Prison numbers stabilize

Stat house
September 2001

Prison numbers "stabilize"
What Hispanics want

Prisons numbers "stablize"
For the first time since the nation's prison boom began, state prison populations declined for six months last year, the Justice Department reported on August 12. Thirteen states—including Texas and New York—housed fewer prisoners on Dec. 31 than they did when the year began.

The combined population of state and federal prisons grew slightly when calculated over the entire year, but the 1.3 percent increase in 2000 was the smallest since 1972. The numbers continue a trend underway since 1994, when the explosive prison growth rate crested. At year's end, 2.07 million people (including federal prisoners) were behind bars in the United States.

The .5 percent second half of 2000 decline in incarceration was the first in 28 years. However, the number of prisoners held under the jurisdiction of state and federal corrections reached a high of 1,381,892 by December 31, 2000. The combined prison and jail population brings the total number of people behind bars to a record high of 1,931,859—a 79 percent increase from 773,905
in 1990.

The federal prison system continues to defy trends in state systems, with its sentenced population rising by 9.4 percent during the last year, after a 10.2 percent increase in 1999. There were an increased numbers of people jailed on drug and weapons charges, along with growing numbers of immigrants serving time, in the federal system. More than 10 percent of federal prisoners are housed in for-profit private prisons.

For every million U.S. residents, nearly 7,000 were behind bars December 31. The total included 1.3 million in federal and state prisons, 621,000 in local jails and 109,000 in juvenile facilities. An additional 9,000 were in U.S. immigration facilities.

The current rate of incarceration ( including both prison and jail) of 699 persons per 100,000 population advances the U.S. position as the world leader in imprisonment. The U.S. overtook Russia last year where a continuing amnesty program has reduced the rate to 644 with further reductions planned.

Other Justice Department findings:
--Thirteen states showed smaller prison populations for the year. Thirty-seven states showed increases, led by Idaho, North Dakota, Mississippi, Vermont and Iowa, each with more than a 10 percent growth.

--Federal and state prisons held 9.7 percent of the nation's population of black men ages 25 to 29. That does not include the number in jails. By contrast, 1.1 percent of white men in the same age group were in prison.

--In 1990, state prisons held 292 of every 100,000 residents. In 2000, the number was 478.

Analysts point to falling national crime rates and increased support for drug treatment and alternative punishment to explain the slowing growth rate. Some advocates say approvingly that the very presence of so many felons behind bars contributes to the reduction of crime, arrest, and incarceration.

Mark Mauer, an dvocate for sentencing reform and director of the Sentencing Project, worries that the spread of prisons and their importance to local economies will work against any effort to decrease significantly the U.S. prison population. From 1990 to 2000, according to the Justice report, states built 351 correctional facilities with 528,000 new beds—an 81 percent increase.

For more information:
The Sentencing Project

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