Connecticut has an incarceration rate of 394 per 100,000 people (including prisons, jails, immigration detention, and juvenile justice facilities), meaning that it locks up a higher percentage of its people than almost any democratic country on earth. There are also more than 30,000 people in Connecticut on probation and parole. Read on to learn more about who is incarcerated in Connecticut and why.
Today, Connecticut's incarceration rates stand out internationally
In the U.S., incarceration extends beyond prisons and local jails to include other systems of confinement. The U.S. and state incarceration rates in this graph include people held by these other parts of the justice system, so they may be slightly higher than the commonly reported incarceration rates that only include prisons and jails. Details on the data are available in States of Incarceration: The Global Context. We also have a version of this graph focusing on the incarceration of women.
People of color are overrepresented in prisons and jails
Connecticut's criminal justice system is more than just its prisons
People in Connecticut prisons must pay for hygiene items and other basics — and those without cash have to meet strict "indigence" criteria to get financial assistance
June 7, 2024: Research Director Wendy Sawyer will take part in a panel discussion during the Association of Health Care Journalists conference. The panel, Incarceration as a public health threat, will focus on the ways mass incarceration harms the health of not only incarcerated people but their communities as well.
Communication Director Mike Wessler will also be in attendance for journalists who want to connect.
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