Rhode Island profile   

4,000 people from Rhode Island are behind bars today

Rates of imprisonment have grown dramatically in the last 40 years

Also see these Rhode Island graphs:

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

Today, Rhode Island’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, Hispanics, and Blacks in Rhode Island prisons.

Rhode Island's criminal justice system is more than just its prisons

Our other articles about Rhode Island

• Ending prison gerrymandering in Rhode Island campaign and resource page
• Why end prison gerrymandering? Rhode Island Judiciary Committee hears testimony, by Aleks Kajstura, April 7, 2015
• Rhode Island Senate votes to end prison gerrymandering, by Aleks Kajstura, March 5, 2015
• New filings in Cranston prison gerrymandering lawsuit, by Aleks Kajstura, April 3, 2014
• Case page for Davidson vs. City of Cranston, a lawsuit against prison gerrymandering in Cranston's municipal districts
• R.I's new House speaker has a captive constituency, by Edward Fitzpatrick, Providence Journal, April 1, 2014
• Blog roundup: Fighting prison gerrymandering in Cranston, RI, by Leah Sakala, February 20, 2014
• Residents and Advocates Sue City of Cranston Over Redistricting Plan That Counts Incarcerated Population as Residents by PPI, February 19, 2014
• Rhode Island mayor: Prisoners count as residents when it helps me, not when it helps them, by Sara Mayeux, Prison Gerrymandering Blog, March 31, 2010
• N.Y. prisoners switch districts; will R.I. follow?, by Ed Fitzpatrick (column), Providence Journal, August 17, 2010

Other resources

• Research on Rhode Island in our Research Library