A 2014 report published by the Hamilton Project disclosed how certain demographic groups are still committing criminal acts while other races are more than likely to be victims of those crimes.
This report explains why crime is particularly prevalent among young minority males from disadvantaged communities. It also highlights trends in crime and incarceration and identifies 10 economic facts about crime and incarceration in the U.S.
1. Crimes have steadily declined over the past 25 years. The rate fell nearly 30 percent between 1991 and 2001, and subsequently fell an additional 22 percent between 2001 and 2012.
2. Low-income individuals are more likely than higher income individuals to be victims of crime. Most crimes against persons, property or society are committed by men 72 percent of the time.
3. The majority of criminal offenders are younger than age 30. Juveniles make up a significant portion of offenders. More than 25 percent of known offenders were between ages 11 and 20. An additional 34 percent were between the ages 21 and 30. Other individuals composed fewer than 40 percent of offenders.
4. Disadvantaged youths engage in riskier criminal behavior. Low-income youths use marijuana by age 16, and are exposed to or sell drugs by age 18. Low-income youths are more likely to engage in violent and property crimes than are youths from middle-and high-income families. In particular, low-income youths are more likely to attack someone or get into a fight, join a gang or steal something worth more than $50.
If employment opportunities are limited for teens living in poor neighborhoods, then property crime become more attractive.
5. Federal and state policies drove up incarceration over the past 30 years. One important factor is higher crime rates, especially violent crimes. The homicide rate in the U.S. is approximately four times the rate among other nations.
The U.S. imposes much longer prison sentences for drug-related offenses than do many economically similar nations. The average time served for drug offenses is 23 months in the U.S., compared to 12 months in England and Wales and seven months in France.
6. The U.S. incarceration rate is more than six times that of the typical Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) nation. In 2012, the rate, which includes inmates in the custody of local jails, state or federal prisons, and privately operated facilities was 710 per 100,000 U.S. residents.
7. There is nearly a 70 percent chance that an African-American man without a high school diploma will be imprisoned by his mid-30.
8. Per capita expenditures on corrections has more than tripled the past 30 years. In 2010, the United States spent more than $80 billion on corrections expenditures at the federal, state and local levels. The direct costs of crime rose to $261 billion when expenditures for police protection, judicial and legal services are included
9. By their 14th birthday, African American children whose fathers have no high school diploma are more likely than not to see their fathers incarcerated.
10. Juvenile incarceration has a lasting impact on a young person’s future. Juvenile incarceration is estimated to decrease the likelihood of high school graduation by 13 percent and increase the likelihood of incarceration as an adult by 22 percent.
In 2011, 22,964 juveniles (37 percent of juvenile detainees) were detained for a violent offense, and 14,705 (24 percent) for a property offense. More than 70 percent of youth offenders are detained in public facilities at a cost of $88,000 per person each year.
