In 2022, the incarceration rate of African Americans in local jails in the United States was *** incarcerations per 100,000 of the population -- the highest rate of any race or ethnicity. The second-highest incarceration rate was among American Indians/Alaska Natives, at *** incarcerations per 100,000 of the population.

As of 2022, Black people were more likely than those of other races to be imprisoned in the United States. In that year, the rate of imprisonment for Black men stood at 1,826 per 100,000 of the population. For Black women, this rate stood at 64 per 100,000 of the population.

This data collection includes tabulations of annual adult admissions to federal and state correctional institutions by race. Data are provided for the years 1926 to 1986 and include tabulations for prisons in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as federal prison totals and United States totals. The figures were derived from a voluntary reporting program in which each state, the District of Columbia, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons reported summary and detailed statistics as a part of the National Prisoner Statistics series. Individual state and United States population figures according to racial categories also are provided.

The National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) data collection began in 1926 in response to a congressional mandate to gather information on persons incarcerated in state and federal prisons. Originally under the auspices of the U.S. Census Bureau, the collection moved to the Bureau of Prisons in 1950, and then in 1971 to the National Criminal Justice Information and Statistics Service, the precursor to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) which was established in 1979. From 1979 to 2013, the Census Bureau was the NPS data collection agent. In 2014, the collection was competitively bid in conjunction with the National Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP), since many of the respondents for NPS and NCRP are the same. The contract was awarded to Abt Associates, Inc. The NPS is administered to 51 respondents. Before 2001, the District of Columbia was also a respondent, but responsibility for housing the District of Columbia's sentenced prisoners was transferred to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and by yearend 2001 the District of Columbia no longer operated a prison system. The NPS provides an enumeration of persons in state and federal prisons and collects data on key characteristics of the nation's prison population. NPS has been adapted over time to keep pace with the changing information needs of the public, researchers, and federal, state, and local governments.

In 2022, about 1,826 Black men per 100,000 residents were imprisoned in the United States. This rate was much lower for Black women, at 64 per 100,000 residents. The overall imprisonment rate in 2022 stood at 355 per 100,000 Americans.

The National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) data collection began in 1926 in response to a congressional mandate to gather information on persons incarcerated in state and federal prisons. Originally under the auspices of the United States Census Bureau, the collection moved to the Bureau of Prisons in 1950, and then in 1971 to the National Criminal Justice Information and Statistics Service, the precursor to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) which was established in 1979. Since 1979, the Census Bureau has been the NPS data collection agent. The NPS is administered to 51 respondents. Before 2001, the District of Columbia was also a respondent, but responsibility for housing the District of Columbia's sentenced prisoners was transferred to the federal Bureau of Prisons, and by yearend 2001 the District of Columbia no longer operated a prison system. The NPS provides an enumeration of persons in state and federal prisons and collects data on key characteristics of the nation's prison population. NPS has been adapted over time to keep pace with the changing information needs of the public, researchers, and federal, state, and local governments.

Investigator(s): United States. Bureau of Justice Statistics Produces annual national- and state-level data on the number of prisoners in state and federal prison facilities. Aggregate data are collected on race and sex of prison inmates, inmates held in private facilities and local jails, system capacity, noncitizens, and persons age 17 or younger. Findings are released in the Prisoners series and the Corrections Statistical Analysis Tool (CSAT) - Prisoners. Data are from the 50 states departments of correction, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and until 2001, from the District of Columbia (after 2001, felons sentenced under the District of Columbia criminal code were housed in federal facilities).

As of February 2025, El Salvador had the highest prisoner rate worldwide, with over 1,600 prisoners per 100,000 of the national population. Cuba, Rwanda, Turkmenistan, and the United States, rounded out the top five countries with the highest rate of incarceration. Homicides in El Salvador Interestingly, El Salvador, which long had the highest global homicide rates, has dropped out of the top 20 after a high number of gang members have been incarcerated. A high number of the countries with the highest homicide rate are located in Latin America. Prisoners in the United StatesThe United States is home to the largest number of prisoners worldwide. More than 1.8 million people were incarcerated in the U.S. at the beginning of 2025. In China, the estimated prison population totaled 1.69 million people that year. Other nations had far fewer prisoners. The largest share of the U.S. prisoners in federal correctional facilities were of African-American origin. As of 2020, there were 345,500 black, non-Hispanic prisoners, compared to 327,300 white, non-Hispanic inmates. The U.S. states with the largest number of prisoners in 2022 were Texas, California, and Florida. Over 160,000 prisoners in state facilities were sentenced for rape or sexual assault, which was the most common cause of imprisonment. The second most common was murder, followed by aggravated or simple assault.

The data contain records of sentenced offenders committed to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) during fiscal year 2009. The data include commitments of United States District Court, violators of conditions of release (e.g., parole, probation, or supervised release violators), offenders convicted in other courts (e.g., military or District of Columbia courts), and persons admitted to prison as material witnesses or for purposes of treatment, examination, or transfer to another authority. These data include variables that describe the offender, such as age, race, citizenship, as well as variables that describe the sentences and expected prison terms. The data file contains original variables from the Bureau of Prisons' SENTRY database, as well as "SAF" variables that denote subsets of the data. These SAF variables are related to statistics reported in the Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics, Tables 7.9-7.16. Variables containing identifying information (e.g., name, Social Security Number) were replaced with blanks, and the day portions of date fields were also sanitized in order to protect the identities of individuals. These data are part of a series designed by the Urban Institute (Washington, DC) and the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Data and documentation were prepared by the Urban Institute.

Investigator(s): Bureau of Justice Statistics Formerly Survey of Jail Inmates.This collection provides nationally representative data on persons held prior to trial and on those convicted offenders serving sentences in local jails or awaiting transfer to state prisons. Data were collected on individual characteristics of jail inmates (sex, race, ethnicity, Hispanic origin, employment), current offenses and sentences, characteristics of victims, criminal histories, jail activities and programs, prior drug and alcohol use and treatment, and health care services provided while in jail. Years Produced: Every 6 years.

A. SUMMARY Please note that the "Data Last Updated" date on this page denotes the most recent DataSF update and does not reflect the most recent update to this dataset. To confirm the completeness of this dataset please contact the Sheriff's Office at sheriff.tech.services@sfgov.org

The dataset provides summary information on individuals booked into the San Francisco City and County Jail since 2012, categorized by ethnicity. The table provides a breakdown of the total number of bookings by month and ethnicity. The unit of measure is the jail booking number. The data is collected by the Sheriff's Office and includes self-report and assigned data. However, some ethnicity categories with small sample sizes are grouped together to reduce the risk of re-identification and protect the privacy of individuals booked into jail.

The booking process refers to the procedure that occurs after an individual has been arrested and is taken into custody. The process begins with the arrest of an individual by law enforcement officers. The arrest can take place on the scene or at a later time if a warrant is issued. Once the individual has been arrested, and statutory law requires incarceration, they would be transported to the jail for booking. The arresting officer will record the reason for the arrest, along with any other relevant information. The sheriff’s deputies will then book the individual into jail, which involves taking their fingerprints, photograph, and recording personal information. The jail will assign a booking number, which is used to identify the individual throughout their time in custody. Once the booking process is complete, the individual will be incarcerated and will remain in custody until they are released per court order.

Disclaimer: The San Francisco Sheriff's Office does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the information as the data is subject to change as modifications and updates are completed.

B. HOW THE DATASET IS CREATED

When an arrest is presented to the Sheriff’s Office, relevant data is manually entered into the Sheriff Office's jail management system. Data reports are pulled from this system on a semi-regular basis, and added to Open Data.

C. UPDATE PROCESS This dataset is scheduled to update monthly.

D. HOW TO USE THIS DATASET This data can be used to identify trends and patterns in the jail population over time. The date in this dataset is based on the date the suspect was booked into county jail for the arresting incident. The unit of measurement for this dataset is the booking number. A jail booking number is a unique identifier assigned to each individual who is booked into a jail facility.

E. RELATED DATASETS • Booking by Age • Bookings by Race • Booking by Male/Female

This collection provides annual data on jail populations across the nation and examines the "spillover" on local jails resulting from the dramatic growth in federal and state prison populations. These data are used to track growth in the number of jails and their capacities nationally, changes in the demographics of the jail population (including sex, race, and adult or juvenile status), supervision status of persons held, prevalence of crowding issues, and a count of non-United States citizens within the jail population.

In 2021, around 221,200 Black/African American people were confined to local jails in the United States. In that year, Black and African American people were confined to local jails at a higher rate than any other ethnicity.

These data assess the effects of the risk of local jail incarceration and of police aggressiveness in patrol style on rates of violent offending. The collection includes arrest rates for public order offenses, size of county jail populations, and numbers of new prison admissions as they relate to arrest rates for index (serious) crimes. Data were collected from seven sources for each city. CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING, 1980 [UNITED STATES]: SUMMARY TAPE FILE 1A (ICPSR 7941), provided county-level data on number of persons by race, age, and age by race, number of persons in households, and types of households within each county. CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING, 1980 [UNITED STATES]: SUMMARY TAPE FILE 3A (ICPSR 8071), measured at the city level, provided data on total population, race, age, marital status by sex, persons in household, number of households, housing, children, and families above and below the poverty level by race, employment by race, and income by race within each city. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 1980 data provided variables on total offenses and offense rates per 100,000 persons for homicides, rapes, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle offenses, and arson. Data from the FBI for 1980-1982, averaged per 100,000, provided variables for the above offenses by sex, age, and race, and the Uniform Crime Report arrest rates for index crimes within each city. The NATIONAL JAIL CENSUS for 1978 and 1983 (ICPSR 7737 and ICPSR 8203), aggregated to the county level, provided variables on jail capacity, number of inmates being held by sex, race, and status of inmate's case (awaiting trial, awaiting sentence, serving sentence, and technical violations), average daily jail populations, number of staff by full-time and part-time, number of volunteers, and number of correctional officers. The JUVENILE DETENTION AND CORRECTIONAL FACILITY CENSUS for 1979 and 1982-1983 (ICPSR 7846 and 8205), aggregated to the county level, provided data on the number of individuals being held by type of crime and sex, as well as age of juvenile offenders by sex, average daily prison population, and payroll and other expenditures for the institutions.

A. SUMMARY To confirm the completeness of this dataset please contact the Sheriff's Office at sheriff.tech.services@sfgov.org

The dataset provides summary information on individuals booked into the San Francisco City and County Jail since 2012, categorized by race. The table provides a breakdown of the total number of bookings by month and race. The unit of measure is the jail booking number. The data is collected by the Sheriff's Office and includes self-report and assigned data. However, some race categories with small sample sizes are grouped together to reduce the risk of re-identification and protect the privacy of individuals booked into jail.

The booking process refers to the procedure that occurs after an individual has been arrested and is taken into custody. The process begins with the arrest of an individual by law enforcement officers. The arrest can take place on the scene or at a later time if a warrant is issued. Once the individual has been arrested, and statutory law requires incarceration, they would be transported to the jail for booking. The arresting officer will record the reason for the arrest, along with any other relevant information. The sheriff’s deputies will then book the individual into jail, which involves taking their fingerprints, photograph, and recording personal information. The jail will assign a booking number, which is used to identify the individual throughout their time in custody. Once the booking process is complete, the individual will be incarcerated and will remain in custody until they are released per court order.

Disclaimer: The San Francisco Sheriff's Office does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the information as the data is subject to change as modifications and updates are completed.

B. HOW THE DATASET IS CREATED When an arrest is presented to the Sheriff’s Office, relevant data is manually entered into the Sheriff Office's jail management system. Data reports are pulled from this system on a semi-regular basis, and added to Open Data.

C. UPDATE PROCESS This dataset is scheduled to update monthly

D. HOW TO USE THIS DATASET This data can be used to identify trends and patterns in the jail population over time. The date in this dataset is based on the date the suspect was booked into county jail for the arresting incident. The unit of measurement for this dataset is the booking number. A jail booking number is a unique identifier assigned to each individual who is booked into a jail facility. It is used to track the individual throughout their time in custody and to link their records to other relevant information, such as court appearances and medical records.

Note that this dataset should be used with the Jail Bookings by Ethnicity dataset for an accurate characterization of the Hispanic or Latin populations.

E. RELATED DATASETS • Bookings by Age • Bookings by Male/Female • Bookings by Ethnicity

The data contain records of sentenced offenders released from the custody of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) during fiscal year 2003. The data include commitments of United States District Court, violators of conditions of release (e.g., parole, probation, or supervised release violators), offenders convicted in other courts (e.g., military or District of Columbia courts), and persons admitted to prison as material witnesses or for purposes of treatment, examination, or transfer to another authority. Records of offenders who exit federal prison temporarily, such as for transit to another location, to serve a weekend sentence, or for health care, are not included in the exiting cohort. These data include variables that describe the offender, such as age, race, citizenship, as well as variables that describe the sentences and expected prison terms. The data file contains original variables from the Bureau of Prisons' SENTRY database, as well as "SAF" variables that denote subsets of the data. These SAF variables are related to statistics reported in the Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics, Tables 7.9-7.16. Variables containing identifying information (e.g., name, Social Security Number) were replaced with blanks, and the day portions of date fields were also sanitized in order to protect the identities of individuals. These data are part of a series designed by the Urban Institute (Washington, DC) and the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Data and documentation were prepared by the Urban Institute.

At the beginning of 2025, the United States had the highest number of incarcerated individuals worldwide, with around 1.8 million people in prison. China followed with around 100,000 fewer prisoners. Brazil followed in third. The incarceration problem in the U.S. The United States has an incredibly high number of incarcerated individuals. Therefore, the incarceration problem has become a widely contested issue, because it impacts disadvantaged people and minorities the most. Additionally, the prison system has become capitalized by outside corporations that fund prisons, but there is still a high cost to taxpayers. Furthermore, there has been an increase in the amount of private prisons that have been created. For-profit prison companies have come under scrutiny because of their lack of satisfactory staff and widespread lobbying. Violent offenses are the most common type of offense among prisoners in the U.S. Incarceration rates worldwide El Salvador had the highest rate of incarceration worldwide, at 1,659 prisoners per 100,000 residents as of February 2025. Cuba followed in second with 794 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants. The incarceration rate is a better measure to use when comparing countries than the total prison populations, which will naturally have the most populous countries topping the list.

Investigator(s): Bureau of Justice Statistics Formerly Survey of Jail Inmates.This collection provides nationally representative data on persons held prior to trial and on those convicted offenders serving sentences in local jails or awaiting transfer to state prisons. Data were collected on individual characteristics of jail inmates (sex, race, ethnicity, Hispanic origin, employment), current offenses and sentences, characteristics of victims, criminal histories, jail activities and programs, prior drug and alcohol use and treatment, and health care services provided while in jail. Years Produced: Every 6 years.

These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.The data were obtained from one state prison system that was characterized by a diverse and rising prison population. This prison system housed more than 30,000 inmates across 15 institutions (14 men's facilities; 1 women's facility). The data contain information on inmates' placements into different housing units across all 15 state prison complexes, including designated maximum security, restrictive housing units. Inmates placed in restrictive housing were in lockdown the majority of the day, had limited work opportunities, and were closely monitored. These inmates were also escorted in full restraints within the institution. They experienced little recreational time, visitation and phone privileges, and few interactions with other inmates. The data contain information on inmates' housing placements, institutional misconduct, risk factors, demographic characteristics, criminal history, and offense information. These data provide information on every housing placement for each inmate, including the time spent in each placement, and the reasons documented by correctional staff for placing inmates in each housing unit. Demographic information includes inmate sex, race/ethnicity, and age. The collection contains 1 Stata data file "Inmate-Housing-Placements-Data.dta" with 16 variables and 124,942 cases.