Because our cops kick so much ass, investigate, make love to sluts, don't look the other way, and always get our man. *self high-five*

I don't know about prisons, but I know from working as a jailer that it actually costs a ton of money to clothe, feed, house, and protect prisoners.  And God forbid somebody need medical attention.  There goes a huge chunk of our budget, right there! 

There's a reason why people get suspended sentences or get to spend their time confined to their homes.  If anybody is making money, it's the probation office.  Rather than go to jail (and possibly prison), offenders have to report to their probation office and pay a pre-determined fee (as well as adhere to a certain set of rules).  Of course, EVERYBODY would rather be on probation than actually go to jail/prison. --Unfortunately, people on probation always seem to fuck it up and get arrested or fail to report, anyway.  We called probation "A jail sentence on lay-away" because people on probation always end up going to jail for probation violations.

This x1m

Also this x1m

both in a way. i understand theres more to it then that, but why are more then 80% of jail's in every state are filled with minorities? i don't beleive half that percentage commit crimes.

i agree with your first post.

Yeah it is pretty staggering the percentage of inmates who are minorities. I can't really justify/explain that without stereotyping. 

I don't believe it either: here in Italy with have a lot of immigrants, they are a lot, but they are minorities anyway, and while illegal ones have higher than average crime rates, regular ones have lower ones, they are actually more honest than the Italian average. Minorities integrated in the society for decennia or even centuries should have around the same crime rate of the majority, unless there be still forms of discrimination, both in the way they are judged and in the opportunities they are given to get a decent life. And one thing I never understood is why no big mafia boss has ever been sentenced to death in USA. Just this fact should force any honest judge to apply death penalty only to the worst serial killers, otherwise there wouldn't be equal treatment between the common thug that killed one person during a robbery and is sentenced to death and the boss that ordered many killings and countless other crimes, but receives a milder penalty.

In my personal opinion; war on drugs, mainly cannabis prohibition. So many average hardworking joes, lives were destroyed; not the by the actual plant but by the way this country treats people for the crime. The goverment still hasn't learned anything from Prohibition of the 1920s

That's not true. The OP has a graphic of incarceration per capita, your statistics show total crimes (not per capita), USA is one of the most populated countries, therefore, it obviously will have a high total crime rate. I think this statistics are better (crimes per capita). In there USA is #8

I don't trust that picture post in the OP there are too many third world countries with a lower incarceration rate then first world countries when by a fact they have the highest murder rate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate) and everyone no povrety is the mother of crime