NCJ Number
142752
Date Published
1991
Length
17 pages
Annotation
The New York State Department of Correctional Services (DOCS) has projected its inmate population for the period from fiscal year 1991-1992 through fiscal year 1999-2000. Data are included for inmate admissions, releases, and number of inmates under custody during all or part of each fiscal year.
Abstract
These projections rely on the expected number of felony cases to be disposed of in State courts and on the projected outcomes of these dispositions. Future changes in administrative policy, judicial interpretation, or legislation could affect the accuracy of these projections. At the beginning of fiscal year 1991-1992, there were 54,746 inmates under DOCS jurisdiction with an additional 929 "state ready" inmates and a backlog of 1,679 convicted but not yet sentenced offenders; later, another 1,500 inmates who had been inadvertently omitted from the count were added in, for a total of 58,854. Since 1973, the DOCS inmate population has increased by 343 percent; admissions have continually exceeded releases. After 1993, the rate of growth of the prison population is expected to slow to about 2.2 percent annually, so that the total DOCS population will reach 73,396 by March 31, 2000.