Report Says 1 In 100 Americans Behind Bars Tougher Sentences Cited A higher rate than any country in the World!

For the first time in history, more than one in every 100 adults in America is in jail or prison, according to a new report released Thursday.

The report by the Pew Center on the States’ Public Safety Performance Project said 2,319,258 adults were held in American prisons or jails at the beginning of 2008, which is one out of every 99.1 adults. That's more than any other country in the world.

States spent more than $49 billion on corrections, the report said, which is up from $11 billion 20 years before.

"For all the money spent on corrections today, there hasn't been a clear and convincing return for public safety," Adam Gelb, director of the Public Safety Performance Project said in a news release. "More and more states are beginning to rethink their reliance on prisons for lower-level offenders and finding strategies that are tough on crime without being so tough on taxpayers."

According to the report, the prison population rose by more than 25,000 inmates in 2007, with 36 states and the Federal Bureau of Prisons seeing population increases.

Among the seven states with the largest number of prisoners, three (Ohio, Florida and Georgia) increased in populations, while four (New York, Michigan, Texas and California) saw reductions.

Texas surpassed California as the nation's prison leader after a decline in both states' inmate populations, the report said, and Kentucky had the largest percentage increase at 12 percent.

One in 30 men between the ages of 20 and 34 is behind bars, according to recent U.S. Department of Justice data, which also shows that men are about 13 times more likely to be incarcerated than females. However, the data shows, the female population is expanding at a faster pace.

The Pew Center report noted that prison growth and higher imprisonment rates do not reflect a parallel increase in crime or a corresponding increase in the nation's overall population.

Instead, it said, tougher sentencing measures, such as the three-strikes law, are leading to longer prison stays.

"States are paying a high cost for corrections -- one that may not be buying them as much in public safety as it should," Susan K. Urahn, managing director of the Pew Center on the States, said in a news release. "There are other choices. Some state policy makers are experimenting with a range of community punishments that are as effective as incarceration in protecting public safety and allow states to put the brakes on prison growth."

The report said the United States leads the world in incarcerations, far ahead of more populous China with 1.5 million people behind bars.