General Crime Statistics

The most recent United Nations World Crime Survey found that in four years the rate of assault increased by 14%,embezzlement by 29%, rape by 21% and homicide by 45%. Efforts at crime prevention have not been successful. At 6.8per 100,000 population, the current homicide rate is 40% higher than in 1950. The United States has the highest percapita prison rate in the world with 715 people in prison per 100,000 of the population. Recidivism (ex-prisonersreturning to prison after committing more crimes) is as high at 80% in some areas. The annual cost of crime in theUnited States alone exceeds over $128 billion. The report of THE COMMISSION ON SAFETY AND ABUSE IN AMERICA’SPRISONS has just been released in June 2006 and gives this information: There are nearly 5,000 prisons and jails in theUnited States. America incarcerates more people and a higher rate than any other country in the world. In the decadefrom 1994 to 2004, the US prison population expanded by more than half a million people. The daily count in U.S.prisons has surpassed 2.2 million. Over a year, more than 13.5 million people spend time in jail or in prison. 95 percentof them eventually return to their communities. Between 1995 and 2000, the growth rate of prisoners housed inhigh-security segregation increased 40%, far higher than the growth rate of the overall prison population. High-securitysegregated housing can be twice as expensive as other forms of confinement. Approximately 750,000 men and womanwork in correctional facilities dealing with prisoners. The annual budget for corrections is over 60 billions dollars.