Federal and State Prisoners statistics

[Based on U.S. Census Bureau estimated resident population, as of July 1. Prior to 1970, excludes State institutions in Alaska. Beginning 1980, includes all persons under jurisdiction of Federal and State authorities rather than those in the custody of such authorities. Represents inmates sentenced to maximum term of more than a year]



Year	Total	Rate ¹	Male	Female


1970	196,429	96	190,794	5,635
1971	198,061	95	191,732	6,329
1972	196,092	93	189,823	6,269
1973	204,211	96	197,523	6,004
1974	218,466	102	211,077	7,389
1975	240,593	111	231,918	8,675
1976	262,833	120	252,794	10,039
1977 ²	278,141	126	267,097	11,044
1977 ³	285,456	129	274,244	11,212
1978	294,396	132	282,813	11,583
1979	301,470	133	289,465	12,005
1980	315,974	139	303,643	12,331
1981	353,167	154	338,940	14,227
1982	394,374	171	378,045	16,329
1983	419,820	179	402,391	17,429
1984	443,398	188	424,193	19,205
1985	480,568	202	458,972	21,296
1986	522,084	217	497,540	24,544
1987	560,812	231	533,990	26,822
1988	603,732	247	573,587	30,145
1989	680,907	276	643,643	37,264
1990	739,980	297	699,416	40,564
1991	789,610	313	745,808	43,802
1992	846,277	332	799,776	46,501
1993	932,074	359	878,037	54,037
1994	1,016,691	389	956,566	60,125
1995	1,085,363	411	1,021,463	63,900
1996	1,136,819	427	1,067,355	69,464
1997	1,195,498	445	1,121,663	73,835
1998	1,252,830	461	1,174,124	78,706
1999 ⁴	1,276,688	468	1,196,498	80,190

NA Not available. 1 Rate per 100,000 estimated population.
2 Custody counts. 3 Jurisdiction counts.
4 As of June 30, 1999.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prisoners in State and Federal Institutions on December 31, annual, and Correctional Populations in the United States, annual.

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/prisons.htm

* Correctional Populations in the United States

Survey methodology for prisoner data

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), with the U.S. Bureau of the Census as its collection agent, obtains yearend and midyear counts of prisoners from departments of correction in each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons through the National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) program. In an effort to collect comparable data from all jurisdictions, NPS distinguishes prisoners in custody from those under jurisdiction. To have custody of a prisoner, a State must hold that person in one of its facilities. To have jurisdiction means that a State has legal authority over the prisoner. Prisoners under a State's jurisdiction may be in the custody of a local jail, another State's prison, or other correctional facility. Some States are unable to provide both custody and jurisdiction counts. Excluded from NPS counts are persons confined in locally administered confinement facilities who are under the jurisdiction of local authorities. NPS counts include all inmates in State-operated facilities in Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Vermont, which have combined jail-prison systems.

In each jurisdiction, the questionnaire was completed by a central agency reporting for institutions within the correctional system. This procedure was also used by the Federal Bureau of Prisons in supplying data on Federal institutions. Because the information was derived from a complete enumeration rather than a survey, the statistical data are not affected by sampling error. Response errors were held to a minimum by means of a systematic telephone followup and, where necessary, other control procedures. Thus, the yearend counts are generally considered reliable. Because of the absence of standardized administrative and record keeping practices from State to State, the data for admissions and releases are not always entirely comparable across jurisdictions.

Many States revise the yearend number reported for the previous year. Those revisions are made in the total, not the detail. For example, the number of blacks, whites, and members of other races for 1995 were not changed by a State in 1996 to equal its revised 1995 total. * National Prisoner Statistics category definitions

Jurisdiction population, Dec. 31-- Includes all inmates under jurisdiction of State correctional authorities on Dec. 31 regardless of location. Does not include other jurisdictions' inmates (for example, inmates from other States, pretrial detainees) merely housed in prisons.

Custody population, Dec. 31-- Includes all inmates in the State's custody, that is, housed in State correctional facilities on Dec. 31. Does not include State inmates housed outside State prison facilities; does include other jurisdictions' inmates (for example, inmates from other States, the courts, local jails) housed in the State's facilities.

Overcrowding, Dec. 31--Includes all State prison inmates housed in local jails on Dec. 31 and as a direct result of State prison overcrowding. Does not include State prison inmates held in local jails for other reasons (for example, work release, court appearance, etc.).

Admissions

New court commitments--Includes all inmates who were admitted with new sentences, that is, these inmates were not readmitted for any sentences for which they had already served some prison time. This category includes probation violators entering prison for the first time on the probated offenses. Does not include parole violators with new sentences.

Parole violators with new sentences--Includes all parolees returned with new sentences.

Other conditional release violators with new sentences--Includes all individuals on conditional release (other than parole) who are returned with new sentences, for example, returns from supervised mandatory release, from shock probation, etc.

Parole violators only, no new sentences--Includes all parolees returned only for formal revocations of parole that were not accompanied by new sentences. If the parole was not formally revoked, that is, the parolee was held only temporarily pending a hearing, no admission occurred for NPS purposes.

Other conditional release violators only, no new sentences--Same as above, substituting conditional release violator for parole violator.

Transfers from other jurisdictions--Includes all inmates transferred to a State's jurisdiction to continue sentences already in force. Does not include admissions if State does not acquire jurisdiction. Does not include movements from prison to prison within State.

Absent without leave (AWOL) returns, with or without sentences--Includes all returns from AWOL, that is, failures to return from authorized temporary absences such as work furlough, study release, mercy furlough, or other authorized temporary absence.

Escapee returns, with or without new sentences--Includes all returns from escape, that is, unlawful departures from a State correctional facility or from the custody of State correctional personnel.

Returns from appeal/bond--Includes all inmates reinstated to correctional jurisdiction from long-term jurisdictional absences on appeal or bond. Does not include returns from short-term movements (less than 30 days) to court (that is, where the State retains jurisdiction).

Other admissions--Includes all other admissions not covered by the above categories.

Releases

Unconditional--An unconditional release occurs only if the released inmate cannot be imprisoned for any sentence for which he/she was in prison.

Expirations of sentence--Includes all inmates whose maximum court sentences minus credits have been served.

Commutations--Includes all inmates whose maximum sentences have been changed (lowered) to time served to allow immediate unconditional release.

Other unconditional releases--Includes all other unconditional releases not covered by the above categories.

Conditional--A conditional release occurs if the released inmate, upon violating the conditions of release, can be imprisoned again for any of the sentences for which he/she was in prison.

Probations--Includes all inmates who have been placed under probation supervision and conditionally released; includes all shock probation (split sentence) releases.

Supervised mandatory releases--Includes all inmates who must, by law, be conditionally released. This type of release may also be called mandatory conditional release.

Paroles--Includes all inmates conditionally released to parole.

Other conditional releases--Includes all other conditional releases not covered by the above categories.

Death:

Executions--Self-explanatory.

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)--The immediate cause of death in AIDS mortalities may be Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia, Kaposi's Sarcoma, or other diseases related to HIV infection.

Illness/natural causes--Self-explanatory. AIDS-related deaths not included in this category.

Suicides--Self-explanatory.

Accidental injury to self--Includes all inmates who accidentally cause their own deaths (for example, a fall from a ladder, mishandling electrical equipment).

Death caused by another person--Includes all inmates whose deaths were caused accidentally or intentionally by another inmate or prison personnel.

Other deaths--Includes all other deaths not covered by the above categories.

Other releases:

Absent without leave (AWOL)--Includes all failures to return from an authorized temporary absence such as work furlough, study release, mercy furlough, or other authorized temporary absence.

Escapes from confinement--Includes all unlawful departures from a State correctional facility or from the custody of State correctional personnel.

Transfers to other jurisdictions--Includes all inmates who were transferred from one State's jurisdiction to another to continue sentences already in force. Does not include the release if State does not relinquish jurisdiction. Does not include movements from prison to prison within State.

Releases to appeal/bond--Includes all inmates released from correctional jurisdiction to long-term jurisdictional absences on appeal or bond. Does not include short-term movements (less than 30 days) to court (that is, where the State correctional system retains jurisdiction).

Other releases--Includes all other releases not covered by the above categories.

Race

Classification by race often depends on the reporting program and the State. A few States reported two categories: white and nonwhite. A few others categorized Hispanic offenders as belonging to "Other race." The number of persons with certain racial backgrounds were sometimes estimated.

White--A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East.

Black--A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.

American Indian or Alaska Native--A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North America, who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community recognition.

Asian or Pacific Islander--A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands. This area includes, for example, China, India, Japan, Korea, the Philippine Islands, and Samoa.

Other--Any other race not covered by the above categories.

Not known--Any inmate whose racial origin is unknown.

Ethnic origin

A person of Hispanic origin may be of any race; however, a few States treat the ethnic category as a racial one. Reporting officials usually rely on self-definition, but some States classify according to surname.

Hispanic--A person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.

*

http://www.allcountries.org/uscensus/369_federal_and_state_prisoners.html

These tables are based on figures supplied by the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce and are subject to revision by the Census Bureau.

Copyright © 2006 Photius Coutsoukis and Information Technology Associates, all rights reserved.