FOR RELEASE???????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????BJS
SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2001
??202/307-0784
NATION?S STATE
PRISON POPULATION FALLS IN SECOND HALF OF 2000 FIRST SUCH DECLINE SINCE 1972
WASHINGTON,
D.C. ? During the last six months of 2000, the nation?s state prison population
declined by more than 6,200 inmates ? the first measured decline since 1972,
the Justice Department?s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today.
Although for
the entire year the state and federal prison population grew by 1.3 percent, 13
states experienced decreases, led by Massachusetts (down 5.6 percent), New Jersey
(down 5.4 percent), New York (down 3.7 percent) and Texas (down 3.2
percent).?????
Five
states?Idaho (up 14.1 percent), North Dakota (up 14.1 percent), Mississippi (up
10.9 percent), Vermont (up 10.5 percent) and Iowa (up 10.0 percent) ? had
increases of at least 10 percent during 2000.
During 2000,
the federal prison system added 10,170 inmates ? the equivalent of almost 200
additional inmates each week.? Since
1990 the number of federal prisoners has more than doubled (up 122 percent),
while the number of state inmates had increased 75 percent.? Overall, the nation?s prison population
increased by 18,191 inmates during the year, which was the smallest annual
increase in 20 years.
California
(163,001 inmates), Texas (157,997) and the federal system (145,416) together
held one-third of all prisoners in the country.
At the end of
2000, privately operated facilities housed 87,369 inmates (5.8 percent of
state inmates and 10.7 percent of federal
inmates).? Local jails housed 63,140
state and federal prisoners (4.6 percent of state and federal prisoners).
Altogether,
there were 2,071,686 incarcerated people in this country at the end of 2000, as
follows:
State
and federal prisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .?? 1,312,354*
Local
jails?? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
621,149
Juvenile
facilities (as of October 1999)? . . . .
. . . . . .??? 108,965
Territorial
prisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .????? 16,130
Immigration and
Naturalization Service facilities? .
.??????? 8,894
Military
facilities? . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .???????? 2,420
Indian country
jails?? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .??????? 1,775
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*Number excludes state and federal
prisoners in local jails.
At the end of
2000, 9.7 percent of all black males between 25 and 29 years old were in
prison, compared to 2.9 percent of all Hispanic males and 1.1 percent of all
white males in the same age group.
There were
91,612 women in state and federal prisons at the end of last year ? 6.6 percent
of all prison inmates.? Since 1990 the
number of male prisoners has grown 77 percent, while the number of female
prisoners has increased by 108 percent.
At the end of
2000 about 1 in every 109 men and 1 in every 1,695 women in the United States
were incarcerated in a state or federal prison.? Louisiana had the highest prison incarceration rate (801 inmates
per 100,000 state residents, followed by Texas (730), Mississippi (688) and
Oklahoma (685).? Minnesota (with 128
inmates per 100,000 residents) and Maine (129) had the lowest rates.
On December 31,
2000, state prisons were operating between full capacity and 15 percent above
capacity.? Federal prisons were
operating 31 percent above capacity.
The Florida prison system, which was operating at 81 percent of its
rated capacity, reported the lowest percentage of? occupied capacity.
California, operating at 94 percent over its designed capacity, had the
highest percentage occupied.
At midyear
2000, there were 1,320 state adult facilities, 84 federal facilities and 264
privately operated facilities holding
prisoners.? During the decade between
June 30, 1990, and June 30, 2000, states added 351 correctional facilities and
more than 528,000 prison beds (up 81 percent).
The report was
written by BJS statisticians Allen J. Beck and Paige Harrison.? Single
copies may be obtained from the BJS
clearinghouse number: 1-800-732-3277.
Fax orders for mail delivery to 410/792-4358.?
After the release date this report will
be available at:
???????????????????????????????????????? http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/p00.htm
The BJS Internet site is:
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????? http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/
Additional
criminal justice materials can be obtained from the Office of Justice Programs
homepage at:
? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov
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BJS01175
After hours contact: Stu Smith at
301/983-9354