The Prison Population in Ohio? How Many Prisoners Are in Ohio?

Ohio has 45,029 prisoners in 28 facilities with an incarceration rate of 659 per 100,000 people.

The Prison Population in Ohio? How Many Prisoners Are in Ohio?
The Prison Population in Ohio? How Many Prisoners Are in Ohio?

Did you know that the prison population in Ohio makes it the fifth state with the most prisoners in the USA?

Ohio has 45,029 prisoners in 28 correctional facilities across the state, with an incarceration rate of 659 per 100,000 people.

Incarcerating one person in an Ohio state prison costs around $30,558 annually, and the taxpayers spend around $1.5 billion on state prison incarceration every year.

This article details the Ohio Prison system, including yearly statistics and trends. But before we tell you about the Ohio prison stats, here's a sneak peek into the US prison system:

The US Prison System

The US has the highest number of prisoners compared to other democracies worldwide, and many states have a higher prisoner count. If the state were independent countries, many would have more inmates than other developed countries.

However, the prison system in the US differs from other parts of the world as most inmates are not violent criminals. The US has unique rules and regulations dividing crimes into misdemeanors and felonies. Many law experts believe that the high number of offenders in jail is attributed to addressing social problems that the state could solve with rehabilitative social interventions instead of sending them to jail.

Reducing the number of prisons and jails will allow the state to spend that money on improving the law and order situation to reduce crimes. Citizens also mention that they prefer a safe environment instead of spending hundreds and thousands of dollars to keep prisoners annually.

Prison Population in Ohio

The prison population in Ohio stands at #39 in order of lowest to highest incarceration rate in the US.

Ohio has seen a drastic increase in prisoners in the past forty years, especially in prisons. Every year around 150,000 people are booked into Ohio jails. Ohio has an incarceration rate of 659 per 100,000 people, close to the national average of 664 per 100,000.

Prison Facilities in Ohio

  • Allen Correctional Institution
  • Belmont Correctional Institution
  • Chillicothe Correctional Institution
  • Correctional Reception Center
  • Dayton Correctional Institution
  • Franklin Medical Center
  • Grafton Correctional Institution
  • Hocking Correctional Facility
  • Lebanon Correctional Institution
  • London Correctional Institution
  • Lorain Correctional Institution
  • Madison Correctional Institution
  • Mansfield Correctional Institution
  • Marion Correctional Institution
  • Noble Correctional Institution
  • Northeast Reintegration Center
  • Ohio Reformatory for Women
  • Ohio State Penitentiary
  • Pickaway Correctional Institution
  • Richland Correctional Institution
  • Ross Correctional Institution
  • Southeastern Correctional Institution
  • Southern Ohio Correctional Facility
  • Toledo Correctional Institution
  • Trumbull Correctional Institution
  • Warren Correctional Institution

Juvenile Facilities

  • Circleville
  • Cuyahoga Hills
  • Indian River

Private Facilities

  • Lake Erie Correctional Institution
  • North Central Correctional Complex
  • Northeast Ohio Correctional Center

Read The Prison Population In Texas? How Many Prisoners Are in Texas?

Around 71,000 people are behind bars in prisons, jails, youth, and correctional facilities. 45,000 out of the 71,000 prisoners are in state prisons, while 19,000 are locked up in local jails. Federal prisons have 4,600 offenders, while 1,700 are in youth facilities, followed by 470 in involuntary commitment.

Race/ Ethnicity

The number of black prisoners is quite high nationally and in Ohio jails, accounting for more than five times the rate of white American prisoners.

Besides many black inmates, jails in Ohio also have a high percentage of Hispanic offenders, followed by American Indians. The percentage of white Americans in Ohio prisons is the lowest.

Black Americans comprise only 13% of Ohio's population but 30% of Ohioans on probation or parole. Furthermore, the cost of bail for a black defendant is $7,281 higher compared to a white defendant.

Women

The prison population in Ohio constituting female offenders has strikingly increased in the past few years, showing a continuously increasing trend on the graph with linearity during 2000 – 2005.

Men

Compared to female offenders, male offenders have been constant in the past few years. The graph of male prisoners fell between 1995 and 2005, again rising in 2007. But it does not show a massive increase in male admissions recently.

Ohio Residents

Around 284,000 Ohio residents are imprisoned for a misdemeanor or felony. 191,000 offenders are on probation, while 22,000 are on parole; 45,000 are in state prisons, 19,000 are in local jails, and 4,600 are federal prisoners. Around 2,000 offenders are also in youth and involuntary commitment facilities.

Pretrial Incarceration

The pretrial incarceration trend in Ohio has risen in the past years continuously, reaching a whopping 61% in 2018; 61% of the accused had not been convicted and served pretrial incarceration in Ohio jails.

Covid-19

The prison population decreased by 10.3%, or 5,032 inmates, from January 2020 to January 2021, majorly due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ohio State Prison Stats 2020

  • Incarceration rate per 100,000 population: 385
  • Prisons in Ohio: 28
  • The prison population in Ohio: 45,036
  • Number of jails: 108
  • Jail population in Ohio: 20,670
  • Prison staff: 12,389
  • Prison budget: $1,905,656,939
  • Under-probation community corrections population: 9,524
  • Under-parole community corrections population: 1,683

Ohio State Prison Stats 2019

  • Incarceration rate per 100,000 population: 430
  • Prisons in Ohio: 25
  • The prison population in Ohio: 50,338
  • Number of jails: 108
  • Jail population in Ohio: 20,670
  • Prison staff: 12,278
  • Prison budget: $1,792,279,001
  • Under-probation community corrections population: 222,292
  • Under-parole community corrections population: 21,832

Read How Many Prisons in The State of New York

Ohio Prison Vs. Jail Behavioral Health and Incarceration Stats

Behavioral Health Factor

Prison

Jail

Drug Dependence

58%

63%

Mental Health Problems

37%

44%

Cognitive Disability

20%

31%

Incarceration Expenses within Prisons in Ohio

  • Prisons in Ohio charge 30¢ for a 15-minute phone call, while the same call in a local jail costs around $3.15.
  • An e-message in Ohio prisons costs 30¢.
  • Families must pay an 18% fee to transfer money to a family member in jail or prison.
  • Prisons in Ohio pay the inmates as little as 10¢ per hour for their work.
  • Ohio prisoners must pay for mail supplies and hygiene items if they have over $12 in their spending account.

Final Words

Ohio is the fifth state with the highest number of prisoners in different facilities. The prison population in Ohio comprises 45,029 prisoners in 28 correctional facilities across the state, with an incarceration rate of 659 per 100,000 people; it stands at #39 in order of the lowest to highest incarceration rate in the US. Ohio jails show huge racial and ethnic disparity, with many black prisoners followed by Hispanic and American Indians.

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