 million additional persons are under Justice supervision, either on probation or on parole. The number of people currently active within the system is over 7 million.
The United States imprisons more of its own people than any other country in the world. For every 100,000 U.S. residents, more than 700 are in prison. In contrast, the incarceration rate per 100,000 residents in the U.K. is 125; in Canada, 110; and in the Netherlands, France and Italy it is 90. In Japan, the incarceration rate is 40 per 100,000. Of all the prisoners in the world, one out of every four is incarcerated in the United States.
The number of U.S. prisoners continues to grow. The prison population has more than quadrupled since 1980, and has risen sharply for women and youth. Greatest increases are in the South and West regions, but the general trend is consistent across all states. Approximately 1 in every 100 men and 1 in every 1,700 women in America resides in a federal or state facility. If this trend persists, we can expect that one in every 20 of America's children will serve time in a state or federal prison.
November 2007 Alert! The House of Representatives has just passed HR 1593, the “Second Chance Act of 2007,”that allocates substantial funds for reentry programs for the formerly incarcerated, and will support coordinated services for housing, education, health, employment, and mentoring.Almost all who have been formerly incarcerated will return to the community, where they will face tremendous barriers as they seek to find jobs, reunite with families, and regain stability in their lives and communities.
Your constant vigilance and support over the years has had an impact.This legislation has been a long time in the making, and is extremely important. Know that your work has been effective, and will be appreciated by more people than you can imagine.
So often, we call our legislators and ask them for support.This is one time you can call your U.S. representatives to thank them for their work.Please take the opportunity.They will appreciate it. You can learn how your Congressional representatives voted.
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