The global crime rate continues to rise yearly. With over 2 million people incarcerated in the country, America is the global leader in incarceration.
However, a closer examination of criminal record statistics reveals some patterns and trends in convictions and incarceration.
Here are some alarming criminal record statistics from the United States and globally.
Top 6 Criminal Records Statistics (Editor’s Pick)
- The US prison population at the end of 2021 was 1,204,300.
- Among the male prisoners in the US in 2021, 16% were aged 30 to 34.
- The highest percentage of inmates in US federal prisons in March 2023 were Whites.
- There was a total of 233 exonerations in 2022.
- In 2022, the number of murder crime complaints in Chicago reduced by 14%.
- Seattle citywide crime increased by 4% in 2022.
Infographic
<a href="https://vpnalert.com/resources/criminal-records-statistics/" target="_blank" data-wpel-link="internal"><img src="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/top-criminal-records-statistics.png" alt="Top 6 Criminal Records Statistics" width="768" border="0" height="706.74846625767" loading="lazy" fetchpriority="low" srcset="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/top-criminal-records-statistics-1024x942.png 1024w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/top-criminal-records-statistics.png 768w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/top-criminal-records-statistics-300x276.png 300w" sizes="auto"></a>
Key Criminal Records Statistics
1. There were 395.7 violent offenses per 100,000 US citizens in 2021.
This was a 0.2% drop from 2020, which saw 396.41 offenses per 100,000 people.
2. In 2021, firearm offenders relapsed more than other criminal offenders.
69.0% were jailed again within eight years of release, compared to 45.1% of other criminals.
3. Fentanyl offenders increased by 3,592% from 2015, reaching 886 in 2021.
In addition, between 2016 and 2021, fentanyl-analog offenders increased by 5,725% to 233 offenders.
4. Organized crime was one of the top ten dangerous crimes in 2022.
It was considered a high threat by all Interpol member countries.
5. The US prison population at the end of 2021 was 1,204,300.
This is a 1% decrease from 2020, which had 1,221,200. 2011 had the highest number of prisoners so far, with 1,599,000.
6. The imprisonment rate among US residents in 2021 dropped by 2% to 350 per 100,000 people.
This is a 29% decrease from 2011.
Criminal Record Statistics by Employment
7. In 2022, big companies in different industries hired people with criminal records.
This included Slack, JP Morgan, and Microsoft.
8. As of 2021, 67% of people released from prison in 2010 landed formal jobs within four years of their release.
46% of White people and 37% of American Indians and Alaska Natives landed jobs within the first quarter after release.
| Race | Percentage released from prison | Quarter when job was landed |
|---|---|---|
| Whites | 46% | Q1 |
| American Indians and Alaska Natives | 37% | Q1 |
| Blacks | 37% | Q2 |
| Hispanics | 34% | Q2 |
| Asians and Native Hawaiians | 38% | Q5 |
| Other Pacific Islanders | N/A | Q5 |
9. 39% of surveyed employers in 2022 were willing to hire workers with criminal records.
This increased to 50% when they were offered crime and safety insurance, one performance review, or a one-year background check.
Criminal Records Statistics by Demography
10. Among the male prisoners in the US in 2021, 16% were aged 30 to 34.
19% of female prisoners were in the same age bracket.
11. As of March 2023, 27,985 inmates in federal US prisons were aged 36 to 40.
Over 26,000 were aged 31 to 35, while over 18,000 were aged 26 to 30.
| Ages | No. of Inmates |
|---|---|
| <18 | 4 |
| 18 - 21 | 1,500+ |
| 22 - 25 | 7300+ |
| 26 - 30 | 18,600+ |
| 31 - 35 | 26,800+ |
| 36 - 40 | 28,000+ |
| 41 - 45 | 26,500+ |
| 46 - 50 | 18,700+ |
| 51 - 55 | 12,900+ |
| 56 - 60 | 8,500+ |
| 61 - 65 | 5,000+ |
| >65 | 4400+ |
12. There were 147,590 males in federal US prisons as of March 2023.
This made up 93.1% of the US prison population. Meanwhile, females comprised 6.9%, with 10,879 incarcerated as of March 2023.
13. 69.8% of federal inmates in the US were non-Hispanic in March 2023.
There were 110,589 non-Hispanic inmates and 47,880 Hispanic inmates in federal US prisons in March 2023.
14. The highest percentage of inmates in US federal prisons in March 2023 were Whites.
White people made up 57.5% of prisoners. Meanwhile, 38.5% of inmates were Black, 2.6% were Native American, and 1.4% were Asian.
15. In 2021, about 69% of prisoner learners were enrolled in a course level 1 or higher.
Prisoner learners included 73% of the black ethnic group, 53% of other ethnic groups, and 65% of prisoners with a learning difficulty or disability.
Criminal Records Statistics by Wrongful Conviction
16. As of August 2022, there were 3,200 wrongly convicted people in the US.
More than half were black (53%), indicating that Black Americans are seven times more likely than White Americans to be wrongfully convicted.
17. As of August 2022, 55% of exonerated murder defendants were Black.
While 32% of exonerated murder defendants were Whites.
<a href="https://vpnalert.com/resources/criminal-records-statistics/" target="_blank" data-wpel-link="internal"><img src="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/exonerated-murder-defendants.png" alt="Ethnicity of Exonerated Murder Defendants" width="768" border="0" height="476.77185721676" loading="lazy" fetchpriority="low" srcset="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/exonerated-murder-defendants-1536x954.png 1536w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/exonerated-murder-defendants-1024x636.png 1024w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/exonerated-murder-defendants.png 768w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/exonerated-murder-defendants-300x186.png 300w" sizes="auto"></a>
18. As of 2022, acquitted African-American murder defendants spent an average of nearly 16 years in prison before being released.
19. There was a total of 233 exonerations in 2022.
218 of the exonerations were non-DNA. This was a 47% increase from 2021, which had 159 exonerations.
20. As of March 2023, 1,728 Black people have been acquitted of all crimes.
While 1,081 White people, 402 Hispanics, and 74 other races have been exonerated.
21. The highest number of exonerations in one month was in May 2022.
May 2022 saw 57 exonerations, including the Registry’s first federal executive pardon.
Criminal Records Statistics by Incarceration
22. By March 2021, the Federal Bureau of Prisons had 151,729 people imprisoned.
135,550 prisoners were serving a federal conviction sentence.
23. There were 74 pregnant females imprisoned in Bureau of Prison facilities in 2021.
This is a 19% drop from 2020. 49 gave birth while incarcerated, while 20 were released before childbirth.
24. Most federal inmates in March 2022 were incarcerated for drug offenses.
21,000 of the 61,000 inmates in US Marshals were serving drug-related sentences, as were 67,000 of the 145,000 inmates in BOP facilities.
25. 80% of people in local jails in 2021 had not been convicted and were legally innocent.
This decreases to 67% when you count inmates in jails that share their space with other agencies.
26. There were 658,000 people in jails in 2021.
547,000 were held in local jails, and 111,000 for other agencies.
<a href="https://vpnalert.com/resources/criminal-records-statistics/" target="_blank" data-wpel-link="internal"><img src="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/jail-population.png" alt="Jail Population Statistics" width="768" border="0" height="538.63237872589" loading="lazy" fetchpriority="low" srcset="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/jail-population-1536x1077.png 1536w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/jail-population-1024x718.png 1024w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/jail-population.png 768w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/jail-population-300x210.png 300w" sizes="auto"></a>
27. 378 prisoners were on medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in 2021.
1,127 prisoners received MAT while in custody in 2021, a 59% increase from 418 in 2020. The US Food and Drug Administration approved these treatments for substance use disorder before imprisonment.
Criminal Records Statistics by Felony
28. In 2022, the number of murder crime complaints in Chicago was reduced by 14%.
However, there were nine complaints in the last week of December 2022, which was 50% more than the same week in 2021.
29. Violent crime in Seattle increased by 4% in 2022.
This increase was mostly from homicides and aggravated assaults, up 24% and 5%, respectively.
30. 82.9% of reported rape cases in Texas in 2021 used a person’s body part as a weapon.
Meanwhile, the weapons used in 1.8% of rape crimes were firearms, handguns, rifles, shotguns, or other firearms.
31. $33.5 million was lost to burglaries in Texas in December 2021.
Only $1.7 million worth of burgled items were recovered.
32. As of 2021, 1/4 of women in the United Kingdom have experienced sexual violence.
In comparison, one in every 20 men had the same experience.
<a href="https://vpnalert.com/resources/criminal-records-statistics/" target="_blank" data-wpel-link="internal"><img src="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/sexual-violence-uk.png" alt="Sexual Violence in the UK" width="768" border="0" height="332.71035517759" loading="lazy" fetchpriority="low" srcset="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/sexual-violence-uk-1536x665.png 1536w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/sexual-violence-uk-1024x444.png 1024w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/sexual-violence-uk.png 768w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/sexual-violence-uk-300x130.png 300w" sizes="auto"></a>
33. 22.9% of adult women in England and Wales aged 16 to 74 had been sexually assaulted at least once by 2021.
In comparison, 4.7% of all adult men in England and Wales had the same experience.
34. There were 62 convicted homicide and manslaughter crimes committed by noncitizens of the US in 2022.
This increased from the 60 committed in 2021 and 3 committed in 2020.
Criminal Records Statistics by US States
35. The violent crime rate in Connecticut in 2021 was 167.48 offenses per 100,000 Connecticut citizens.
This was a 9% drop from 2020, which was 184.09 offenses per 100,000 people.
36. Seattle citywide crime increased by 4% in 2022.
This came to a total of 49,577 crimes. 5,591 were violent crimes, and 43,986 were property crimes.
37. In 2021, Crimes Against Persons in Washington, D.C., increased by 4.1%.
103,870 offenses were reported compared to the 99,761 reported in 2020.
There was also a 12.3% increase in violent crimes. However, crimes against property and society decreased by 1.8% and 49.2%, respectively.
38. The number of people in California prisons in 2022 was the lowest the state had seen since 1989.
There were 94,306 prisoners, a drop compared to 2021’s 100,000 prisoners.
39. There were 2,270 crime complaints in New York between the 20th and 26th of March, 2023.
956 were GR larceny, and 466 were felonious assaults.
| Crime | No. of Complaints |
|---|---|
| GR larceny | 956 |
| Felonious assault | 466 |
| Robbery | 288 |
| G.L.A | 272 |
| Burglary | 252 |
| Rape | 28 |
| Murder | 8 |
Global Criminal Records Statistics
40. There was a total of 60,096,310 known crimes committed in India in 2021.
Of these crimes, 36,063,360 were Indian Penal Code Crimes, and 24,032,950 were Special and Local Law Crimes. This is a 7.6% decline compared to the registered crimes committed in 2020.
41. In Western Europe, Scotland and England & Wales had the highest prison population in 2022.
There were 13.7 million prisoners in Scotland and 13.2 million in England and Wales. Spain comes next with 11.6 million prisoners.
42. The incarceration rate in England increased by 70% between 1992 and 2022.
It is also predicted that by 2026, at least 18,000 people will be imprisoned.
43. The global prison population as of May 2022 was 11.5 million.
121 countries reached 100+% capacity, and 13 countries were at 250+% capacity. Many countries announced building new, bigger, or remote prisons.
24 countries had at least 437,000 more prison spaces.
<a href="https://vpnalert.com/resources/criminal-records-statistics/" target="_blank" data-wpel-link="internal"><img src="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/global-prison-population.png" alt="Global Prison Population" width="768" border="0" height="245.11455727864" loading="lazy" fetchpriority="low" srcset="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/global-prison-population-1536x490.png 1536w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/global-prison-population-1024x327.png 1024w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/global-prison-population.png 768w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/global-prison-population-300x96.png 300w" sizes="auto"></a>
44. In 2021, about 1 in 3 people in prison globally were awaiting trial and yet to be convicted or sentenced.
The rate of people in pre-trial detention in global prisons has shuffled between 29% and 31% since 2000. The UN aims to drop this rate to 16.3% by 2030.
Avoid Crime and Stay Protected
Following these statistics, it is safe to say that the global crime rate is alarming, and the United States has an incarceration problem. Staying alert and informed can help you avoid the harsh realities of incarceration, as your race and gender can play a huge role in the turnout of your conviction.
Our statistics pieces on identity theft and romance scams give more insight into these other rampant crimes in the US.
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