"• At year-end 2016, an estimated 7% of non-Hispanic white males in state and federal prison were ages 18 to 24, compared to 13% of non-Hispanic black males and 12% of Hispanic males.

"• Sixteen percent of while male prisoners were age 55 or older, compared to 10% of black male and 8% of Hispanic male prisoners.

"• Eight percent each of white and black female prisoners in 2015 were age 55 or older, compared to 5% of Hispanic female prisoners.

"•More than twice as many white females (48,900 prisoners) as black (20,300) or Hispanic (19,300) females were in state and federal prison at year-end 2016.

"• About 2.5% of black male U.S. residents were in state or federal prison on December 31, 2016 (2,415 per 100,000 black residents) (table 10).

"• Black males ages 18 to 19 were 11.8 times more likely to be imprisoned than white males of the same age. This age group had the highest black-to-white racial disparity in 2016.

"• Black males age 65 or older were 4.4 times more likely to be imprisoned than white males age 65 or older. This age group had the lowest black-to-white racial disparity in 2016.

"• The imprisonment rate for black females (96 per 100,000 black female residents) was almost double that for white females (49 per 100,000 white female residents).

"• Among females ages 18 to 19, black females were 3.1 times more likely than white females and 2.2 times more likely than Hispanic females to be imprisoned in 2016."

There were 704,500 people confined in local jails in the US on December 31, 2016, of whom 602,200 were male and 102,300 were female. Juveniles held as adults numbered 3,000, plus an additional 700 juveniles who were held as juveniles. Racial demographics were as follows: white, 338,700; black/African-American, 242,200; Latinx, 107,200; American Indian/Alaska native: 8,600; Asian/native Hawaiian/other Pacific islander: 5,600; two or more races: 2,100. Only 245,900 people confined to a local jail had been convicted of any crimes and had either already been sentenced or were awaiting sentencing. The remaining 458,600 people confined to local jails were unconvicted and awaiting court action on a current charge.

"Non-Hispanic blacks (599 per 100,000 black U.S. residents) had the highest jail incarceration rate at year-end 2016, followed by American Indian or Alaska Natives (359 per 100,000 AIAN residents). Non-Hispanic whites (171 per 100,000 white residents) and Hispanics (185 per 100,000 Hispanic residents) were incarcerated at a similar rate at year-end 2016. Among non-Hispanics in 2016, blacks were incarcerated in jail at a rate 3.5 times that of whites, down from 5.6 times the rate in 2000.

"At year-end 2016, an estimated 85% of the jail population were male (table 3). Juveniles (those age 17 or younger) made up of 0.5% of the inmates held in local jails, down from 1.2% in 2000.

"White non-Hispanic inmates accounted for 48% of the jail population in 2016, up from 42% in 2000. In comparison, the percentage of black non-Hispanic inmates declined from 41% in 2000 to 34% in 2016. Hispanics represented 15% of the jail population in both 2000 and 2016. American Indian or Alaska Native inmates and Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander inmates each represented about 1% of the jail population."

An illegal drug conviction was the most serious offense for 206,300 out of the 1,316,409 people in the US sentenced to state prison facilities at the end of 2014. That represents 15.7% of all sentenced prisoners under state jurisdiction. Of this total: 67,800 (32.9%) were non-Latinx white, 68,000 (33.0%) were non-Latinx African American, and 28,800 (7.2%) were Latinx. No race/ethnicity was reported for the remaining 41,700 people (20.2%) serving time in state prison for a drug offense.
(Note: The Bureau of Justice Statistics annual report on prisoners does not provide separate counts for inmates who identify as two or more races, nor of American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asians, Native Hawaiians, or other Pacific Islanders.)

"The prevalence of any PI [Parental Incarceration] was 12.5% with the 95% confidence interval (CI) of 11.3% to 13.8%. The distribution of incarceration status by category was: neither parent (87.5%, 95% CI: 86.2%–88.7%), father only (9.9%, 95% CI: 8.9%–10.9%), mother only (1.7%, 95% CI: 1.4%–2.0%), and both parents (0.9%, 95% CI: 0.7%–1.2%). A significant association was found between race and PI. Black and Hispanic individuals had the highest prevalence of PI, 20.6% and 14.8%, compared with 11.9% for white individuals and 11.6% for those classified as other. Pairwise comparison indicated the black and white prevalence rates were significantly different."

^{Note: Regarding study sample size: "The current study used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a 4-wave longitudinal study following a nationally representative probability sample of adolescents in grades 7 through 12 in the 1994–1995 school year.46 The first 3 waves of Add Health data were collected from April to December 1995, from April to August 1996, and from August 2001 to April 2002. The fourth wave of data was collected in 2007 and 2008. The full sample for Wave 4 included 15 701 or 80.3% of the eligible participants from Wave 1. The response rates for Waves 1, 2, 3, and 4 were 79.0%, 88.6%, 77.4%, and 80.3%, respectively. The mean ages of participants during the 4 waves of data collection were 15.7 years, 16.2 years, 22.0 years, and 28.8 years, respectively.}

"The current study was based on 14,800 participants who were interviewed during Wave 1 and Wave 4 and have a sampling weight. Of the 15,701 participants who participated in both Wave 1 and Wave 4 interviews, 14,800 participants have a sampling weight at Wave 4 interview that could be used to compute population estimates. For data analysis, data describing participants’ sociodemographic characteristics from Wave 1 of the Add Health study were combined with Wave 4 self-reported health outcomes and PI history."

"Among white children in 1980, only 0.4 of 1 percent had an incarcerated parent; by 2008 this figure had increased to 1.75 percent. Rates of parental incarceration are roughly double among Latino children, with 3.5 percent of children having a parent locked up by 2008. Among African American children, 1.2 million, or about 11 percent, had a parent incarcerated by 2008."

"Similar to men in the general prison population (93%), parents held in the nation's prisons at midyear 2007 were mostly male (92%) (not shown in table). More than 4 in 10 fathers were black, about 3 in 10 were white, and about 2 in 10 were Hispanic (appendix table 2). An estimated 1,559,200 children had a father in prison at midyear 2007; nearly half (46%) were children of black fathers.

"Almost half (48%) of all mothers held in the nation's prisons at midyear 2007 were white, 28% were black, and 17% were Hispanic. Of the estimated 147,400 children with a mother in prison, about 45% had a white mother. A smaller percentage of the children had a black (30%) or Hispanic (19%) mother."

"Compared to Non-blacks, California’s African-American population are 4 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana, 12 times more likely to be imprisoned for a marijuana felony arrest, and 3 times more likely to be imprisoned per marijuana possession arrest. Overall, as Figure 3 illustrates, these disparities accumulate to 10 times’ greater odds of an African-American being imprisoned for marijuana than other racial/ethnic groups."

"Importantly, representation of African-Americans in jails and prisons was nearly twice that of both Drug Courts and probation, and was also substantially higher among all arrestees for drug-related offenses. On one hand, these discrepancies might be explained by relevant differences in the populations. For example, minority arrestees might be more likely to have the types of prior convictions that could exclude them from eligibility for Drug Courts or probation. On the other hand, systemic differences in plea-bargaining, charging or sentencing practices might be having the practical effect of denying Drug Court and other community-based dispositions to otherwise needy and eligible minority citizens. Further research is needed to determine whether racial or ethnic minority citizens are being denied the opportunity for Drug Court for reasons that may be unrelated to their legitimate clinical needs or legal eligibility."

"Changes in the incarceration rates for men and women by race were associated with changes to the overall composition of the custody population at midyear 2007. Black men had an incarceration rate of 4,618 per 100,000 U.S. residents at midyear 2007, down from 4,777 at midyear 2000. For white men, the midyear 2007 incarceration rate was 773 per 100,000 U.S. residents, up from 683 at midyear 2000. The ratio of the incarceration rates of black men to white men declined from 7 to 6 during this period.

"Changes in the incarceration rates for women were more distinct. At midyear 2000, black women were incarcerated at a rate 6 times that of white women (or 380 per 100,000 U.S. residents versus 63 per 100,000 U.S. residents). By June 30, 2007, the incarceration rate for black women declined to 3.7 times that of white women (or 348 versus 95). An 8.4% decline in the incarceration rate for black women and a 51% increase in the rate for white women accounted for the overall decrease in the incarceration rate of black women relative to white women at midyear 2007."

"The custody incarceration rate for black males was 4,618 per 100,000. Hispanic males were incarcerated at a rate of 1,747 per 100,000. Compared to the estimated numbers of black, white, and Hispanic males in the U.S. resident population, black males (6 times) and Hispanic males (a little more than 2 times) were more likely to be held in custody than white males. At midyear 2007 the estimated incarceration rate of white males was 773 per 100,000.

"Across all age categories, black males were incarcerated at higher rates than white or Hispanic males. Black males ages 30 to 34 had the highest custody incarceration rate of any race, age, or gender group at midyear 2007."

"Looking at the numbers through the lenses of race and gender reveals stark differences. Black adults are four times as likely as whites and nearly 2.5 times as likely as Hispanics to be under correctional control. One in 11 black adults—9.2 percent—was under correctional supervision at year end 2007. And although the number of female offenders continues to grow, men of all races are under correctional control at a rate five times that of women."

"In 2001, the chances of going to prison were highest among black males (32.2%) and Hispanic males (17.2%) and lowest among white males (5.9%). The lifetime chances of going to prison among black females (5.6%) were nearly as high as for white males. Hispanic females (2.2%) and white females (0.9%) had much lower chances of going to prison."

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics:
"Declining percentage of blacks among sentenced prisoners
"Comparisons of changes in the racial composition of prison populations over time are constrained by new data collection methodologies. Following guidelines provided by the Office of Management and Budget, beginning in 2005 BJS estimated racial composition of the prison population separately for persons identifying with one race (97%) and those identifying with two or more races (3%). These guidelines have reduced the number and percent of persons identified as non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic black prisoners. In addition, administrative data on the race and Hispanic origin of prisoners reported to BJS by corrections officials also overstate the number of non-Hispanic white and black prisoners and understate the number of Hispanics and persons of two or more races.²
"Both administrative and estimated data indicate an overall decline among black prisoners from 2000 through 2006. The 2006 administrative data show a decline from 46.2% to 41.6%, while the estimated data indicate a decline from 42.4% to 37.5% (table 8)."
"² Some jurisdictions are not able to report Hispanics or persons of two or more races as a separate category as requested under OMB guidelines."

Click here for complete datatable of Estimated number of adults on probation, in jail, in prison, or on parole and their percent of the adult population, by sex and race, 1990.

Click here for complete datatable of Imprisonment rate of sentenced state and federal prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents, by demographic characteristics, December 31, 2014

Click here for the complete datatable of Number of sentenced prisoners under jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, by age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin, December 31, 2014

Click here for the complete datatable of Number of sentenced prisoners under State or Federal jurisdiction, by gender, race, Hispanic origin, and age, 2000

Click here for complete datatable of Sentenced prisoners under State or Federal jurisdiction per 100,000 residents, by gender, race, Hispanic origin, and age, 2000

Click here for complete datatable of Characteristics of adults on probation in the US, 2000, 2013, and 2014

Click here for complete datatable of Characteristics of adults on parole in the US, 2000, 2013, and 2014

"The spectacular growth in the American penal system over the last three decades was concentrated in a small segment of the population, among young minority men with very low levels of education. By the early 2000s, prison time was a common life event for this group, and today more than two-thirds of African American male dropouts are expected to serve time in state or federal prison. These demographic contours of mass imprisonment have created a new class of social outsiders whose relationship to the state and society is wholly different from the rest of the population."

Due to harsh new sentencing guidelines, such as 'three-strikes, you're out,' "a disproportionate number of young Black and Hispanic men are likely to be imprisoned for life under scenarios in which they are guilty of little more than a history of untreated addiction and several prior drug-related offenses... States will absorb the staggering cost of not only constructing additional prisons to accommodate increasing numbers of prisoners who will never be released but also warehousing them into old age."