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Prison Monitoring

QUICK FACTS

  • In 1973, there were 12,500 people incarcerated in New York State. As of January 2010, there are about 58,400 inmates, down from a peak of nearly 71,500 in 1999.
  • Men comprise 95% of our state’s prison population.
  • It costs about $43,500 to maintain an inmate in a New York prison for a year.
  • Since 1981, New York has added over 46,000 prison beds at a cost of more than $4.5 billion.
  • Of the approximately 58,400 people incarcerated in New York State prisons, 52% identify as African American, 25% as Hispanic, and 21% as white.
  • Only 54% of people in New York prisons have their high school diploma or higher.