1 in 100 Behind Bars
| 
According to a 2008 national report by the Pew Center Public Safety Performance Project, more than one in 100 Americans are behind bars. The United States incarcerates more people (2.3 million) than any other country in the world. Georgia has the seventh largest prison population (55,205) in the country. Georgia’s prison population increased 4.6% during 2007 compared to a national 1.6%. Further, for every dollar spent on education 50 cents is spent on incarceration. The incarceration rates are even worse for African-Americans. For example, an analysis of midyear 2006 data from the U.S. Department of Justice shows that while 1 in 30 men between the ages of 20 and 34 are behind bars, for black males in that age group the figure is 1 in 9.
 |
 |
