HELP US END MASS INCARCERATION
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Peter Wagner, Executive Director Donate
Can you help us sustain this work?
Thank you,
Peter Wagner, Executive Director Donate
Race & ethnicity
Disparities relating to race and ethnicity
- Racial disparities in youth confinement are increasing, despite overall declining numbers (Created: 2025)
- Neurodivergent youth of color are particularly vulnerable to staff assault while incarcerated (Created: 2025)
- The racial and ethnic composition of pregnant people in prison is different from the women's prison population overall (Created: 2025)
- Racial and ethnic disparities in correctional facilities (Created: 2025)
- Black people are more than twice as likely to be searched or arrested in a traffic stop (Created: 2024)
- Black people experience police misconduct at six times the rate of white people (Created: 2024)
- Black people disproportionately experience the threat or use of force in police encounters (Created: 2024)
- Among people in each race category who are jailed, Indigenous people are most likely to be jailed multiple times (Created: 2024)
- Indian country jail growth is accelerated among women and older adults (Created: 2024)
- Jail populations in Indian country continue to rebound from COVID-19 pandemic lows (Created: 2024)
- Racial disparities in local jail incarceration rates, 2022 (Created: 2024)
- Racial disparities in prison incarceration rates, 2022 (Created: 2024)
- Racial disparities in men's prison incarceration rates, 2022 (Created: 2024)
- Racial disparities in women's prison incarceration rates, 2022 (Created: 2024)
- How much higher are Black incarceration rates than white? (Created: 2023)
- Incarceration rates by race and ethnicity in prisons (2021) and jails (2019), by state (Created: 2023)
- Racial/ethnic disparities in prison (2021) and jail (2019) incarceration by state (Created: 2023)
- Police disproportionately threaten or use force against communities of color (Created: 2022)
- Black, Native, and multiracial people in state prisons are more likely than white people to have asthma, diabetes, and hypertension (Created: 2022)
- In state prisons, women of all races and ethnicities are more likely than men to have any mental health diagnosis (Created: 2022)
- White people are very underrepresented in state prisons while almost every other racial and ethnic group is overrepresented (Created: 2022)
- Educational attainment among people entering state prisons is low, especially among Black and Hispanic people (Created: 2022)
- Most transgender people in state prisons are people of color (Created: 2022)
- Incarceration in Indian Country jails and Native incarceration in local jails has exploded since 2000 (Created: 2021)
- The juvenile justice system confines Native youth at a rate higher than the rates of white, Hispanic, and Asian youth combined (Created: 2021)
- For the lowest level offenses, the juvenile justice system confines Native and Black youth at 3 times the rate of white youth (Created: 2021)
- Arrest rates for most youth are falling, while Native youth arrests are on the rise (Created: 2021)
- Racial disparities in incarceration rates by sex, 2010 (Created: 2021)
- The number of Native people in jails depends on how you count them (Created: 2021)
- Black families are disproportionately impacted by incarceration (Created: 2021)
- Homicides with Black and Latinx victims are less likely lead to an arrest than homicides with white victims (Created: 2021)
- Homicides with Black victims and white perpetrators are much more likely to be deemed “justifiable” than those with Black perpetrators and white victims (Created: 2021)
- Black and Latinx people experienced less jail decarceration than white people in 2020 (Created: 2021)
- BIPOC transgender people are disproportionately harassed by police (Created: 2021)
- BIPOC transgender people have especially high lifetime rates of incarceration (Created: 2021)
- Black people in Connecticut are disproportionately impacted by homelessness and incarceration (Created: 2021)
- Racial disparities in men's imprisonment persist across all ages (Created: 2020)
- Expanding jails in Indian country enabled more incarceration, rather than solving problems that led to overcrowding (Created: 2020)
- As in other places, jail expansion in Indian country meant more pretrial detention and longer jail stays (Created: 2020)
- Incarceration and wealth accumulation, by race & ethnicity (Created: 2020)
- Black people are disproportionately stopped on the street by the police, while white people are much more likely to call the police for help (Created: 2020)
- Among individuals who have any contact with police, people of color disproportionately experience the use of force (Created: 2020)
- Black youth are arrested far out of proportion to their share of all youth in the U.S. (Created: 2020)
- The juvenile justice system confines Black youth at over 4 times the rate of white youth (Created: 2020)
- For the lowest level offenses, Black and American Indian youth are confined at rates over 3 times the rate of white youth (Created: 2020)
- People detained pretrial because they can’t pay bail are much poorer than their peers - and the income gaps are widest for Black people (Created: 2020)
- Pretrial populations, disproportionately Black and Hispanic, have more than doubled over 15 years (Created: 2020)
- Racial disparities in prison incarceration rates, by sex, 2018 (Created: 2020)
- Black people are disproportionately serving sentences of life, life without parole, or “virtual life” (Created: 2020)
- Black people are overrepresented on death row, while white people are underrepresented (Created: 2020)
- Black men and women are overrepresented in solitary confinement, when compared to total prison populations (Created: 2020)
- Formerly incarcerated people have very high rates of homelessness, especially women and people of color (Created: 2020)
- Black people are disproportionately likely to be arrested, and to be arrested repeatedly in the same year (Created: 2020)
- U.S. incarceration rates by race (Created: 2020)
- Stagnant populations and changing demographics: what the new BJS reports tell us about correctional populations (Created: 2020)
- People jailed most frequently are disproportionately black (Created: 2019)
- Racial disparities in LGBTQ youth homelessness and juvenile justice system confinement (Created: 2019)
- Formerly incarcerated people of color face the greatest educational disadvantages (Created: 2018)
- Police are twice as likely to use force against people of color (Created: 2018)
- Homelessness rates among formerly incarcerated people (Created: 2018)
- Gender, race, and ethnicity combine to put women of color at greater risk of homelessness (Created: 2018)
- The "prison penalty" in unemployment disproportionately punishes formerly incarcerated Black men and women (Created: 2018)
- Race and gender disparities in unemployment and job type among formerly incarcerated people active in the labor market (Created: 2018)
- Changes in male homicide rates by race 1980-2015 (Created: 2018)
- Changes in female homicide rates by race 1980-2015 (Created: 2018)
- Racial and ethnic disparities in correctional facilities (Created: 2018)
- Incarceration and HIV infection disparities for Black men (Created: 2017)
- Racial/Ethnic disparities in incarceration by state, 2010 (Created: 2016)
- In the United States, juveniles serving life without parole are disproportionately people of color (Created: 2016)
- Rate at which black juvenile offenders are given life without parole sentences to their white peers (Created: 2016)
- In Pennsylvania, juveniles serving life without parole are disproportionately people of color (Created: 2016)
- In Michigan, juveniles serving life without parole are disproportionately people of color (Created: 2016)
- In Florida, juveniles serving life without parole are disproportionately people of color (Created: 2016)
- In Mississippi, juveniles serving life without parole are disproportionately people of color (Created: 2016)
- In North Carolina, juveniles serving life without parole are disproportionately people of color (Created: 2016)
- In Illinois, juveniles serving life without parole are disproportionately people of color (Created: 2016)
- In Missouri, juveniles serving life without parole are disproportionately people of color (Created: 2016)
- Racial disparity in who is awaiting execution (Created: 2016)
- Racial disparity in who is serving life without parole (Created: 2016)
- Racial disparity in who is serving life sentences (Created: 2016)
- Racial disparity in who is incarcerated in state & federal prison (Created: 2016)
- Racial disparity in who is locked up in jails (Created: 2016)
- People in jail are poor, unable to meet bail (Created: 2016)
- Wealth accumulation and incarceration (Created: 2016)
- Racial and ethnic disparities in prisons and jails (Created: 2016)
- Racial and ethnic disparities at Attica Correctional Facility, 2005 (Created: 2015)
- Racial and ethnic disparities at New York State Correctional Facilities, 2005 (Created: 2015)
- Racial and ethnic disparities at U.S. correctional facilities, 2005 (Created: 2015)
- Racial/ethnic parity in U.S. correctional facilities, 2005 (Created: 2015)
- Incarcerated people earn substantially less prior to their incarceration than their non-incarcerated counterparts (Created: 2015)
- Black people are incarcerated in counties with disproportionately low Black non-incarcerated population (Created: 2015)
- Latino people are incarcerated in counties with disproportionately low Latino non-incarcerated population (Created: 2015)
- Counties where incarcerated Black and Latino people are disproportionate to the Black and Latino non-incarcerated population (Created: 2015)
- Blacks and Hispanics are less likely than Whites to have computers and high-speed internet access at home (Created: 2015)
- Incarceration rates by race/ethnicity and racial disparities by state, 2010 (Created: 2014)
- Latinos are disproportionately incarcerated in Massachusetts Pioneer Valley jails, 2010 (Created: 2013)
- Blacks are disproportionately incarcerated in Massachusetts Pioneer Valley jails, 2010 (Created: 2013)
- Young males incarcerated at very high rates (Created: 2012)
- Incarcerated males by race (Created: 2012)
- During stops that do not result in an arrest, Blacks are more than 12 times as likely as Whites to experience the use of force during stop & frisks by New York City Police (Created: 2012)
- Innocent Latinos and Blacks are more likely than Whites to experience the use of force during a NYC 'stop and frisk' (Created: 2012)
- Blacks are almost 12 times as likely as Whites to have force used while being stopped or frisked by the New York City Police (Created: 2012)
- New York City's 'stop & frisk' policing consistently focuses on Blacks and Latinos (Created: 2012)
- Blacks are 11 times as likely as Whites to be frisked by the New York City Police (Created: 2012)
- Blacks are more than 8 times as likely as Whites to be stopped by the New York City police (Created: 2012)
- Disenfranchisenment of Black voting age population, 2000 (Created: 2005)
- Percent of Massachusetts adults barred from voting, by race (Created: 2004)
- Blacks are overrepresented in Franklin County, MA jail (Created: 2004)
- Racial disparities in incarceration by state, 2000 (Created: 2004)
- Males are overrepresented in prisons and jails (Created: 2004)
- Racial disparity between U.S. and incarcerated populations (Created: 2004)
- Disparities between Black and White incarceration rates, 2001 (Created: 2004)
- Percent Latino Population Incarcerated by County (Created: 2004)
- Racial disparities in North Carolina incarceration (Created: 2003)
- Racial disparities in North Carolina incarceration (Created: 2003)
- Incarceration rates by race and gender, 2000 (Created: 2003)
- Juveniles in adult prisons, by race (Created: 2003)
- Lifetime chance of incarceration, by race (Created: 2003)
- Murder rates by race and gender, 1998 (Created: 2003)
- Confidence in the police, by race (Created: 2003)
- Do the police treat all races fairly?, by race (Created: 2003)
- Increases in the African American population in prison and in higher education, 1980-2000 (Created: 2003)
- African American male population in higher education and in prison, 2000 (Created: 2003)
- Blacks overrepresented in Ohio prisons (Created: 2003)
- Racial disparities in North Carolina incarceration per 100,000 population (Created: 2003)
- North Carolina state prisons and county percent Black (Created: 2003)
- Percent Black Population Incarcerated by County (Created: 2003)
- New York State prison and general population by race (Created: 2002)
Events
- November 12-14, 2025:
Members of our Research team, Wendy Sawyer and Jacob Kang-Brown will be attending the American Society of Criminology annual meeting in Washington, D.C. from November 12 through the 14th. Please reach out if you’d like to set up a meeting.
Not near you?
Invite us to your city, college or organization.