Orange overflow: A look at the exploding U.S. female prison population

The female prison population has increased 646% in the past three decades, primarily due to inmates receiving sentences for nonviolent, low-level offenses. The United States imprisons more women than any other country, all at the taxpayer’s expense. Why is this number growing so dramatically? Boston University’s Master of Criminal Justice online program takes a closer look at the exploding female prison population in the United States in the infographic below.

Although the U.S. is one of the most developed nations in the world, it has the second highest incarceration rate with 716 prisoners per 100,000 residents as of 2013. This roughly translates to 2.2 million people, or 0.69% of the population, behind bars. China, the world’s most populous nation, has 1.7 million prisoners.

At the end of 2012, 625,000 women and girls around the world served sentences of imprisonment. Nearly one-third, or 201,200, of the 625,000 women and girls served sentences in the United States.

Click here to read the full article.

Image: Boston University’s Master of Criminal Justice online program

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