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Delaware has an incarceration rate of 756 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 many wealthy democracies do. Read on to learn more about who is incarcerated in Delaware and why.

Are you looking for information on what jails and prisons in Delaware are doing to stop COVID-19? See our regularly-updated coronavirus response page.

7,000 people from Delaware are behind bars

Rates of imprisonment have grown dramatically in the last 40 years

Also see these Delaware graphs:

• total numbers rather than rates.
• Women’s prisons: Incarceration Rates | Total Population
• Men’s prisons: Incarceration Rates | Total Population

Today, Delaware’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

See also our detailed graphs about Whites and Blacks in Delaware prisons.

Delaware's criminal justice system is more than just its prisons

Our other articles about Delaware

• We graded every state’s response to the coronavirus in prisons and jails. Delaware got an F
• How much do incarcerated people in Delaware earn for their work in prison?
• Delaware prisons charge a $4 copay to incarcerated people, putting health at risk
• We graded the parole release systems of all 50 states - Delaware gets an F-
• Who's helping the 1,749 women released from Delaware correctional facilities each year?
• The hidden costs in Delaware's "no-cost" prison tablet contract
• How Delaware has reformed its juvenile justice system (from our report Youth Confinement: The Whole Pie)
• Delaware Passes Law to Count Incarcerated Persons at their Home Addresses for Redistricting

Other resources

• Research on Delaware in our Research Library