U.S. Jail Population Hits New High (Update)

By Jeralyn, Section Crime Policy

According to a new report from the Department of Justice, 3.2% of America's adult population is in jail, 1 in 142 US residents now in prison.

US jail population rises to 2.2 million June 28, 2007

Prisons and jails added more than 42,000 inmates last year, the largest increase since 2000. The total number of people incarcerated by federal or state authorities in the year ending June 30, 2006, was roughly 1.6 million, the government said yesterday, a 2.8 percent increase from the previous year. Overall, the number of people behind bars -- including those held in local jails -- was more than 2.2 million, according to the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics.