Rhode Island profile    Tweet this

Rhode Island has an incarceration rate of 289 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 democracy on earth. Read on to learn more about who is incarcerated in Rhode Island and why.

Jump to COVID-19 data.

3,600 people from Rhode Island are behind bars

Additionally, the number of people impacted by county and city jails in Rhode Island is much larger than the graph above would suggest, because people cycle through local jails relatively quickly. Each year, at least 19,000 different people are booked into local jails in Rhode Island.

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

Data on COVID-19 in Rhode Island jails and prisons

We gave Rhode Island a failing grade in September 2021 for its response to the coronavirus in prisons, noting that Rhode Island failed to utilize one of the most obvious, and easiest, tools for reducing the prison population — stopping prison admissions for technical violations of probation and parole (which are not crimes).

For more detail, see our report States of Emergency. Or check out these other resources:

• Our Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic page tracks criminal justice policy responses to the coronavirus all 50 states
• As of late April, only 69% of corrections staff in Rhode Island prisons had gotten the COVID-19 vaccine
• How many COVID-19 cases in Rhode Island communities can be linked to outbreaks in correctional facilities? (data from our report Mass Incarceration, COVID-19, and Community Spread)
• As of August 2020, Rhode Island prisons were not even requiring staff to wear masks at work
• Rhode Island did the right thing and suspended all medical copays in prisons at the beginning of the pandemic. The state should make this change permanent

Our other articles about Rhode Island

• Rhode Island hinders jury diversity by excluding people with felony records until they complete probation and parole sentences
• How much do incarcerated people in Rhode Island earn for their work in prison?
• Rhode Island prisons charge a $3 copay to incarcerated people, putting health at risk
• Research from Rhode Island: Prisons could do much more to prevent opioid overdose deaths among people leaving prison
• We graded the parole release systems of all 50 states - Rhode Island gets an F
• Who's helping the 326 women released from Rhode Island correctional facilities each year?

Prison-based gerrymandering in Rhode Island

• Ending prison gerrymandering in Rhode Island campaign and resource page
• Why end prison gerrymandering? Rhode Island Judiciary Committee hears testimony
• Rhode Island Senate votes to end prison gerrymandering
• New filings in Cranston prison gerrymandering lawsuit
• Case page for Davidson vs. City of Cranston, a lawsuit against prison gerrymandering in Cranston's municipal districts
• Blog roundup: Fighting prison gerrymandering in Cranston, RI
• Residents and Advocates Sue City of Cranston Over Redistricting Plan That Counts Incarcerated Population as Residents by PPI, February 19, 2014

Other resources

• Research on Rhode Island in our Research Library