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Indiana Incarceration Rate Above US Average

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Credit Prison Policy Initiative Twitter (@PrisonPolicy)

A new report the US has the highest incarceration rate in the world. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, the US incarcerates 716 people per every 100,000 residents. That’s 200 more than Cuba, which was the second highest nation on the list.

Indiana’s rate is higher than the national average: 751 per 100,000 residents, ranking it the 18th highest in the nation.

According to Prison Policy Initiative Legal Director Aleks Kajstura, Indiana’s imprisonment numbers have stagnated over the last decade.

“Indiana has been going out, and they kind of leveled out after 2005 or so," said Kajstura. "Its trends seem to be mirroring the US as a whole.”

Still, the most striking fact from the report, she says, is that the incarceration rate in a state like Indiana is much higher than other nations.

“If you look at, you know, Indiana in the world context, it’s worse than the US as a whole and worse than anyone else in the world,” Kajstura said.

The number of people in Indiana with sentences longer than one year peaked near 30,000 in 2009, and has stayed just below that number since.

Zach joined 89.1 WBOI as a reporter and local host for All Things Considered, and hosted Morning Edition for the past few years. In 2022, he was promoted to Content Director.
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