Mass Incarceration in U.S. Rises After Years of Decline

Vanguard generated image

EASTHAMPTON, Mass. — After more than a decade of declining incarceration rates, prisons and jails across the U.S. are once again locking up more people, according to a new report from the Prison Policy Initiative.
The 2025 edition of Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie, released Tuesday, offers a comprehensive analysis of the nearly two million people incarcerated nationwide.
The report reveals the incarcerated population has grown by about two percent overall since the last edition, with particularly sharp increases among immigrants and young people.
According to the Prison Policy Initiative, recent growth in incarceration is largely driven by a handful of states, with nine states accounting for 77 percent of all state prison growth over 2022 and 2023.
This data tells the story of states taking two divergent paths,” said Wendy Sawyer, Research Director at the Prison Policy Initiative.
Sawyer adds, “The first path works to reduce the number of people behind bars, recognizing that every person who is locked up represents the failure of overly-punitive policies.
“The other path doubles down on the misguided policies that created the nation’s mass incarceration crisis by locking more people up, destroying lives, and making communities less safe.”
The number of young people incarcerated rose by 11 percent in 2022 compared to 2021, marking the first increase in youth confinement in more than two decades, according to the report.
PPI’s report includes 32 visualizations that offer a clearer picture of the nation’s incarceration landscape, providing a breakdown of the “655,000 people in local jails on any given day, including over 450,000 people awaiting trial, and over 100,000 people held by jails for other agencies.”
The report also shows “a graphic explaining that, contrary to a popular misconception, only eight percent of incarcerated people are held in privately-run facilities.” Additional illustrations detail lesser-known aspects of the criminal legal system, including involuntary commitment, civil commitment and jails on tribal lands.

Xinhui Lin is a first-year student at the University of California, Los Angeles, pursuing a double major in Public Affairs and Sociology on a Pre-law track. Her unwavering commitment to addressing social injustices is deeply rooted in her cultural background and her personal experiences while growing up in Shanghai, China. Xinhui keenly observed the pervasive gender and racial inequalities, the subtle yet significant discrimination against minority groups, and the everyday micro-aggressions that disenfranchised individuals face. After exploring the philosophical question regarding the intricate relationship between power, morality, and justice, Xinhui kindled her interest in the intricacies of the criminal justice system – a cornerstone of society meant to epitomize principles of justice and fairness. Her commitment to understanding and improving this system is evident in her aspirations to potentially pursue a career as an attorney, with a strong desire to advocate for disadvantaged individuals.

View all posts