African-American males in the United States prison system: impact on family and community

摘要

The United States (US) is known to have the largest prison population of any developed nation. The Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that the American prison population exceeded 2 million inmates for the first time in history on June 30, 2002. At that time, America's jails held 1 in every 142 US residents. By gender, the incarceration rate was 1,309 inmates per 100,000 US men, compared with 113 per 100,000 women. Reportedly, the number of additional jail inmates grew faster than the number of new jail beds during the 12 months preceding June 30, 2002.