Twenty-eight states and the federal government use private prisons to incarcerate 126,272 people, an increase of 45% from a population of 87,369 in 2000. This figure represents 8% of the total U.S. prison population, according to 2015 data collected by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and presented in our new fact sheet. States show significant … Continue reading New Mexico and Montana Lead Nation in Use of Private Prisons