• Did You Know…

    • That Louisiana leads the nation in incarceration rates? According to the Pew Center for States, one in 55 Louisianans is behind bars.

     

    • Rep. Walt Leger, D-New Orleans, and a former assistant district attorney for Orleans Parish, who is now speaker pro tem of the Louisiana State House, has stated that he often saw men and women draw 20-year sentences for “one small crack of rock” because it was their fourth drug offense. According to Rep. Leger a single 20-year jail sentence costs taxpayers roughly $600,000.

     

    • Inmate Population according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons:

     

    Inmate Breakdown

     

    Inmates By Security Level

    Minimum:

    17.3 %

    Low:

    39.7 %

    Medium:

    28.9 %

    High:

    11.0 %

    Unclassified1:

    3.0 %

    Inmates By Gender

    Male:

    196,912

    (93.3 %)

    Female:

    14,238

    (6.7 %)

    Inmates By Race

    White:

    125,844

    (59.6 %)

    Black:

    78,323

    (37.1 %)

    Native American:

    3,882

    (1.8 %)

    Asian:

    3,101

    (1.5 %)

    Ethnicity

    Hispanic:

    73,800

    (35.0 %)

    Inmate Age

    Average Inmate Age:

    40

    Citizenship

    United States:

    156,930

    (74.3 %)

    Mexico:

    37,974

    (18.0 %)

    Colombia:

    2,120

    (1.0 %)

    Cuba:

    1,475

    (0.7 %)

    Dominican Republic:

    2,065

    (1.0 %)

    Other/Unknown:

    10,586

    (5.0 %)

    1These inmates have not yet been assigned a security level.

     

    Sentence Imposed

     

     

    Less than 1 year:

    4,973

    (2.5 %)

    1-3 years:

    23,751

    (11.8 %)

    3-5 years:

    28,459

    (14.2 %)

    5-10 years:

    57,689

    (28.7 %)

    10-15 years:

    40,818

    (20.3 %)

    15-20 years:

    18,874

    (9.4 %)

     

    More than 20 years:

    20,089

    (10.0 %)

    Life:

    6,133

    (3.1 %)

    Death:

    57

    * Data is only calculated for cases where sentencing information is available.

     

    Types of Offenses

     

     

    Drug Offenses:

    100,026

    (50.1 %)

    Weapons, Explosives, Arson:

    30,617

    (15.3 %)

    Immigration:

    21,933

    (11.0 %)

    Robbery:

    7,651

    (3.8 %)

    Burglary, Larceny, Property Offenses:

    7,646

    (3.8 %)

    Extortion, Fraud, Bribery:

    10,793

    (5.4 %)

    Homicide, Aggravated Assault, and Kidnapping Offenses:

    5,581

    (2.8 %)

    Miscellaneous:

    1,571

    (0.8 %)

    Sex Offenses:

    11,728

    (5.9 %)

    Banking and Insurance, Counterfeit, Embezzlement:

    809

    (0.4 %)

    Courts or Corrections:

    642

    (0.3 %)

    Continuing Criminal Enterprise:

    482

    (0.2 %)

    National Security:

    80

    (0.0 %)

    * Data calculated for those with offense-specific information available.

     

    • Bureau of Justice Statistics:

    Highlights:

    • The U.S. prison population declined for the third consecutive year in 2012, from a high of 1,615,487 inmates in 2009 to 1,571,013 at year end 2012.
    • The U.S. imprisoned 27,770 fewer prisoners (down 1.7%) at yearend 2012 than at yearend 2011.
    • The federal prison population increased by 1,453 prisoners in 2012 (up 0.7%), while the state prison population declined by 29,223 prisoners (down 2.1%).

    Read more Bureau of Prison…

    http://www.bop.gov/news/quick.jsp

    Read more Bureau of Justice Statistics:

    http://www.bjs.gov/

     

     

     

     

    ? According to the Pew Center for States, one in 55 Louisianans is behind bars.

 

  • Rep. Walt Leger, D-New Orleans, and a former assistant district attorney for Orleans Parish, who is now speaker pro tem of the Louisiana State House, has stated that he often saw men and women draw 20-year sentences for “one small crack of rock” because it was their fourth drug offense. According to Rep. Leger a single 20-year jail sentence costs taxpayers roughly $600,000.

 

  • Inmate Population according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons:

 

Inmate Breakdown

 

Inmates By Security Level

Minimum:

17.3 %

Low:

39.7 %

Medium:

28.9 %

High:

11.0 %

Unclassified1:

3.0 %

Inmates By Gender

Male:

196,912

(93.3 %)

Female:

14,238

(6.7 %)

Inmates By Race

White:

125,844

(59.6 %)

Black:

78,323

(37.1 %)

Native American:

3,882

(1.8 %)

Asian:

3,101

(1.5 %)

Ethnicity

Hispanic:

73,800

(35.0 %)

Inmate Age

Average Inmate Age:

40

Citizenship

United States:

156,930

(74.3 %)

Mexico:

37,974

(18.0 %)

Colombia:

2,120

(1.0 %)

Cuba:

1,475

(0.7 %)

Dominican Republic:

2,065

(1.0 %)

Other/Unknown:

10,586

(5.0 %)

1These inmates have not yet been assigned a security level.

 

Sentence Imposed

 

 

Less than 1 year:

4,973

(2.5 %)

1-3 years:

23,751

(11.8 %)

3-5 years:

28,459

(14.2 %)

5-10 years:

57,689

(28.7 %)

10-15 years:

40,818

(20.3 %)

15-20 years:

18,874

(9.4 %)

 

More than 20 years:

20,089

(10.0 %)

Life:

6,133

(3.1 %)

Death:

57

* Data is only calculated for cases where sentencing information is available.

 

Types of Offenses

 

 

Drug Offenses:

100,026

(50.1 %)

Weapons, Explosives, Arson:

30,617

(15.3 %)

Immigration:

21,933

(11.0 %)

Robbery:

7,651

(3.8 %)

Burglary, Larceny, Property Offenses:

7,646

(3.8 %)

Extortion, Fraud, Bribery:

10,793

(5.4 %)

Homicide, Aggravated Assault, and Kidnapping Offenses:

5,581

(2.8 %)

Miscellaneous:

1,571

(0.8 %)

Sex Offenses:

11,728

(5.9 %)

Banking and Insurance, Counterfeit, Embezzlement:

809

(0.4 %)

Courts or Corrections:

642

(0.3 %)

Continuing Criminal Enterprise:

482

(0.2 %)

National Security:

80

(0.0 %)

* Data calculated for those with offense-specific information available.

 

  • Bureau of Justice Statistics:

Highlights:

  • The U.S. prison population declined for the third consecutive year in 2012, from a high of 1,615,487 inmates in 2009 to 1,571,013 at year end 2012.
  • The U.S. imprisoned 27,770 fewer prisoners (down 1.7%) at yearend 2012 than at yearend 2011.
  • The federal prison population increased by 1,453 prisoners in 2012 (up 0.7%), while the state prison population declined by 29,223 prisoners (down 2.1%).

Read more Bureau of Prison…

http://www.bop.gov/news/quick.jsp

Read more Bureau of Justice Statistics:

http://www.bjs.gov/