On December 31, 2015, state and federal prisons combined held a total of 1,476,847 people, of whom 499,400 were non-Latinx whites, 523,000 were non-Latinx blacks, 319,400 Latinx, and 135,100 whose race/ethnicity was counted as "other".

Click here for complete datatable of Number of People in the US Serving Time in State and Federal Prisons, by age, sex, race, and Latinx ethnicity, on December 31, 2015

"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."

There were 704,500 people confined in local jails 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.

"On December 31, 2014, black males had higher imprisonment rates than prisoners of other races or Hispanic origin within every age group. Imprisonment rates for black males were 3.8 to 10.5 times greater at each age group than white males and 1.4 to 3.1 times greater than rates for Hispanic males. The largest disparity between white and black male prisoners occurred among inmates ages 18 to 19. Black males (1,072 prisoners per 100,000 black male residents ages 18 to 19) were more than 10 times more likely to be in state or federal prison than whites (102 per 100,000)."

According to the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics:
Of the 3,789,800 adults in the US on probation as of 12/31/2015:
• 75% were male and 25% were female.
• 55% were non-Latinx Whites, 30% were non-Latinx African-American, 13% were Latinx, 1% were American Indian/Alaska Native, and 1% were Asian/Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander. The number of multi-racial/other was too low to be reported.
• Drug offenses were the most serious offenses for 25% of all probationers in 2015.

Of the 870,500 adults in the US on parole as of 12/31/2015:
• 87% were male and 13% were female.
• 44% were non-Latinx Whites, 38% were non-Latinx Blacks, 16% were Latinx, 1% were American Indian/Alaska Native, and 1% were Asian/Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander. The number of multi-racial/other was too low to be reported.
• Drug offenses were the most serious offense for 31% of all parolees in 2015.

"• More than half (54% or 707,900 prisoners) of all state prisoners sentenced to more than 1 year at year-end 2015 (the most recent year for which state prison offense data are available) were serving sentences for violent offenses on their current term of imprisonment (table 12; table 13).

"• At year-end 2015, an estimated 14% of sentenced prisoners (177,600 prisoners) were serving time in state prison for murder or nonnegligent manslaughter, and an additional 12% of state prisoners (161,900) had been sentenced for rape or sexual assault.

"• Among sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state correctional authorities on December 31, 2015, 15% (197,200 prisoners) had been convicted of a drug offense as their most serious crime.

"• At year-end 2015, 60% of all Hispanic prisoners sentenced to more than 1 year in state prison were sentenced for a violent offense, compared to 59% of black and 47% of white prisoners.

"• A quarter (25%) of females serving time in state prison on December 31, 2015, had been convicted of a drug offense, compared to 14% of males."

"The growth of incarceration in America has intergenerational impacts that policy makers will have to confront. According to this analysis, more than 1.2 million inmates — over half of the 2.3 million people behind bars — are parents of children under age 18. This includes more than 120,000 mothers and more than 1.1 million fathers. The racial concentration that characterizes incarceration rates also extends to incarcerated parents. Nearly half a million black fathers, for example, are behind bars, a number that represents 40 percent of all incarcerated parents.
"The most alarming news lurking within these figures is that there are now 2.7 million minor children (under age 18) with a parent behind bars. (See Figure 9.) Put more starkly, 1 in every 28 children in the United States — more than 3.6 percent — now has a parent in jail or prison. Just 25 years ago, the figure was only 1 in 125.
"For black children, incarceration is an especially common family circumstance. More than 1 in 9 black children has a parent in prison or jail, a rate that has more than quadrupled in the past 25 years. (See Figure 10.)
"Because far more men than women are behind bars, most children with an incarcerated parent are missing their father.37 For example, more than 10 percent of African American children have an incarcerated father, and 1 percent have an incarcerated mother."

"Mass arrests and incarceration of people of color – largely due to drug law violations⁴⁶ – have hobbled families and communities by stigmatizing and removing substantial numbers of men and women. In the late 1990s, nearly one in three African-American men aged 20-29 were under criminal justice supervision, ⁴⁷ while more than two out of five had been incarcerated – substantially more than had been incarcerated a decade earlier and orders of magnitudes higher than that for the general population.⁴⁸ Today, 1 in 15 African-American children and 1 in 42 Latino children have a parent in prison, compared to 1 in 111 white children.⁴⁹ In some areas, a large majority of African-American men – 55 percent in Chicago, for example⁵⁰ – are labeled felons for life, and, as a result, may be prevented from voting and accessing public housing, student loans and other public assistance."

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, at midyear 2010, the incarceration rate for women was 126 per 100,000 population. The rate for non-Hispanic white females was 91, for non-Hispanic black females the rate was 260, and for Hispanic women the rate was 133.

"The main obstacle to getting black America past the illusion that racism is still a defining factor in America is the strained relationship between young black men and police forces. The massive number of black men in prison stands as an ongoing and graphically resonant rebuke to all calls to 'get past racism,' exhibit initiative, or stress optimism. And the primary reason for this massive number of black men in jail is the War on Drugs. Therefore, if the War on Drugs were terminated, the main factor keeping race-based resentment a core element in the American social fabric would no longer exist. America would be a better place for all."

"The racial disparities in the rates of drug arrests culminate in dramatic racial disproportions among incarcerated drug offenders. At least two-thirds of drug arrests result in a criminal conviction.¹⁸ Many convicted drug offenders are sentenced to incarceration: an estimated 67 percent of convicted felony drug defendants are sentenced to jail or prison.¹⁹ The likelihood of incarceration increases if the defendant has a prior conviction.²⁰ Since blacks are more likely to be arrested than whites on drug charges, they are more likely to acquire the convictions that ultimately lead to higher rates of incarceration. Although the data in this backgrounder indicate that blacks represent about one-third of drug arrests, they constitute 46 percent of persons convicted of drug felonies in state courts.²¹ Among black defendants convicted of drug offenses, 71 percent received sentences to incarceration in contrast to 63 percent of convicted white drug offenders.²² Human Rights Watch’s analysis of prison admission data for 2003 revealed that relative to population, blacks are 10.1 times more likely than whites to be sent to prison for drug offenses.²³"

"Of the 2.3 million inmates in custody, 2.1 million were men and 208,300 were women (table 9). Black males represented the largest percentage (35.4%) of inmates held in custody, followed by white males (32.9%) and Hispanic males (17.9%).

"Over a third (33.8%) of the total male custody population was ages 20 to 29 (appendix table 10). The largest percentage of black (35.5%) and Hispanic (39.9%) males held in custody were ages 20 to 29. White males ages 35 to 44 accounted for the largest percentage (30.1%) of the white male custody population.

"The largest percentage (35.9%) of the female custody population was ages 30 to 39. Over a third of white females (35.9%) were ages 30 and 39. The largest percentage (36.8%) of Hispanic females in custody was ages 20 to 29."

"When incarceration rates by State (excluding Federal inmates) are estimated separately by gender, race, and Hispanic origin, male rates are found to be 10 times higher than female rates; black rates 5-1/2 times higher than white rates; and Hispanic rates nearly 2 times higher than white rates."

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

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."

"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."