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Washington: More than one in 100 adults in the United States is in jail or prison, an all-time high that is costing state governments nearly $50 billion (Dh183.5 billion) a year and the federal government $5 billion more, according to a new report.
With more than 2.3 million people behind bars, the US leads the world in both the number and percentage of residents it incarcerates, leaving far-more-populous China a distant second, according to a study by the nonpartisan Pew Centre.
The growth in prison population is largely the result of tougher state and federal sentencing imposed since the mid-1980s. Minorities have been particularly affected: One in nine black men aged 20 to 34 is behind bars.
Similarly, for black women aged 35 to 39, the figure is one in 100, compared with one in 355 for white women in the same age group.
The report compiled and analysed data from several sources, including the federal Bureau of Justice and each state's department of corrections. It did not include individuals detained for non-criminal immigration violations.
Although studies generally find that imprisoning more offenders reduces crime, the effect may be less influential than changes in the unemployment rate, wages, the ratio of police officers to residents and the proportion of young people in the population, report co-author Adam Gelb said.
In addition, when it comes to preventing repeat offences by non-violent criminals - who make up about half of the incarcerated population - less-expensive punishments such as community supervision, electronic monitoring and mandatory drug counselling might prove as much or more effective than jail.
For instance, Florida, which has nearly doubled its prison population over the past 15 years, has experienced a smaller drop in crime than New York, which, after a brief increase, has reduced its number of inmates to below the 1993 level.
"There is no question that putting violent and chronic offenders behind bars lowers the crime rate and provides punishment that is well deserved," said Gelb, who as director of the Centre's Public Safety Performance Project advises states on developing alternatives to incarceration.
"On the other hand, there are large numbers of people behind bars who could be supervised in the community safely and effectively at a much lower cost - while also paying taxes, paying restitution to their victims and paying child support."
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