Key Facts
Although numbers vary annually, the US system currently holds almost 2 million people across 1,566 state prisons, 98 federal prisons, 3,116 local jails, 1,323 juvenile correctional facilities, 181 immigration detention facilities, and 80 Indian country jails, as well as in military prisons, civil commitment centers, state psychiatric hospitals, and prisons in the U.S. territories.
Source: Prison Policy Initiative
The United States has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. Less than 5% of the world’s population is in the US, yet the US holds 20% of the world’s incarcerated people. This translates to 1 out of every 5 prisoners in the world is incarcerated in the US.
Source: Prison Policy Initiative
45% of all Americans have a family member who has been incarcerated.
Nearly 700,000 people are released from prison each year.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics (US Department of Justice)
Nationally, there are 45,000 laws, policies, and sanctions parolees must obey, dictating where they may work, with whom they may live and how they may spend their time.
About 25% of all prison admissions each year are because of probation and parole violations.
77 million Americans face employment discrimination based on their criminalization, reducing employer callback rates by 50%.
Source: National Reentry Resource Center
The higher the degree, the lower the recidivism rate is:
- Vocational Training: 30%
- Associate’s Degree: 13.7%
- Bachelor’s Degree: 5.6%
- Master’s Degree: <1%
Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics/RAND Corporation and Texas Department of Criminal Justice
50% of formerly incarcerated people return to prison. However, studies suggest that the recidivism rate, or the likelihood of returning to prison drops dramatically after receiving a higher education.
Parolees typically have only 30 days to secure housing or they risk being sent back to prison.
Formerly incarcerated people are almost 10 times more likely to be homeless than the general public.
Source: Prison Policy Initiative
In California, it costs $82,000 a year to house an inmate.The statewide average to provide a community college education is only $2000 a year.
Sources : Legislative Analyst’s Office and California Community Colleges
If 50% of college-eligible incarcerated Californians participated in a postsecondary prison education program, the state could potentially save $66.6 million per year.
Although no formal numbers exist, it is estimated that over 1,000 formerly incarcerated students are enrolled in college across the California Community Colleges, CSUs and UC campuses.
