Federal and State prison populations grew by 30,149 inmates (just under 4 percent) during the first half of 1991 to reach a record 804,524 men and women as of June 30, 1991 according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. This was below the record 47,000 increase in inmates recorded for the first half of 1989. The Federal prison population grew by 3.1 percent over the first half of 1991, and a 4-percent increase was experienced by the 50 States. Prisoners in the Western States increased by 5.1 percent, compared to a 4.2-percent increase in the Northeast and a 3.5-percent increase in Southern and Midwestern prisons. Four States recorded double-digit half-year increases: Rhode Island by 14.3 percent; New Hampshire, 11.6 percent; Nevada, 10.6 percent; and Colorado, 10 percent. Eight States had inmate population growth of at least 10 percent for the 12 months ending June 30. Five States experienced inmate-population declines during this first year. During the first half of 1991, the number of female inmates in State and Federal prisons increased 4.5 percent compared to a 3.9-percent increase for men. As of June 30, women inmates accounted for 5.7 percent of all inmates nationwide. The number of inmates per capita on June 30, 1991 also reached a record 303 sentenced offenders (inmates sentenced to one year or more in prison) held in State and Federal prisons per 100,000 residents. 3 tables
Prisoner 1991, Preliminary
NCJ Number
134504
Date Published
1991
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This report presents narrative information and tabular data on Federal and State inmate populations for the first 6 months of 1991.
Abstract