Prisoner Profile

State Prisons:

• There are over 70,000 people in New York State Prisons, up from 12,500 in 1973 and 28,500 in 1983.

• African Americans make up about 51% of the prison population. They represent 12.4% of the State's population.

• Latinos make up 32.1% of the State's inmate population and 10.8% of the overall population.

• There are over 3,500 women in State prison. They make up 5% of the total inmate population.

• 60-70% of inmates - 42,000 to 49,000 -- have a history of drug abuse.

• 75% of prisoners have no high school diploma.

• About 45% of the inmates are serving time for first felony convictions.

• 61.4% of the offenders sent to State prison in 1998 were convicted of non-violent crimes.

City Jails:

• There are about 17,800 people in New York City Jails, up from 7,000 in 1980, but down from 22,600 in 1991.

• African Americans and Latinos make up about 91.5% of the City Jail population.

• 90.4% are male, 9.6% are female.

• Only 10% of the City inmates have a high school or equivalency diploma.

• Between 50 and 70% of the City's adult inmate population reads below the sixth grade level in English.

• About 67% of the City inmates are pre-trial detainees who have been charged but not convicted.

• Nearly 57% of the detainees with a bail sent to jail at arraignment have bails of $2000 or less. Over 25% have bails of $500 or less.

February 1999