Every year, more people are arrested than the entire combined populations of our 13 least populous states.
America incarcerates five times as many people per capita as Canada and 7 times as many as most European democracies.

America spends approximately 100 billion dollars a year on the criminal justice system, up from 12 billion in 1972.

--Bureau of Justice statistics

With 2.2 million people engaged in catching criminals and putting and keeping them behind bars, "corrections" has become one of the largest sectors of the U.S. economy, employing more people than the combined workforces of General Motors, Ford and Wal-Mart, the three biggest corporate employers in the country. [America's Prison Habit, by Alan Elsner, Washington Post 24 January 2004; Page A19]

We quadrupled the prison population since 1980, but much of the increase in admissions involved non-violent offenses, especially drugs.
The system is so big because America punishes lesser offenses so frequently and so severely. Other nations reserve prison for serious or violent offenders. America sends millions of people to jail every year for minor crimes like trespassing, disorderly conduct, non-DWI traffic offenses, and simple possession of small amounts of illegal drugs for personal use.
88% of offenses nationwide are non-violent. Only 3% of all crime results in an injury. Homicide arrests constitute just 0.2% of all arrests in America.

Jail is big business.....
BlueCat Reviewed by BlueCat on . America land of the free? Every year, more people are arrested than the entire combined populations of our 13 least populous states. America incarcerates five times as many people per capita as Canada and 7 times as many as most European democracies. America spends approximately 100 billion dollars a year on the criminal justice system, up from 12 billion in 1972. --Bureau of Justice statistics With 2.2 million people engaged in catching criminals and putting and keeping them behind bars, "corrections" has Rating: 5