US prison population jumps by largest margin since 2000

US prison population jumps by largest margin since 2000
Jun 26, 2007, 19:07 GMT

Washington - The number of people jailed in the United States rose 2.8 per cent to more than 2.2 million in 2006, the largest climb in six years, the US Justice Department said Tuesday.
The heavy increases in prison populations since 2000, especially at state and federal levels, means many prisons are operating far over capacity, according to the department's annual report. At the end of 2005, federal prisons were operating on average 34 per cent above capacity, while state prisons were between 1 per cent below and 14 per cent above capacity, the report said. Local, state and federal prisons together held just over 2.245 million people as of June 30, 2006, up 62,000 from the same period a year earlier. The percentages continue to be skewed towards minorities. Black males made up 37 per cent of the country's prison population as of June 2006. About 4.8 per cent of all black men in the US are currently incarcerated - more than 11 per cent of those aged between 25 and 34 - compared to 1.9 per cent of Hispanic men and 0.7 per cent of white males, the report said.

© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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