Race and Incarceration in Maryland

In 2002, African Americans nationally were incarcerated at 7 times the rate of whites, and Latinos were incarcerated at 2.5 times the rate of whites. African Americans and Latinos comprised 68 percent of all prisoners in 2002, even though blacks and Latinos make up 25 percent of the U.S. population. If incarceration rates continue at the 2001 level, one in 17 white men (5.9 percent), one in six Latino (17 percent) men, and one in three African American (32 percent) men born in 2001 will serve time in prison at some point in their lifetime. The Justice Policy Institute recently showed that 1 out of 10 white male dropouts and half of all African American male dropouts had prison records by their early thirties, and that nearly twice as many African American men in their early 30s have prison records (22 percent) as bachelors degrees (12 percent). This policy brief, commissioned by the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus, localizes the national problem of racial overrepresentation in America's prisons.