Jail Incarceration Rate – per 100,000 residents age 15-64 – 2015
872.0 – Shelby County (Memphis)
822.7 – Richmond VA
834.7 – Orleans Parish (New Orleans)
492.6 – Hamilton County (Chattanooga)
422.9 – Fulton County (Atlanta)
419.2 – Davidson County (Nashville)
358.7 – Jefferson County (Louisville)
347.7 – Knox County (Knoxville)
301.1 – Marion County (Indianapolis)
300.1 – Harris County (Houston)
270.2 – Cuyahoga County (Cleveland)
269.4 – Jefferson County (Birmingham)
218.7 – Mecklenberg County (Charlotte)
198.0 – St. Louis County (St. Louis)
163.5 – Wayne County (Detroit)
African American Jail Incarceration Rate per 100,000 residents age 15-64 – 2015
2316.9 – Richmond VA
1369.7 – Hamilton County (Chattanooga)
1204.3 – Davidson County (Nashville)
1163.5 – Shelby County (Memphis)
1106.7 – Knox County (Knoxville)
940.4 – Jefferson County (Louisville)
669.4 – Marion County (Indianapolis)
723.7 – Harris County (Houston)
440.0 – Cuyahoga County (Cleveland)
403.6 – Jefferson County (Birmingham)
399.7 – Mecklenberg County (Charlotte)
305.6 – Orleans Parish (New Orleans)
258.4 – Wayne County (Detroit)
180.3 – Fulton County (Atlanta)
120.7 – St. Louis County (St. Louis)
Pretrial Jail Incarceration Rate – per 100,000 residents age 15-64 – 2015
832.7 – Richmond County (Richmond)
480.6 – Hamilton County (Chattanooga)
401.4 – Davidson County (Nashville)
366.2 – Shelby County (Memphis)
300.1 – Harris County (Houston)
270.2 – Cuyahoga County (Cleveland)
238.6 – Knox County (Knoxville)
207.1 – Marion County (Indianapolis)
175.0 – Jefferson County (Birmingham)
181.6 – Mecklenberg County (Charlotte)
120.7 – St. Louis County (St. Louis)
89.4 – Wayne County (Detroit)
82.2 – Jefferson County (Louisville)
72.6 – Fulton County (Atlanta)
24.9 – Orleans Parish (New Orleans)
Prison Incarceration Rate – per 100,000 residents age 15-64 – 2015
1147.7 – Wayne County (Detroit)
882.9 – Davidson County (Nashville)
882.6 – Marion County (Indianapolis)
846.1 – Harris County (Houston)
841.4 – Shelby County (Memphis)
386.3 – Hamilton County (Chattanooga)
733.5 – Knox County (Knoxville)
723.2 – Fulton County (Atlanta)
680.6 – Jefferson County (Louisville)
466.7 – St. Louis County (St. Louis)
395.3 – Mecklenberg County (Charlotte)
269.4 – Jefferson County (Birmingham)
Law Officers Per 10,000 Population – 2015
39.5 – Birmingham
38.8 – St. Louis
38.3 – Atlanta
33.5 – Detroit
33.2 – Richmond
31.0 – Memphis
24.7 – Chattanooga
22.8 – Houston
21.4 – Knoxville
21.3 – Nashville Metro
21.0 – Charlotte-Mecklenberg
18.3 – Indianapolis
18.2 – Louisville Metro
Sources: Incarceration Rates – U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics compiled by Vera Institute of Justice. Law Officers Data: Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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Apparently Tennessee as a state locks up a lot of black folks – and not just Memphis. Surprised to see both Davidson and Hamilton at even higher incarceration rates than Shelby.
Also it’s interesting how cities with chronic high crime rates are more heavily policed than those not usually at the top of the rankings. I have never been one to believe that a city can police itself to safety. These stats really don’t prove I’m right as the higher ratio of police to population in St. Louis, Atlanta, Memphis etc. could be seen as those communities responding to high crime rates. But if those cities had higher police-to-population ratios for years while experiencing consistently higher or escalating crime rates, it would support my belief.
Can’t do the time? Don’t do the crime.
Call crimestoppers…
guns down..
F.F.U.N.
maybe we can just jingle our way out of the problem.
Here’s the thing: In a majority African American city, the disparities in punishment between the races plays out in a high incarceration rate, which reduces our amount of human capital at the very time we need it.