Ethnicity
According to the 2009 Census from the U.S. Census Bureau, African Americans compromised 39.4% of the total prison and jail population and hispanics comprised 20.6%. In 2010 black non-Hispanic males were incarcerated at the rate of 4,347 inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents of the same race and gender. White males were incarcerated at the rate of 678 inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents. Hispanic males were incarcerated at the rate of 1,755 inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents.
As of December 31, 2009 the female prison population of federal and state prisons in the United States was 113,462. In the past two decades, the number of women in jail has increased drastically due to increased prosecutions and convictions, increases in the severities of offenses, and a lack of community sanctions.
The United States incarcerates more of its youth than any other country in the world. This has been a source of controversy for a number of reasons, including the overcrowding and violence in youth detention facilities, the prosecution of youths as adults and the long term consequences of incarceration on the individual's chances for success in adulthood.
