Rates of Incarceration in Colorado

Colorado’s incarceration rate sits below the national average, according to a National Institute of Corrections overview of the state’s correctional system. Colorado had the 26th highest incarceration rate in 2013, with a rate of 384 people incarcerated out of every 100,000 people in the state, compared with the national average that year of 395 people incarcerated out of every 100,000.

Breaking down incarceration rates even more, PrisonPolicy.org showed that the state's incarceration rate rose rather quickly from 1978, when only a few thousand people were incarcerated, to 2007, when as many as 23,000 people were incarcerated. Since that peak in Colorado’s incarceration history, the rate has dropped off slightly, with about 20,000 people incarcerated in 2011.

VOTE NOW: Should Convicted Felons Be Allowed to Vote?

PrisonPolicy.org also displays the incarceration rates for four race groups, with whites being incarcerated at a rate of 509 people per 100,000, while Hispanic’s were incarcerated at about double that rate, with 1,280 people per 100,000. The rate among American Indian/Alaska Natives was 2,939 people incarcerated for every 100,000, and blacks had the highest incarceration rate at 3,651 out of every 100,000.

A 2014 report by The Denver Post explained that repeat incarcerations are on the rise, with the 2013 recidivism rate at 49 percent. However, Colorado lawmakers and police before 2013 enjoyed a decrease in prison population, which the Post attributed to a decreasing crime rate.

The article quoted Rick Raemisch, executive director of the Colorado Department of Corrections, who contributed the rise to "a law passed several years ago that accelerated the number of inmates released early from prison to parole." He also said that following the murder of former prisons chief Tom Clements, parole officers have been more likely to revoke a prisoner's parole for technical violations.

VOTE NOW: Is Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper Doing a Good Job?

"With the homicide of Mr. Clements, officers are erring on the side of caution," Raemisch said. He added that parole officers are doing everything they can to increase the success of offenders returning to the community.

Related Stories:

• 5 Jobs With Higher Fatality Rates Than Law Enforcement
• 7 Ways Police Departments Use Social Media