At midyear 2005, nearly 4.7% of black males were in prison or jail compared to 1.9% of Hispanic males and 0.7% of white males

Stu Smith:

At midyear 2005, nearly six in 10 offenders in local jails were racial or ethnic minorities, which was nearly unchanged in the last 10 years.

During the period, slightly more inmates (33,539) than beds (33,398) were added to local jail capacity. At the midyear, jail facilities were operating at 95 percent of rated capacity.

During the 12-month period, the number of women under the jurisdiction of state and federal prison authorities rose 3.4 percent (from 102,691 to 106,174), while the number of men rose by 1.3 percent (from 1,389,143 to 1,406,649). At midyear 2005, women accounted for seven percent of all prisoners, up from 6.1 percent at yearend 1995.

Since 1995 the nation's prison and jail population has risen by more than 600,000 inmates. At midyear 2005, one in every 136 U.S. residents were in prison or jail.

Louisiana and Georgia led the nation in percentage of their state residents incarcerated (with more than 1 percent of their state residents in prison or jail at midyear 2005). Maine and Minnesota had the lowest rates of incarceration (with 0.3 percent or less of their state residents incarcerated).

At midyear 2005, nearly 4.7 percent of black males were in prison or jail, compared to 1.9 percent of Hispanic males, and 0.7 percent of white males. Among males in their late 20s, nearly 12 percent of black males, compared to 3.9 percent of Hispanic males and 1.7 percent of white males, were incarcerated.

Bureau of Justice Statistics Prison Statistics