Private Prisons and Incarceration Rates
Start Date
April 2025
Location
3rd floor - Library
Abstract
Since the 1980s, the U.S. justice system has experienced a rise in the use of privatized prisons. Using data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and other sources, this research examines whether overall increases in prison populations (both public and private) and the expansion of private prisons across states have contributed to higher incarceration rates. Rising incarceration rates present challenges not only for both public and private prison systems but also for society at large. Data collected from 2000 to 2021—including census and state-level prison statistics—form the basis of this comprehensive study. I hypothesize that states that introduced private prisons in the past two decades will show greater increases in incarceration rates than states that do not utilize private prisons.
Private Prisons and Incarceration Rates
3rd floor - Library
Since the 1980s, the U.S. justice system has experienced a rise in the use of privatized prisons. Using data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and other sources, this research examines whether overall increases in prison populations (both public and private) and the expansion of private prisons across states have contributed to higher incarceration rates. Rising incarceration rates present challenges not only for both public and private prison systems but also for society at large. Data collected from 2000 to 2021—including census and state-level prison statistics—form the basis of this comprehensive study. I hypothesize that states that introduced private prisons in the past two decades will show greater increases in incarceration rates than states that do not utilize private prisons.
