New York profile
New York has an incarceration rate of 317 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. Read on to learn more about who is incarcerated in New York and why.
59,000 people from New York are behind bars
Additionally, the number of people impacted by county and city jails in New York is much larger than the graph above would suggest, because people cycle through local jails relatively quickly. Each year, at least 267,000 different people are booked into local jails in New York.
Using 2020 census data, we looked at where people in New York prisons come from. We found they come from all corners of the state, but disproportionately Upstate and traditionally under-resourced communities.
Rates of imprisonment have grown dramatically in the last 40 years
- total numbers rather than rates.
- Women’s prisons: Incarceration Rates | Total Population
- Men’s prisons: Incarceration Rates | Total Population
Today, New York’s incarceration rates stand out internationally
People of color are overrepresented in prisons and jails
New York's criminal justice system is more than just its prisons and jails
Reports and briefings about New York's criminal legal system:
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- Half of New York's prisons transfer out at least 60% of their population each year. How do prison transfers affect incarcerated people's lives?
- New York is one of just a handful of states that do not charge incarcerated people copays for medical care.
- Thousands of New York prison guards went on strike to demand changes to the HALT Solitary Confinement Act, but rolling back solitary confinement reforms won't make prisons safer.
- New York makes medications for opioid use disorder available in its prisons. Why is getting treatment for substance use disorders so difficult across the US carceral system?
- Despite reducing its prison population at the beginning of the pandemic, New York's prison population increased 7% between 2021 and 2023.
- New York has been court-ordered to fix its prison healthcare system three times. Why is healthcare behind bars so bad, and what can be done to fix it?
- People on probation in New York are saddled with onerous rules and conditions they must follow every day or risk incarceration.
- Prisons in New York have tablets, but they may be being used to restrict incarcerated people’s access to books and sap them of the little money they have.
- With an incarceration rate of 317 per 100,000 residents, New York locks up a higher percentage of its people than almost any democratic country on earth.
- During the 2020 redistricting cycle, New York successfully reallocated over 90% of people in state prison back to their home communities, as part of its efforts to end prison gerrymandering.
- 66% of people in New York jails have not been convicted of a crime, meaning they're legally innocent. There are simple steps the state can take to reduce this number. Why isn't it?
- New York releases roughly 157,047 men and 31,470 women from its prisons and jails each year. What is it doing to support them upon reentry?
- Broome County, New York shows that arguments to build a more “compassionate” jail are flawed.
- In New York prisons, breaking even minor rules can come with monetary fines that put incarcerated people in debt to the state
- People on parole in New York can be sent back to prison for "associating" with anyone who has a felony or misdemeanor conviction — even loved ones who are trying to support them
- The parole board in New York is releasing 46% fewer people and holding 36% fewer hearings since the pandemic started
- Black people in New York are incarcerated at a rate 8.3 times higher than white people.
- “Housing First” programs, like NYC FUSE, have been shown to reduce the likelihood of future criminal justice system involvement for participants. More places should adopt this type of housing program.
- New York's choice to criminalize "failure to appear" may be hurting public safety
- The cost of incarcerating older people is incredibly high, and their risk of reincarceration is incredibly low, yet 13% of people in New York prisons are over the age of 55. Why is the state keeping so many older people locked up?
- Prisons in Northeastern states, like New York, have seen the greatest increase in deaths during heatwaves.
- Data from New York and other jurisdictions shows: Releasing people pretrial doesn't harm public safety
- New York makes it difficult or even risky for incarcerated journalists to tell their stories.
- New York is one of 20 states that locks up some people convicted of sex offenses in shadowy "civil commitment" facilities, long after their sentences are over — and often indefinitely.
- In New York, 59,000 people are incarcerated and another 106,000 are on probation or parole.
- New York charges up to 20¢ for an e-message to or from prison.
- New York passed a caregiver proximity law requiring that a primary caregiver is incarcerated in a facility as close as possible to where their child(ren) reside.
- Jails in New York charge up to $9.90 for a 15-minute phone call, reaping profits for companies, while prisons charge 60¢ for a 15-minute phone call.
- New York prisons are replacing incarcerated people's personal mail with scans, stifling family contact
- Bail companies in New York have a track record of avoiding accountability, our report All Profit, No Risk and review of state-by-state evidence show
- Report:
Where people in prison come from: The geography of mass incarceration in New York - New York granted extremely few commutations to incarcerated people in recent years, even during COVID-19
- In some New York prisons, incarcerated people are forced to drink and breathe contaminants
- New York's policy on resources for the poorest people in prisons lacks important information.
- How New York prisons force people to pay for their own incarceration
- New York prisons charge families up to a 20% fee to transfer money to an incarcerated loved one.
- We gave New York a failing grade in September 2021 for its response to the coronavirus in prisons.
- New York hurts jury diversity by excluding people with felony records
- How many COVID-19 cases in New York communities can be linked to outbreaks in correctional facilities? (data from our report Mass Incarceration, COVID-19, and Community Spread)
- The hidden costs in New York's "no-cost" prison tablet contract
- We graded the parole release systems of all 50 states - New York gets a D-
- New York State's elderly prison boom: An update
- New York incarcerates women at a rate of 57 per 100,000 residents — higher than almost any democratic country on earth.
- New York City to make all calls from jail free
- New study examines gender and jail in New York City
- What New York's "Stop-and-Frisk" Policy Really Means: Discrimination and Use of Force
- People in New York prisons earn as little as 10¢ an hour for their work.
- Analysis shows people in NYC jails would be better served in the community
- Implementing Reform: How Maryland & New York Ended Prison Gerrymandering
- Voting equality still up for debate in Rome, NY
- Attica's lessons and the urgency of ending prison-based gerrymandering
Phantom constituents in the Empire State: How outdated Census Bureau methodology burdens New York counties
Most upstate counties with prisons agree: A prison cell is not a residence [PDF]
Actual Constituents: Students and Political Clout in New York
Too big to ignore: How counting people in prisons distorted Census 2000- Importing Constituents: Prisoners and Political Clout in New York
Where people in prison come from: The geography of mass incarceration in New York
Other resources
- Research on New York in our Research Library
- Prison Gerrymandering Project New York Page
