Incarceration Rates:
(Number incarcerated per 100,000)
US 715
Russia 584
Mexico 169
England/Wales 143
Canada 116
Australia 114
Germany 96
France 95
Japan 54
(Source: The Sentencing Project)
America's inmate population grew by 2.9 percent last year, to almost 2.1 million people, with one of every 75 men living in prison or jail.
The inmate population continued its rise despite a fall in the crime rate and many states' efforts to reduce some sentences, especially for low-level drug offenders.
The report issued Thursday by the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics attributes much of the increase to get-tough policies enacted during the 1980s and '90s, such as mandatory drug sentences, "three-strikes-and-you're-out" laws for repeat offenders, and "truth-in-sentencing" laws that restrict early releases.
Whether that's good or bad depends on who is asked.
