The New York Times today reported a study that showed the number of Americans in prison had reached an all-time high.

According to the study, about 1 in 100 American adults – 1% – is currently in prison. This proportion is much higher in certain populations. For example, almost 10% of Black men between the ages of 20 and 34 are in prison.

These high incarceration rates are increasingly expensive for states. Last year, the states spent roughly $50 billion on the prison system and this is predicted to increase by another $25 billion in the next few years. To help bring the incarceration rate down, some states are looking into alternative methods of corrections for non-violent offenders.

This is the inevitable result of the 1980’s “War on Drugs” and “War on Crime.” Government officials wanted to look tough on crime, so they instituted mandatory sentences – sometimes up to life in prison – for non-violent crimes like drug possession.

Although prisons are necessary to keep some violent offenders out of the population, the vast majority of people incarcerated in the United States are guilty of nonviolent crimes. Prosecution of these crimes also disproportionately impacts certain sub-populations – i.e. urban, Black, and Hispanic.

Maybe this record high incarceration rate and the quickly increasing expense of the prison system will encourage politicians to rethink their “War on Crime” and “War on Drugs.” However, the prison system is big business – and big profits for some businesses – so the government will have its hands full if it tries to cut back on the number of incarcerations.