Criminal Justice
The United States is home to the world’s largest prison population. As “tough on
crime” laws have put an unprecedented number of non-violent offenders behind
bars in recent years, our neighborhoods feel no more secure
The NAACP advocates for smarter, results-based criminal justice policies to keep
our communities safe, including treatment for addiction and mental health
problems, judicial discretion in sentencing, and an end to racial disparities
at all levels of the system.
Incarceration Trends in America
Between 1980 and 2015, the number of people incarcerated in
America increased from roughly 500,000 to over 2.2 million.
Today, the United States makes up about 5% of the world’s
population and has 21% of the world’s prisoners.
1 in every 37 adults in the United States, or 2.7% of the adult population,
is under some form of correctional supervision.
Racial Disparities in Incarceration
In 2014, African Americans constituted 2.3 million, or 34%, of
the total 6.8 million correctional population.
African Americans are incarcerated at more than 5 times
the rate of whites.
The imprisonment rate for African American women is twice that
of white women.
Nationwide, African American children represent 32%
of children who are arrested, 42% of children who are detained,
and 52% of children whose cases are judicially waived to criminal court.
ACLU – “Stop and Frisk in the deBlasio Era” 2019
https://www.nyclu.org/en/publications/stop-and-frisk-de-blasio-era-2019
Center for Constitutional Rights – January 2019
“Monitor Finds NYPD Continues Unconstitutional Stops, Vast
Numbers of Stops Unreported, Supervisors Fail to Monitor Subordinate Officers”
