Data from the Prison Policy Initiative reveals that of Rhode Island’s 39 municipalities, Providence has the highest rate of imprisonment. This statistic can be attributed to the city having larger Black and Latino populations and the criminal justice system disproportionately policing these communities.
Neighborhoods like Upper South Providence that are a majority of people of color were ‘redlined’ in the 1930s—or, in other words, denied financial services—and are overrepresented in the incarcerated population. The correlation between racial discrimination, systemic inequalities, and imprisonment in America are complex and persistent, including here in Providence.
The Prison Policy Initiative reported:
354 per 100,000 — people are incarcerated from Providence
- 17% — of Rhode Island’s population is from Providence
- 38% — of Rhode Island’s incarcerated population is from Providence
544 per 100,000 — people are incarcerated from Smith Hill
- 79.9% of the population is non-white
255 per 100,000 — people are incarcerated from Federal Hill
- 64.7% of the population is non-white
43 per 100,000 — people are incarcerated from Blackstone
- 19.6% of the population is non-white
To read a previous PVD Counts exploring data on the incarceration rates of Providence residents, click here.
Kendra Eastep is a Brown University SPRINT Fellow at The Providence Eye. She is from New York City and studies English and History with a focus on Southeast Asian studies. In her free time, she illustrates for the The Brown Daily Herald and copyedits for The College Hill Independent.
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