INCARCERATION RATE IN THE US REACHES AN ALL-TIME HIGH

Washington (AFP) -- The US prison population, already the largest in the
world, reached a new high of more than 2.1 million last year, with one in
every 138 residents of the country now behind bars, according to new
government statistics.

The data, made public by the Bureau of Justice Statistics on Sunday, put
the US far ahead of countries like China and Russia, whose combined
population is about five times that of the US.

"The numbers are pretty consistent with what they have been in the last few
years," Justice Department statistician Paige Harrison, a co-author of the
report, said.

"We are seeing continued growth in prisons and jails, but at a lower rate
than we had about 10 years ago," Harrison said.

The study shows the number of inmates across the country rose an estimated
48,452 people, or 2.3 percent, in the 12-month period ending on June 30, 2004.

In other words, the system was adding to its ranks on average 932
individuals every week.

The rate of incarceration reached a record of 726 inmates per 100,000
residents -- up from 716 a year earlier.

By comparison, the current incarceration rate in Britain is 142 per 100,000
citizens, in China 118, in France 91, in Japan 58, and in Nigeria 31,
according to the Justice Policy Institute, an independent research
organization.

drug offenders

US federal prisons that house the most drug offenders accounted for the
largest increase of the prison population -- 6.3 percent.

Thirteen states reported increases in the number of those incarcerated of
at least five percent, led by Minnesota, which boosted its prison roll by
13.2 percent, Montana, up by 10.5 percent, and Arkansas, up by 8.9 percent.

While the number of female prisoners increased by 2.9 percent, American men
were overall 11 times more likely to end up behind bars than women: the
incarceration rate among the male population was 1,348 per 100,000 residents.

African-American men

But the situation was even more startling in the African-American
community. A total of 12.6 percent of black males in their late twenties
were now officially in prison, compared to 3.6 percent of Hispanics and
about 1.7 percent of whites, the report showed.

Although incarceration rates dropped with age, the percentage of jailed
black males aged between 45 and 54 was an estimated 4.5 percent -- more
than twice the highest rate among white males.

The number of foreigners held in state or federal prisons increased 1.4
percent, reaching 91,789, according to the study.

violent crime

The report follows the release by the Federal Bureau of Investigation of
new statistics indicating that violent crime went down two percent in the
US in the first six months of last year, with murders dropping 5.7 percent.

The two sets of data have immediately prompted members of the
administration and other supporters of President George W. Bush to assert
that the main reason crime was going down was because more criminals were
being taken off the streets.

"We have also had a change in parole release and revocation policies, which
increase the chance of parole violators coming back," Harrison noted.

underlying factors

But Jason Ziedenberg, executive director of the Justice Policy Institute,
pointed to the need to address the underlying issues of unemployment,
poverty and education in order to reduce the number of inmates while also
keeping crime down.

"Unless we promote alternatives to prison, the nation will continue to lead
the world in imprisonment," he said in a statement.