BJS
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? NATIONAL CORRECTIONAL
POPULATION REACHES NEW HIGH
GROWS BY 126,400 DURING 2000
TO TOTAL 6.5 MILLION ADULTS
WASHINGTON,
D.C. ? The nation?s combined federal, state and local adult correctional
population reached a new high of almost 6.5 million men and women in 2000,
having grown by 126,400 men and women during the year, the Justice Department?s
Bureau of Justice Statistics announced today.
The total represented 3.1 percent of the country?s total adult
population, or 1 in every 32 adults.
The
total adult correctional population includes incarcerated inmates as well as
probationers and parolees living in the community.? On December 31, 2000, there were 3,839,532 men and women on
probation, 725,527 on parole, 1,312,354 in prison and 621,149 in ?local jails.
The 2 percent increase last year was half? the average annual increase of 4 percent since 1990.
During
the past decade the total correctional population increased 49 percent.? There were 2.1 million more men and women
under correctional supervision in 2000 than in 1990.
The
states with the largest percentages of their adult populations under
correctional supervision were Georgia (6.8 percent), Texas (5.0 percent) and
Idaho (4.9 percent).? The states with
the smallest percentages of their populations under supervision were West
Virginia, New Hampshire and North Dakota (0.9 percent).
Almost
a third of all people under correctional supervision were in a prison or a
jail.? More than half of the
correctional populations in Mississippi (58 percent), Virginia (56 percent) and
the federal system (56 percent) were incarcerated.? Minnesota (9 percent) and Vermont (11 percent) had the lowest
percentage incarcerated.
At
the end of last year the number of adults under community supervision as
probationers or parolees reached almost 4.6 million, up from 3.2 million on
December 31, 1990.? Among probationers
-- criminal offenders sentenced to a period of correctional supervision in the
community -- 52 percent had been convicted of a felony, 46 percent a misdemeanor
and 2 percent other infractions.
Twenty-four percent were on probation for a drug law violation and 18
percent for driving while intoxicated.
Sixteen
states reported fewer than 1 percent of their adult populations on
probation.? Three states had increases
of at least 10 percent in their probation populations during 2000 --
Mississippi (up 13 percent), South Dakota (up 11 percent) and Oklahoma (up 10
percent).? Nine states and the District
of Columbia reported a decline in their probation populations, led by
South Carolina (down 12
percent), Missouri (down 5 percent) and Kansas (down 5 percent).?
Almost
all adults on parole, a period of conditional supervision following a prison
term, had been convicted of a felony (97 percent).? More than half of people entering parole during 2000 had received
a mandatory release from prison because of a sentencing statute or good-time
provisions; 37 percent entered parole because of a parole board decision, down
from 59 percent in 1990.
Parole
population gains of 10 percent or more were reported in 14 states and the
District of Columbia.? Connecticut and
Arkansas led with a 22 percent increase in their parole populations in 2000,
followed by Vermont and Oklahoma (both up 20 percent).? Nineteen states reported a decline in their
parole population during 2000, led by Kansas (down 35 percent) and North Dakota
and North Carolina (both down 24 percent).
Nationwide,
women comprised 22 percent of adult probationers in 2000, up from 18 percent in
1990, and 12 percent of all parolees, up from 8 percent in 1990.
At
the end of 2000, more than a third of probationers and more than 2 out of 5
adults on parole were black, while nearly two-thirds of probationers and more
than half of parolees were white.? Persons
of other races accounted for about 2 percent of probationers and 1 percent of
parolees.?
Persons
of Hispanic origin, who are of any race, comprised 16 percent of the probation
population and 21 percent of the parole population.
Nearly
2 million probationers and 459,000 parolees were discharged from community
supervision in 2000.? Three out of five
of those exiting probation and over two out of five of those exiting parole had
successfully met the conditions of their supervision.? During the same year, 15 percent
of probationers and 42
percent of parolees who were discharged from supervision were reincarcerated
because of a rule violation or new offense.
The
data for the state, federal and local incarceration rates was analyzed by BJS
statistician Lauren E. Glaze.?
After the release date the
data will be available at:
The BJS Internet site is:
Additional criminal justice
materials can be obtained from the Office of Justice Programs
BJS01178
After
hours contact: Stu Smith at 301/983-9354