Help End Prison Gerrymandering Prison gerrymandering funnels political power away from urban communities to legislators who have prisons in their (often white, rural) districts. More than two decades ago, the Prison Policy Initiative put numbers on the problem and sparked the movement to end prison gerrymandering.

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Dickens County, Texas

According to the 2000 Census, Dickens County, Texas has a population of 2,762 people. Of those, 2,144 (78%) are White, 226 (8%) are Black, and 660 (24%) are Latino[1]. However, 477 (or 17% of the 2,762 people) are not residents by choice but are people in prison.

Even though prisoners cannot participate in the local community, the Census Bureau nevertheless counts them as residents of the county where they are incarcerated.

A more accurate description would not include the prisoners. This would give Dickens County a population of 2,285 with a demographic that is 82% White, 2% Black, and 21% Latino.

Reported in
Census 2000		 Incarcerated
population		 Actual
population
Total 2,762 477 2,285
White 2,144 273 1,871
Black 226 171 55
Latino 660 176 484


Notes:

[1]The numbers for Whites, Blacks and Latinos may not add up to the total number because we have not included racial groups other than Whites and Blacks and because the Census Bureau considers "Latino" to be an ethnicity, not a race. Most of the people reported as being Latino are also counted as being White or Black.



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