(NPN) – South Dakota has the second highest incarceration rate of Native American men and the fourth highest rate of incarceration of Hispanic men.

These were among the findings of a recent study conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee entitled, “Wisconsin’s Mass Incarceration of African-American Males: Workforce Challenges for 2013.”

The study focuses on the impact of incarceration of black men in the Wisconsin state penal system and its deleterious effect on their ability to find meaningful employment following release. However, in compiling the study, researchers John Pawasarat and Lois M. Quinn for the Employment and Training Institute at the UW-Milwaukee also looked at national incarceration statistics for various male ethnic groups.
The national average for incarceration of Native American men aged 18 to 64, according to the study, is 3.1 percent. In South Dakota, the rate is 7.3 percent. Only Wisconsin had a higher Native American male incarceration rate at 7.6 percent.
For Hispanic men, the national incarceration rate is 2 percent. In South Dakota, the rate is 3.3 percent. Pennsylvania has the highest Hispanic male incarceration rate at 4.4 percent.
The rate of incarceration for black men nationally is 6.7 percent of the adult male population. In South Dakota, the rate is below the national average at 5.9 percent. Wisconsin leads the nation with the highest percentage of Black men in prison at 12.8 percent.
For white men,1.3 percent of the male adult population is behind bars. South Dakota is just below the average at 1.2 percent. Oklahoma has the highest white male incarceration rate at 2.3 percent.
The study did not examine the incarceration rates for women by racial group.
However, the study did look at the overall population incarceration rate among nations, taking into account men, women and children.
According to the study, the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with an average of 716 people per 100,000 in population incarcerated. At the other end, India has 30 people per 100,000 in population incarcerated.

“Prison time is the most serious barrier to employment, making ex-offender populations the most difficult to place and sustain in full-time employment,” the study notes in the executive summary.
The study also made several
recommendations regarding Wisconsin’s penal system, including how best to help ex-convicts get back into the workforce.
“Recognizing that there is no quick fix for ex-offender populations, the cost savings from reductions in the prison population should be used to fund employment and training programs for those in and out of corrections and to support programs to assist those without driver’s licenses, and essential employment credential,” the report noted.
The is study based Incarceration rates in 2010 U.S. Census data. The full report is available at: http://www4.uwm.edu/eti/2013/BlackImprisonment.pdf0
Highest Five States and Regional States Male (18-64) African-American
Incarceration Rates:
1. Wisconsin                        12.8 percent
2. Oklahoma            
9.7 percent
3. Iowa                         9.4 percent
4. Pennsylvania      
8.6 percent
14. Nebraska              7.2 percent
Average                      6.7 percent
25. Wyoming              6.5 percent
27. Montana             
6.3 percent
30. South Dakota      5.9 percent
31. Minnesota            5.8 percent
48. North Dakota       3.7
percent
Highest Five States and Regional States Male (18-64) Native
American Incarceration Rates:
1. Wisconsin             7.6 percent
2. South Dakota      7.3
percent
3. Minnesota             6.9 percent
4. Iowa                       6.5 percent
5. Colorado               6.3 percent
6. North Dakota        6.1 percent
8. Nebraska              5.8 percent
8. Wyoming               5.8 percent
12. Montana              4.5 percent
Average                    3.1
percent
Highest Five States and Regional States Male (18-64) Hispanic
Incarceration Rates:
1. Pennsylvania       4.4 percent
2. Arizona                  3.5 percent
3. Colorado               3.4 percent
4. Connecticut          3.3 percent
4. South Dakota      3.3
percent
6. North Dakota        3.2 percent
8. Wyoming               3.1 percent
11. Nebraska                       2.8 percent
16. Montana              2.4 percent
21. Iowa                     2.1 percent
Average                    2.0
percent
23. Minnesota          1.9 percent
Highest Five States and Regional States Male (18-64) White
Incarceration Rates:
1. Oklahoma             2.1 percent
2. Texas                     2.0 percent
3. Florida                   1.9 percent
3. Kentucky               1.9 percent
5. Idaho                     1.8 percent
5. Georgia                 1.8 percent
17. Wyoming                        1.5 percent
Average                    1.3
percent
20. South Dakota     1.2 percent
33. Montana              0.9 percent
33. Iowa                     0.9 percent
38. Nebraska                       0.8 percent
42. North Dakota     0.7 percent
50. Minnesota          0.5 percent
Highest Five Nations Incarceration Rates:  
1. United States      716/100,000
people
2. Rwanda                527/100,000
3. Cuba                      510/100,000
4. Russia                  487/100,000
5. Belarus                 438/100,000
Lowest Five Incarceration Rates:
1. India                       30/100,000 people
2. Nigeria                  32/100,000
3. Dem. Rep. Congo
33/100,000
4. Bangladesh         38/100,000

5. Pakistan                41/100,000

 

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