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Federal Prisoner Statistics Collected Under the First Step Act, 2024

NCJ Number
309537
Author(s)
Date Published
December 2024
Length
25 pages
Abstract

This report is the sixth in a series as required under the First Step Act of 2018 (FSA; P.L. 115-391). It includes data on federal prisoners for calendar year 2023 provided to BJS by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP). As required by the FSA, this report details select characteristics of persons in prison, including marital, veteran, citizenship, and English-speaking status; education levels; medical conditions; and participation in treatment programs. It also includes statistics BJS is required to report at the facility level, such as the number of assaults on staff by prisoners, prisoners’ violations of rules that resulted in time credit reductions, and selected facility characteristics related to accreditation, on-site health care, remote learning, video conferencing, and costs of prisoners’ phone calls.

Highlights:

  • The federal prison population decreased about 2% from yearend 2022 (158,637) to yearend 2023 (155,972).
  • At yearend 2023, there were 8,388 persons with prior military service in FBOP facilities, accounting for more than 5% of the total federal prison population.
  • Thirty-five percent of persons in federal prison at yearend 2023 had a minor child age 20 or younger, down from 41% in 2022.
  • The number of non-U.S. citizens in federal prison at yearend 2023 was 22,817, down from 2021 (24,031) and 2022 (24,078).

Date Published: December 1, 2024