Document Type
Blog
Publication Date
8-5-2022
Abstract
Have you ever wondered how many people are incarcerated in the United States? It seems like a straightforward question, but the answer is not as easy to nd as you might expect. The US Department of Justice Of ce of Justice Programs reports that there were 1,215,821 people incarcerated in state and federal prisons as of December 31, 2020, according to the most recent data available. This number, however, doesn’t include individuals held in local jails, prisons in US territories, military prisons, facilities administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Division of Corrections, or any other facilities where people may be incarcerated. With those populations included, the total number of incarcerated people in the United States closer to 2,000,000.