A recent report from The Sentencing Project has revealed significant strides have been made in reducing racial inequities in incarceration over the past two decades. However, the study also warns that ongoing pushback from policymakers threatens to impede further progress.
The report, titled “One in Five: Ending Racial Inequity in Incarceration,” highlights a notable decline in the lifetime likelihood of imprisonment for Black men born in 2001 compared to those born in 1981. While one in three Black men born in 1981 faced the prospect of imprisonment, the figure has now dropped to one in five for those born in 2001.
The authors attribute the decline to reforms, particularly in drug law enforcement and sentencing for drug and property offenses. Urban areas, predominantly home to communities of color, have significantly reduced imprisonment rates.
Despite these positive trends, the report underscores that imprisonment levels remain alarmingly high nationwide, particularly for Black Americans. The authors caution that the U.S. remains entrenched in the era of mass incarceration, with a 25% reduction in the total prison population since 2009, following a nearly 700% surge in imprisonment since 1972.
The report further notes that the prison population in 2021 was nearly six times larger than it was half a century ago, before the mass incarceration era, and continued to expand in 2022. The U.S. also maintains a five to eight times higher prison and jail incarceration rate than France, Canada, and Germany. Notably, states such as Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma have incarceration rates nearly 50% above the national average.
“The reluctance to fully correct sentencing excesses, particularly for violent crimes as supported by criminological evidence, prolongs the harm and futility of mass incarceration,” the authors concluded, emphasizing that racial equity in incarceration remains an elusive goal.
The report also highlights persistent disparities among different racial and ethnic groups. The lifetime likelihood of imprisonment for Black men born in 2001, while reduced, remains four times that of their white counterparts. Black women face an imprisonment rate 1.6 times higher than white women in 2021.
