Race and Incarceration in the United States

Human Rights Watch Press Backgrounder, February 22, 2002

Table 6
Rates of Confinement in Juvenile Detention Facilities, by Race*
White Black Latino Ratio Ratio
Black/White Hispanic/White
Alabama 112 242 96 2.2 0.9
Alaska 111 316 302 2.8 2.7
Arizona 80 357 139 4.5 1.7
Arkansas 94 283 112 3.0 1.2
California 100 502 169 5.0 1.7
Colorado 121 453 296 3.7 2.5
Connecticut 56 334 208 6.0 3.8
Delaware 23 127 15 5.5 0.6
District of Columbia 7 51 9 7.0 1.2
Florida 141 337 101 2.4 0.7
Georgia 135 314 72 2.3 0.5
Hawaii 61 68 88 1.1 1.5
Idaho 156 263 179 1.7 1.1
Illinois 89 285 67 3.2 0.8
Indiana 143 489 196 3.4 1.4
Iowa 138 762 275 5.5 2.0
Kansas 117 587 210 5.0 1.8
Kentucky 120 470 244 3.9 2.0
Louisiana 82 372 55 4.5 0.7
Maine 125 272 279 2.2 2.2
Maryland 73 261 79 3.6 1.1
Massachusetts 113 393 276 3.5 2.4
Michigan 89 369 647 4.1 7.2
Minnesota 97 491 198 5.0 2.0
Mississippi 126 233 224 1.8 1.8
Missouri 130 388 131 3.0 1.0
Montana 128 434 245 3.4 1.9
Nebraska 222 1145 465 5.2 2.1
Nevada 163 473 126 2.9 0.8
New Hampshire 129 551 205 4.3 1.6
New Jersey 42 377 109 9.1 2.6
New Mexico 73 234 118 3.2 1.6
New York 82 385 158 4.7 1.9
North Carolina 83 196 45 2.4 0.5
North Dakota 102 381 687 3.7 6.7
Ohio 92 371 185 4.0 2.0
Oklahoma 136 306 114 2.2 0.8
Oregon 147 413 299 2.8 2.0
Pennsylvania 115 687 515 6.0 4.5
Rhode Island 94 584 226 6.2 2.4
South Carolina 111 269 64 2.4 0.6
South Dakota 181 2667 1283 14.8 7.1
Tennessee 141 322 144 2.3 1.0
Texas 105 302 117 2.9 1.1
Utah 145 705 240 4.9 1.7
Vermont 74 646 436 8.8 5.9
Virginia 114 397 149 3.5 1.3
Washington 110 502 248 4.6 2.3
West Virginia 105 398 361 3.8 3.4
Wisconsin 72 629 222 8.7 3.1
Wyoming 249 1092 515 4.4 2.1
National 105 350 159 3.3 1.5
* Rates per 100,000 youths under age 18, calculated from Census 2000 data from the U.S. Census Bureau;
juvenile detention centers include homes for neglected children, residential treatment centers, and detention
centers, among others listed by the U.S. Census Bureau.