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1 in 100 behind bars

A report urges jailing fewer low-risk offenders.

NEW YORK - For the first time in U.S. history, more than one of every 100 adults is in jail or prison, according to a report.

The report, released Thursday by the Pew Center on the States, says one out of every 99.1 adults is behind bars, documenting America's rank as the world's No. 1 incarcerator - whether per capita or in raw numbers, it's more than any other nation.

It urges states to curtail corrections spending by placing fewer low-risk offenders behind bars.

The steadily growing inmate population "is saddling cash-strapped states with soaring costs they can ill afford and failing to have a clear impact either on recidivism or overall crime," the report said.

"Getting tough on criminals has gotten tough on taxpayers," said Adam Gelb, director of the Pew Center's Public Safety Performance Project.

"We need to be smarter," said David Muhlhausen, a criminal justice expert with the conservative Heritage Foundation. "We're not incarcerating all the people who commit serious crimes. But we're also probably incarcerating people who don't need to be."

The report said prison growth and higher incarceration rates do not reflect an increase in the nation's overall population. Instead, it said, more people are behind bars mainly because of tough sentencing measures that result in longer prison stays.

Four states - Vermont, Michigan, Oregon and Connecticut - spend more on corrections than higher education, the report said.

"These sad facts reflect a very distorted set of national priorities," said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., referring to the full report. "Perhaps, if we adequately invested in our children and in education, kids who now grow up to be criminals could become productive workers and taxpayers."

By the numbers

2,319,258 people in jail or prison at the start of 2008 in the United States, pop. 230-million

1.5-million people behind bars in China, pop. 1.3-billion

$49-billion spent by the 50 states on corrections in 2007.

$11-billion spent by the 50 states on corrections in 1987.

$23,876 the average annual cost per prisoner.

$44,860 annual cost per prisoner in Rhode Island, highest in the nation.

$27,911 annual cost per prisoner in Florida.

$13,009 annual cost per prisoner in Louisiana, lowest in the nation.

127% change in amount spent by states on corrections since 1987.

21% change in amount spent by states on higher education since 1987.

Florida's prison population

-Grew from 53,000 to 97,416 from 1993 to 2007.

-Grew by 4,447 people in 2007, a 4.8 percent change.

-Is on pace to grow to 125,000 by 2013.

-Consumed 9.3 percent of state's general fund, second-highest in the nation behind Oregon.

-Cost 66 cents for every $1 the state spent on higher education. The national average is 60 cents.

Sources: Pew Center on the States, CIA World Factbook

[Last modified February 29, 2008, 01:25:32]