Black Incarceration Rates Remain High, But  Prison Population Drops Overall

By Frederick H. Lowe
The incarceration rate for African-American men and women in federal and state prisons was much higher in 2010, when compared with the number of whites and Hispanics behind bars, according to a U.S. Justice Department report published in December.

The 37-page paper titled, "Prisoners in 2010,"reported that as of Dec. 31, 2010, federal correctional authorities had control of approximately 1,605,127 prisoners, down by 9,228 prisoners from 2009. This is the first drop in the overall U. S. prison population since 1972, Justice Department officials said.
 
Although federal prisons reported an increase in inmates, half of state departments of correction reported declines in their prison populations. Rhode Island reported the largest decrease in its prison population (8.6 percent), followed by Georgia (7.9 percent) and Vermont (6.4 percent).

"There is no one thing that is driving down the prison incarceration rate," said Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project., a Washington, D.C.-based organization working for a fair and effective criminal justice system."It varies from state-to-state. In some states, it is the fiscal crisis, where states are spending more money on prisons than higher education. Other states are keeping former inmates on tighter supervision instead of sending them back to prison  parole violations. It costs a state $25,000 annually to keep some in prison compared with $3,000 a year to keep them on parole."

The ongoing drop in the crime also has led to fewer people being sent to prison, and there has a been a change in the public's attitude about prison because of wrongful convictions and the death penalty, Mauer said.

On the other hand, Iowa reported the largest percentage increase in its prison population, up 7.3 percent, followed by Illinois, up 7.2 percent and Arkansas, up 6.5 percent.

The study, which includes data from all 50 states, reported that black men had the highest incarceration rate of 3,059 per 100,000 U.S. black residents, which was nearly seven times higher than the incarceration rate for white men.  The incarceration rate for white men was 456 per 100,000 U.S. white residents at the end of 2010. The incarceration rate for Hispanic men was 1,252 per 100,000 U.S. Latino residents.

The report noted that the incarceration rate among black men ages 30 to 34 years old—a key wage earning group-- was 7,265 per 100,000 U.S. black residents, compared with 1,055 per 100,000 U.S. white residents for white men.
The incarceration rate among Hispanic men in the same age group was 2,795 per 100,000 U.S.  Latino residents.
The number of black men in prison under state and federal jurisdiction, although high, has declined since 2000 with a one-year exception. In 2000, the incarceration rate of black men was 3,457 per 100,000 U.S. residents. In 2001, the figured climbed to 3,535 per 100,000 U.S. black residents. After that, there has been a steady decline in black men in federal and state prisons. 

The federal and state incarceration rate for black women also was much higher, when compared with white and Hispanic women.  The Justice Department reported that 133 African-American women per 100,000 of the U.S. black population were behind bars at the end of 2010.

This figure compares with 47 white women per 100,000 of the white U.S. population in prison at the end of 2010. Seventy-seven Hispanic women per 100,000 of the Latino U.S. population were behind bars in 2010, the report noted.

The number of black women under federal and state supervision has declined steadily since 2000, except in 2007 when it increased, compared with 2006.

The U.S. justice Department compiles data regarding violent crimes, including murder, robbery, assault and rape. Department officials also compile information on property crimes including burglary, motor vehicle theft and drug-related crimes.

The study reported that 54.9 percent of black men and women inmates were in prisons for violent crimes; 15.2 percent were behind bars for property crimes and 21.1 percent for drug-related crimes.

Among whites, 49.9 percent were in prison for violent crimes; 24.8 percent were behind bars for property crimes and 13.9 percent were in a penitentiary for drug-related crimes.

Some 55.5 percent of Hispanics were in prison for violent crimes; 16.2 percent were in a penitentiary for property crimes and 19.5 percent for drug-related crimes.