What does this measure?

The number of new commitments to state prison within a given year, broken down by race/ethnicity.

Why is this important?

Incarceration serves to remove offenders from a community, but also creates hardships on families, including the loss of an income or a caregiver, in addition to long-term effects on mental health for all involved. After incarceration, people often encounter challenges in obtaining meaningful employment, leading to reductions in long-term productivity, recidivism and widespread effects on a community's social, health and educational systems. Disparities in this rate by race or ethnicity can highlight structural differences in how communities are affected and treated by the public safety and criminal justice system.

How is our region performing?

In 2023, 44% of new state prison commitments in the Mid-Hudson Valley were of African Americans, while 41% were of Whites, 14% of Latinos and 0% of Asians. This was disproportionately high compared to the overall share of the regional population that is African American, which ranges from 4% in Columbia County to 12% in Orange County. Conversely, for Whites, state prison commitments were disproportionately low since Whites comprise the majority of the regional population, ranging from 61% in Orange to 88% in Columbia.

Among counties, the largest disproportionality was in Columbia County, where African Americans made up 4% of the total population but 53% of prison commitments.

Why do these disparities exist?

Scholars have tied numerous factors to disparities in incarceration, including racialized stereotypes, policies and practices and community conditions. Stereotypes that portray Black and Latino people, especially males, as inherently dangerous, criminal, and violent lay the foundation for police surveillance and disparate and harsher treatment by the criminal justice system. Communities of color are more likely to be under surveillance and policies such as stop and frisk perpetuate increased police contact. Punitive drug laws have had disproportionate impact on Black and Latino communities. Even though Blacks and whites have similar rates of drug use, Black people are more likely to be arrested and experience harsher sentences. In general, whites experience less harsh sentenced when convicted of similar crimes as Black and Latinos. Given economic disparities, people of color are less likely to experience pre-trial release after arrest. The concentration of Black and Latino communities in highly segregated communities with limited economic opportunities and ineffective schools may also foster crime involvement.

Notes about the data

The data reflects the county where the case was prosecuted, which is not necessarily the same as the home county of the person sent to prison.