WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans rate the U.S. prison system highly for preventing escapes but have a dim view of its effectiveness at rehabilitating offenders and keeping prisoners safe.
More than six in 10 U.S. adults say the nation’s prison system does an “excellent” (16%) or “good” (46%) job at maintaining high security to keep prisoners behind bars, while one-third rate it as “only fair” (26%) or “poor” (8%).
Conversely, just 16% of Americans believe the system does an excellent or good job at rehabilitating inmates so they are less likely to commit crimes in the future, while nearly eight in 10 rate it as only fair (32%) or poor (47%). Similarly, 24% of U.S. adults rate the prison system positively for maintaining a safe environment for inmates, while 66% split evenly between saying it does a fair or poor job.
These findings are from an Oct. 1-16, 2025, poll, which is the second time Gallup has measured views on the three questions. The prior readings, from 25 years ago, are similar to the current findings.
Minor Demographic Differences Evident in Views of Prison System
There are mostly minor demographic differences in Americans’ current ratings of prisons.
- Americans with annual household incomes of $100,000 or more, men, and White adults are significantly more likely than their counterparts to view prisons as effective at preventing inmate escapes.
- Republicans and independents are more likely than Democrats to believe prisons maintain a safe environment for inmates.
- Americans’ positive ratings of the way the prison system rehabilitates prisoners are in the teens across most groups, with only people of color (24%), lower-income Americans (23%) and those under 35 years old (21%) rating it higher.
Bottom Line
Americans view the U.S. prison system as effective at keeping inmates from escaping but ineffective at keeping them safe in prison or helping them turn their lives around while incarcerated. Despite decades of attention to criminal justice reform and a few recent high-profile prison escapes in the U.S., the public’s views are not much different from what they were 25 years ago.
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Learn more about how the Gallup Poll Social Series works. View complete question responses and trends (PDF download).
