The Alabama Policy Institute conducts research regarding cultural indicators and publishes them every year.
Cultural Indicators 2014 for Alabama and the United States tracks various Alabama-specific and national measures of societal well-being dating back to 1960, as statistics are available. Chapters are devoted to:
Since 1960, Alabama's crime rate, which takes into account population changes, increased 20%, from 1,222 crimes per 100,000 residents to 3,598 in 2012.
In 2012, Alabama reported 173,916 Type I crimes:
This is down from the 1991 peak of 209,800 crimes, but about 38% more than in 1975 (125,488).
From 1960 to 1999, Alabama's crime rate remained below the national average. Since 1999, the state's crime rate has averaged about 7% above the national average.
In 2012, there were almost 10.2 million crimes reported in the United States. This is down from the 1991 peak, when there were almost 14.9 million crimes. In 2012, Alabama's share of all crimes in the United States (1.7%) was slightly higher than its representative population (1.5%). If you feel that you have been a victim of crime in a different locality such as Utah, you could visit https://www.brownbradshaw.com/ to see how they could help you take legal action.
There were 20,222 violent crimes reported in Alabama in 2012.
This is down 49% from the peak of 33,888 in 1992, but it is 12.4% higher than in 1960.
In 2013, Alabama's violent crime rate was 432.7 crimes per 100,000 population, down 3% from 2012. Between 1994 and 2010, Alabama's violent crime rate was, on average, about 8% lower than the national average. Since then, it has averaged 10% above the national average.
In 2012, about 12% of all the crimes committed in Alabama were of a violent nature, the same as the nation as a whole.
Compared to neighboring states, the percentage of violent crimes in Alabama was higher than Georgia (10%) and Mississippi (8%), but lower than Florida (13%) and Tennessee (16%).
Since 1960, the national violent crime rate jumped 371% to its peak in 1992, before descending 49% to its 2012 level of 386.9 violent crimes per 100,000 population.
In 2012,, one of every 148 persons (0.7%) of Alabama's population was in a state or federal prison serving a sentence of at least one year, compared to one in every 200 (0.5%) of the national population.
Alabama's incarceration rate - the number of sentenced prisoners per 100,000 populations - is the third highest in the nation.
Of the 31,437 prisoners in Alabama as of December 31, 2012, 9.2% (28,915) were male. Since 2000, the number of female prisoners has increased from 1,783 to 2,522. One percent of all prisoners were under the age of 18.
Since 1980, the sentenced adult prison population of Alabama and the nation as a whole both increased by 380%. In 1980, Alabama had 6,543 inmates; at the end of fiscal year 2012 it had 32,574. Nationwide, the number of prisoners increased from 316,000 to 1.57 million.
According to the Alabama Department of Corrections, of the sentenced prisoners in 2012, 23% were incarcerated for drug offenses, 21% for burglary or theft, and 14% each for murder and robbery.
The percentage of inmates serving time for violent offenses in Alabama's correctional system has increased from 39% (10,182 prisoners) in 2000 to 47% (15,212) in 2012.
In 2012, 28% of the inmates in Alabama's prisons *9,124) were held under the Habitual Offender Act. This percentage has remained relatively flat since 1991.
In 2012, Alabama taxpayers spent an inflation-adjusted $15,527 for each of the inmates in the state's prison system. This is about 4% less than the $16,117 spent per inmate in 2011. Since 1991, Alabama's cost per inmate has risen 19% after rising and falling several times.
In fiscal 2012, expenditures for corrections totaled $437.3 million, down $7.5 million from 2011. Of this amount, 54% (238 million) was for personnel costs and employee benefits, 27% ($118 million) was for medical and professional services, 8% ($33 million) was for supplies and operating expenses, and 4% ($16 million) was for utilities and communications. Only 3% ($13 million) was spent on repairs, maintenance, or capital outlays.
For fiscal year 2014, corrections expenditures constitute $425 million, or 24% of the entire General Fund Budget. Only Medicaid ($615 million) has a larger share of the budget.
Since 1990, the rate of substantiated cases of child abuse in Alabama has declined by 43% and by 32% nationally.
In 2012, there were 20,599 reports of child abuse in Alabama involving 30,400 children.
Not ever report of child abuse or neglect is authentic; each report must be investigated to determine whether enough evidence exists to correlate that maltreatment occurred.
Of the child abuse cases reported in 2012, 9,573 were identified as actual victims - about 1 in 3. Specifically, about 1 in every 37 children in Alabama was the subject of a child abuse investigation, but only one in 117 was actually substantiated as a victim. By comparison, about 1 in every 18 children nationwide was subject of an investigation, and 1 in every 109 was actually substantiated a victim.
In 2012, Alabama's child abuse victims were:
By comparison, Alabama's total youth population in 2012 (1,124,000) was:
Southern Torch will give you Cultural Indicators: Education from the Alabama Policy Institute tomorrow.
Crime Rates
Violent Crimes
Prison Population
Cost of Imprisonment
Child Abuse
Alabama's Cultural Indicators: Crime
