US Prison Population Drops; Jail Numbers Surge

US Prison Population Drops; Jail Numbers Surge

A multiyear decline in the overall U.S. prison population continued through the first half of 2021, according to a Vera Institute of Justice report published June 7. The total incarcerated population stands at just under 1.77 million currently, with nearly 1.2 million...
US Prison, Jail Population Dropped Sharply in 2020

US Prison, Jail Population Dropped Sharply in 2020

U.S. prisons and jails saw a significant decline in the inmate population during 2020, according to a Vera Institute of Justice report published on January 25. There were 2,115,000 incarcerated people in 2019 – 1,435,500 in U.S. prisons and 758,419 in U.S. jails....