By C1 Staff
Inmate populations in the U.S. have grown by nearly 10 percent since 2006, and are expected to keep growing.
The growth is attributed to a rise in national crime, tougher sentences and a lack of parole in the federal system, according to ABC News.
The number of incarcerated federal felons has grown by about 50 percent since the year 2000, according to the new Government Accountability Office report.
“The problem is going to be that these guys are going to be there for a long time and they’re not building any new prisons for anymore. That’s why crowding continues to be a problem,” said David Maurer, a GAO spokesman.
More than 1.6 million individuals, or 1 in 200 Americans, were incarcerated in the U.S. as of December 2010.