Incarceration Statistics

Crunching the Numbers Related to Incarceration in America

25% of the world’s prisoners are in the United States

The United States is home to 5% of the world’s people and 25% of the world’s prisoners.

– NAACP.org/smartandsafe

Parental incarceration creates additional challenges for children and families often resulting in financial instability and material hardship, with financial problems the most severe for already vulnerable families and caregivers who support contact between the incarcerated parent and his or her child.

– Parental Incarceration in Fragile Families: Summary of Three Year Findings

2.7 M

children in the U.S. have an incarcerated parent

More than 2.7 million children in the U.S. have an incarcerated parent and approximately 10 million children have experienced parental incarceration at some point in their lives.

– The Osborne Association, Factsheet

%

of adults in America are in jail or prison.

– The Pew Charitable Trusts

1.1 M

incarcerated fathers

Nationally, there are more than 120,000 incarcerated mothers and 1.1 million incarcerated fathers who are parents with minor children (ages 0-17).

– The Osborne Association, Factsheet

out of 100,000 is the incarceration rate of DC

(including prisons, jails, immigration detention, and juvenile justice facilities) —
a higher incarceration rate than any U.S. state.

– Prison Policy Initiative

of the District of Columbia's residents are locked up in various kinds of facilities.

– Prison Policy Initiative

People are booked into local jails in Washington, DC every year.

– Prison Policy Initiative

DC residents are behind bars or under criminal justice supervision.

– Prison Policy Initiative

African American children are nine times more likely to have a parent in prison than white children

There is a disparate impact on families of color. Hispanic children are also three times more likely to have a parent in prison than white children.

– U.S. Department of Justice

%

increase in the number of female prisoners over a decade

Between 1995 and 2005, the number of incarcerated women in the U.S. increased by 57%.

– U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics

%

of federal prisoners are parents

63 percent of federal prisoners and 55 percent of state prisoners are parents of
children under age 18.

– U.S. Department of Justice

%

of arrested parents were handcuffed in front of their children

A national study conducted in 1998 estimated that of parents arrested, 67% were handcuffed in front of their children, 27% reported weapons drawn in front of their children, 4.3% reported a physical struggle, and 3.2% reported the use of pepper spray.

– The Osborne Association, Factsheet