Washington, DC: Recently released prison population figures by the Bureau of Justice Statistics indicate an annual increase as well as demonstrate a 31-year trend of rising prison populations. Despite falling crime rates in the U.S. since 1991, the rate of incarceration has increased 49%.
Currently, the 1,470,045 prisoners in 2003 in state and federal prisons represent a 2.1% increase over the previous year. Principally driven by the federal government’s aggressive ‘war on drugs’ approach, there was a 5.8% increase in the federal prison population-with 55% of the 173,059 prisoners serving time for drug-related, non-violent offenses. The number of women in prison and jail in 2003 also reached historic levels at 101,179 and 82,169 respectively.
The United States continues to lead the world in incarceration with a rate of 714 prisoners per 100,000. Comparatively, with a declining rate, Russia has the second highest incarceration rate of 584 per 100,000; Mexico (169), United Kingdom and Wales (141), and Japan (58).
NORML Foundation Executive Director Allen St. Pierre laments that “America’s policy-makers need to immediately stop arresting and incarcerating such a huge portion of the citizenry, most notably for possessing and cultivating small amounts of marijuana. Rather than waste valuable public resources on introducing otherwise law-abiding citizens into the criminal justice system, the government should establish legal controls which tax and regulate responsible adult marijuana use.”
For more information, please contact NORML Foundation Executive Director Allen St. Pierre at (202) 483-5500.