The Forgotten 7.4 Million

     Here are some interesting statitics:  Over 9 million people are being held in prison or jail world-wide, and 32.2% of them are in the United States (1).  There are more than 2.3 million people in state or federal prisons or local jails (2).  More than 5.1 million people are on probation or parole (3).  There are just over 304 million people living in the U.S. (4).  That means 1 in 41 Americans are in prison, jail, or on probation or parole.  Over 95% of all state prisoners will be released at some point, with 80% going on parole supervision (5).  Once locked up, prisoners don't just stay there.  Nearly 700,000 are released back into society every year!  What do we do with them?  Welcome them back?  Turn them away?  Let's take a look.

  Parolees are denied employment.  In 2007, nearly half of all people on parole in New York, for example, were unemployed (6).  Parolees are denied insurance.  Most insurance companies will not issue new policies to anyone on probation or parole.  I know this personally.  I was denied home owner's insurance in 2007 by a Farmer's Insurance agent over the phone.  He asked if anyone in my household was a felon, and when I answered that I was he promptly told me his company's policy prohibited him from going any further with the application.  Parolees are denied housing.  Most real estate companies will not rent to anyone with a felony record (7).  Parolees are denied food stamps.  In 2006, of the Federally sentenced offenders in Arkansas, 29.9% were drug offenders.  In 2007, of the 13,013 inmates under the Arkansas Department of Corrections, 2789 (21.4%) were in for drug charges (8).  Yet anyone in Arkansas (and 21 other states) with a drug charge cannot receive food stamps or TEA (Transitional Employment Assistance) benefits, while any other felon is eligible for these benefits (9).  So, offenders come out of prison and find it difficult to earn a living, find housing, get insurance coverage, food stamps or other assistance, and it's no wonder that over two-thirds of them are sent back to prison within three years (10).

  In 2006, a public opinion poll asked respondents what they thought were the major contributors to recidivism (the tendency to relapse into criminal behavior resulting in a return to jail or prison).  Nearly two in three respondents said that when people come out of prison they have no more life skills than they had when they entered prison (66%), and people returning to society from prison experience too many obstacles to living a crime-free life (57%) (11).  Yet, policies continue to exist that limit or even prohibit basic services and opportunities for felons.  We want them to successfully reenter society, but we want someone else to help them do so.  It's time the public got involved and pushed for changes in current laws and policies.  Seven hundred thousand people a year are going to be looking for a fresh start.  Let's help them find one.

(1) World Prison Population List, 6th edition.  King's College London.  International Centre for Prison Studies.

(2) Prison Statistics.  Bureau of Justice Statistics.  U.S. Department of Justice.

(3) Probation and Parole Statistics.  Bureau of Justice Statistics.  U.S. Department of Justice.

(4) National and State Population Estimates.  U.S. Census Bureau.

(5) Reentry Trends in the United States:  Releases from State Prisons.  Bureau of Justice Statistics.  U.S. Department of Justice.

(6) Offender Re-entry.  2007 Crimestat Update.  NYS Department of Corrections.

(7) Sample Tenant Screening Report.  American Apartment Owners Association.

(8) Profile of Drug Indicators:  State of Arkansas.  Drug Policy Information Clearinghouse.  Office of National Drug Control Policy. 

(9) Title 21 United States Code Controlled Substances Act.  Drug Enforcement Agency.

(10) Reentry Trends in the United States:  Recidivism.  Bureau of Justice Statistics.  U.S. Department of Justice.

(11)  Focus:  Views from the National Council on Crime and Deliquency.  Zogby Poll.