54 7 16 30 28 55 8 15 33 25 56 7 14 28 21 57 6 10 25 18 58 4 9 19 17 59 4 9 19 16 60 2 7 15 15 61 2 5 10 16 62 3 5 12 19 63 3 7 12 15 64 4 7 11 11 65 3 5 5 4 66 2 2 4 2 67 2 2 3 3 68 3 5 3 4 69 2 4 5 5 70 2 3 7 5 71 2 2 7 6 72 2 2 4 4 73 1 2 3 1 74 0 0 2 0 75 0 0 4 0 76 0 0 2 3 77 0 0 2 3 78 0 0 2 3 79 0 0 5 0 80 0 0 5 0 *The number first incarcerated at each age divided by the number at risk to first incarceration, times 100,000. Note: 3-year averages were used to smooth age-specific rates. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Between 1974 and 2001 the rate of first incarceration rose in nearly every age-specific category. The largest increases occurred among younger age cohorts -- those that already had high first incarceration rates. The peak incarceration rate increased by over 200 persons per 100,000 (from 143 at age 21 in 1974, to 350 at age 20 in 2001). Rates increased even among persons age 45 or older. +In 2001, 3 out of 10 adults ever incarcerated were age 35 to 44+ Persons between ages 35 and 44 accounted for the largest number of current and former prisoners at yearend 2001 (table 2). Born between 1957 and 1966, these persons turned 18 in the late 1970s and early 1980s when first incarceration rates began to climb. Between 1974 and 2001, the number ever incarcerated in this age group rose from 324,000 to 1.67 million. Among persons between ages 25 and 34, the number ever incarcerated nearly quadrupled (from 343,000 in 1974 to 1.29 million in 2001). While persons in this age group also experienced rising first incarceration rates, they were subject to these rates for a smaller portion of their lifespan than those ages 35 to 44.