“You’re under arrest!” With these three words, the number of people in prisons and jails has reached an all time high. The Pew Center on the States released a report in late February 2008 that more than one in every 100 American citizens is now incarcerated.

Better said, one in every 100 American adults is currently behind bars – be that in a jail or prison – right this very moment in our nation, often referred to as the richest in the world. The Pew Center is described as a non-partisan “fact tank” that provides information to the public on issues, trends and viewpoints shaping American society.

According to this information, reported by the Pew Public Safety Performance Project, incarceration rates have continued to climb since 2007, having a direct negative impact on state budgets while failing to have a clear impact on recidivism (the tendency to relapse into previous undesirable, especially criminal behavior) or the overall crime rate.

American citizens throughout the nation reacted to this announcement with anger and dismay as the incarceration rates for certain groups of citizens are especially startling. According to the report, while more men than women are incarcerated, the female prison population is rapidly increasing. More specifically, the incarceration rate for African American women in their mid to late 30’s has most startlingly hit the one in 100 mark, the same as the statistic reflected the general population.

These unsettling numbers should be met with more constructive calls to action than anything, as there is obviously something seriously wrong with the current system. According to this report, the United States is the number one incarcerator in the world, exceeding the former Soviet block nations most widely known for their severe prison system. Furthermore the study showed that non-violent offenders are being unnecessarily incarcerated with violent offenders, further clogging and already jam-packed system. Let us hope that this is a wake up call for the general population to demand immediate and profound reforms to an unjust system.