Now I know we all struggle to comprehend millions vs. billions for bail-outs, quarterly profits and deficits.
And I know we are all juggling gallons vs. barrels (US and UK measures) and official and industry estimates as the gushers spew out oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico …
… but this next figure is simple and devastating. There are 2.3 million Americans in prison. That is more than 1 in every 100 adults. Think on that figure. Simple graphics such as this one by The Pew Center on the States make it easier.
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Even among my close friends, the penny only dropped this week.
Prison Photography 
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May 21, 2010 at 1:22 am
Russ
I would be interested to see this data as percentages of the populations in each state – obviously Vermont will have fewer prisoners than California, but is it a lower or higher percentage of the total population?
Also, how does this compare to the UK, Canada or other countries? I keep being told the UK prison population is high and I knew the 1 in 100 statistic for the US (thanks to Stephen Fry on QI), but you’re right, this sort of graphic really helps bring it home.
May 21, 2010 at 1:29 am
petebrook
Russell,
The graphic in this post lists (on the left) prison populations per 100,000 for many countries: https://prisonphotography.wordpress.com/2009/07/08/schools-prisons-hospitals/
US = 756, UK = 151. So as you can see, the US locks up five times as many people as the UK.
Approximately, the UK prison population has risen from 65,000 to 90,000 in the past 20 years.
May 30, 2010 at 3:07 am
More inspiration…blogathon style « Out and Employed
[…] First, a shout out to Prison Photography for leading me to this great graphic on the number of incarcerated individuals in the U.S. by […]