Over Decades, Jail Populations Rise, Disproportionally Affecting Black Residents

The number of people being held in jails nationwide has more than quadrupled over the past few decades, and it's disproportionally affecting African-Americans. That's according to a recent analysis from the Vera Institute of Justice, a nonpartisan advocacy group.

So how do a few Triad counties stack up?

Since 1970, Forsyth County has not kept pace with the national jail incarceration rate. But it still grew by more than 220 percent. In a given year, Forsyth's jails have typically been a little less crowded than the national average, and a little more crowded than the state average.

However, there's a significant disparity when it comes to who's being held in those facilities.

In 2014, the rate of black incarceration in Forsyth jails was more than three times the rate of whites, and far outpaced any other minority group.

Growth in Guilford County, meanwhile, hasn't been nearly as dramatic. Jail incarceration there has risen by only about 50 percent since 1970.

But the racial disparity is far wider. According to the Vera Institute's 2014 data, the rate of black incarceration in Guilford jails is more than five times the rate of whites.

Vera's experts say it's midsize and small counties like these – not large counties – that have primarily driven the explosive population growth in the nation's jails.

If you want to find out more about the jail incarceration trends in your county, check out Vera's Incarceration Trends tool.