Over the last 40 years, the reach of the criminal punishment system in the U.S. has expanded beyond contemporary and historical norms: there are currently 2.3 million people in state, federal, military, and Indian Country prisons, jails, and detention centers, civil commitment centers, and state psychiatric hospitals, and another 5 million on probation or parole. There are over 10 million arrests each year, and 5 million people are arrested and booked every year, many multiple times each year. As a result,  more than 73.5 million people— or 1 in 3 people in the U.S.—have a criminal record history in an electronic database.

This population is disproportionately Black. Due to systemic anti-Black racism and profound racial disparities at every stage of the criminal punishment system, Black people represent 13% of the population but over 40% of people currently incarcerated in cages, and are 5 times more likely to be incarcerated than white people. One in 3 Black men can expect to be arrested before they’re even 23 years old. One in 2 Black trans women report experiencing incarceration in their lifetime. Despite making up only 13% of the general population, Black people account for 21% of people who were arrested just once and 28% of people arrested multiple times in 2017. People with multiple arrests are disproportionately Black, low-income, and unemployed:

• 42% of people arrested and booked 3 or more times were Black.
• Half reported incomes less than $10,000, and were four times more likely to be unemployed.
• Over half reported substance dependence in the past year.
• People with unmet mental health needs were three times more likely to experience multiple arrests.
• People who experienced multiple arrests were 3 times more likely to not have health insurance, and 11 times more likely to be living with HIV.
• The vast majority of people who experienced multiple arrests (88%) were arrested for nonviolent offenses.