The US prison population grew more than twice as fast last year as in 2001, bringing the total number of people held behind bars in the United States to more than 2.1 million, a record, according to a government report.The Bureau of Justice Statistics said the overall number of inmates held in US federal and state prisons as well as county jails and other correctional facilities was up 2.6 per cent in 2002, compared to a 1.1 per cent increase the previous year.
However, the figure was significantly lower than the growth rate in 1995, when the number of US inmates [prisoners] grew by a whopping 6.7 per cent. The bureau, a branch of the US Justice Department, did not provide any explanation for the spike.
But the Justice Policy Institute, a liberal think tank, blamed the situation on politicians' reluctance to spend significant money on crime prevention at a time of severe budget shortfalls due to a sluggish national economy.
"As legislators are struggling to fund education, health care, and stave off spending cuts, many are continuing to choose to pay for an expensive justice system that damages communities, and does not produce safe, healthy neighbourhood," commented Jason Ziedenberg, the institute's director of policy and research.
All in all, US correctional facilities held 2,166,260 individuals [prisoners] at the end of last year, according to the report. These included more than 1.2 million state prisoners, more than 151,000 in federal facilities and more than 665,000 in local jails. More than 110,000 individuals [prisoners] were incarcerated in both public and private juvenile facilities [prisons], while the immigration and customs service held more than 8,700 individuals [prisoners.]
Posted by Just Us 29 July 03
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