[Mb-civic] America's Prison Population Hits All-Time High

[ean at sbcglobal.net]

http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3442
America's Prison Population Hits All-Time High

Washington, DC: Recently released prison population figures by the 
Bureau of Justice Statistics indicate an annual increase as well as 
demonstrate a 31-year trend of rising prison populations. Despite falling 
crime rates in the  U.S. since 1991, the rate of incarceration has increased 
49%.

Currently, the 1,470,045 prisoners in 2003 in state and federal prisons
represent a 2.1% increase over the previous year. Principally driven by
the federal government's aggressive 'war on drugs' approach, there was a
5.8% increase in the federal prison population-with 55% of the 173,059
prisoners serving time for drug-related, non-violent offenses. The number
of women in prison and jail in 2003 also reached historic levels at
101,179 and 82,169 respectively.

The United States continues to lead the world in incarceration with a rate
of 714 prisoners per 100,000. Comparatively, with a declining rate, Russia
has the second highest incarceration rate of 584 per 100,000; Mexico
(169), England and Wales (141), and Japan (58).

NORML Foundation Executive Director Allen St. Pierre laments that
"America's policy-makers need to immediately stop arresting and
incarcerating such a huge portion of the citizenry, most notably for
possessing and cultivating small amounts of marijuana. Rather than waste
valuable public resources on introducing otherwise law-abiding citizens
into the criminal justice system, the government should establish legal
controls which tax and regulate responsible adult marijuana use."

For more information, please contact NORML Foundation Executive 
Director Allen St. Pierre at (202) 483-5500.

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