Interesting Stats from GATES Of INJUSTICE by: Alan Elsner

The following stats came from Alan Elsner's GATES OF INJUSTICE which is featured on the front page of this website.


· There are currently more Americans behind bars than the combined populations of metro Boston, San Francisco and Washington D.C.

· There are 100,000 minors under 18 in lock-ups.

· Of the 2 million behind bars in the U.S. ~600,000 are black men in their 20s and 30s which totals 40% of the jail population while that category makes up about 12% of the total population of the U.S.

· 1 in 3 Black men and 1 in 5 Hispanic males can expect to spend time in jail.

· In 1972 there were 326,000 Americans behind bars which means about 160 of every 10,000 people. In 2004 the number is 702 per 10,000.

· From 1980 until 2001 drug related arrests tripled to reach 1,587,000 or 4400 arrests per day or 1 every 20 seconds. 20% of these arrests are for selling and 80% are for possession.

· Cost of drug war in the 70s was about 110 million a year; in 2003 it was $19.2 billion.

· In N.Y. the cost to build each jail cell is $100,000 and it costs $30,000 a year to house an inmate. In 1985 NY had 12,500 prisoners, in 1995 they had 70,000.

· In a 1999 survey 75% of inmates admitted to drug/alcohol abuse while only 15% of inmates ever receive treatment.

· In 2000, BJS estimated that 16% of inmates in state facilities are mentally ill for a total of 191,000 inmates. If you include federal, state and local lock ups this number goes to around 300,000.

· In 2002 there were over 183,000 women in prison and lock up.

· 1 of every 14 Black children has at least 1 parent in jail while 1.5 million children have a parent or close family member in jail. ½ of all juveniles in jail have a parent in jail too.

· In 2000, nearly 70% of inmates released return to jail within 3 years of release.

· Prisons employ more people in the U.S. than General Motors, Ford Motors and Wal-Mart combined.