Prisons, Jails, Probation, and Parole

"At yearend 2022, correctional authorities in the United States had jurisdiction over 1,230,100 persons in state or federal prisons, an increase of 2% or 25,100 persons from yearend 2021 (1,205,100 persons) (figure 1). This rise erased the 1% decline reported in 2021 and marked the first increase in the combined state and federal prison population in almost a decade (since 2013). The number of persons held under the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) grew 1% (up 2,000 persons) from 2021 to 2022, while the number held under the jurisdiction of state correctional authorities increased 2% (up 23,100).

"Ninety-six percent of persons in U.S. prisons in 2022 were sentenced to more than 1 year under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities (1,185,600). Thirty-five states and the BOP showed growth in their sentenced prison populations from 2021 to 2022, with increases of at least 1,000 persons in eight states and the BOP."

"At midyear 2022, local jails held 663,100 persons in custody, 4% more than the year before (table 1). The number of persons in jail custody saw a 25% decline from 2019 to 2020 as local authorities reduced admissions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The jail population has increased since, returning to 90% of its prepandemic (midyear 2019) size by midyear 2022. Jails reported 7.3 million admissions from July 2021 to June 2022. While this represented a 6.6% increase from the 6.9 million admissions the year before, annual admissions remained 29% lower than the last full year before the pandemic (10.3 million from July 2018 to June 2019) and 37% lower than 10 years ago (11.6 million).

"From July 2021 to June 2022, people admitted to local jails spent an average of 32 days in custody before release (figure 1). Males were incarcerated 36 days and females 19 days on average during that time. This was similar to the year ending June 2021 but up from the year ending June 2020, when the average jail time was 31 days for males and 18 days for females."

"ƒ The U.S. imprisonment rate at yearend 2022 was 355 sentenced prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents of all ages, a 1% increase from yearend 2021 (350 per 100,000) but a 26% decrease from yearend 2012 (480 per 100,000) (table 5).

"ƒ On December 31, 2022, an estimated 666 per 100,000 male U.S. residents were serving sentences of more than 1 year in state or federal prison.

"ƒ Black U.S. residents were imprisoned at a rate of 911 per 100,000 at yearend 2022, a 1% increase from 2021 (901 per 100,000).

"ƒ Imprisonment rates for white (188 per 100,000) and American Indian or Alaska Native (801 per 100,000) U.S. residents increased from 2021 to 2022, but rates for Hispanic (426 per 100,000) and Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander (71 per 100,000) residents declined during this period.

"ƒ The rate at which adult U.S. residents were in prison on a sentence of more than 1 year increased almost 4% from 2021 to 2022 for American Indian or Alaska Native persons, 3% for white persons, and 1% for black persons, while it declined 2% each for Hispanic and for Asian and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander persons (table 6, figure 3).

"ƒ Over the past decade, the adult imprisonment rates for both black persons and Hispanic persons have declined 36%, compared to 33% for Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander persons; 23% for white persons; and 18% for American Indian or Alaska Native persons.

"ƒ The imprisonment rate for adult U.S. residents was 453 per 100,000 in 2022, up 1% from 2021 (448 per 100,000) but down 28% from 2012 (627 per 100,000).

"ƒ At yearend 2022, about 857 per 100,000 male and 62 per 100,000 female adult U.S. residents were serving a sentence in state or federal prison.

"ƒ The 2022 imprisonment rate for black persons (1,196 per 100,000 adult U.S. residents) was more than 13 times the rate for Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander persons (88 per 100,000); 5 times the rate for white persons (229 per 100,000); almost 2 times the rate for Hispanic persons (603 per 100,000); and 1.1 times the rate for American Indian or Alaska Native persons (1,042 per 100,000)."

"At yearend 2021, an estimated 5,444,900 persons were under the supervision of adult correctional systems in the United States, a decline of 1% (down 61,100 persons) from yearend 2020.1 About 1 in 48 adult U.S. residents (2.1%) were under some form of correctional supervision at the end of 2021. The rate of persons on probation or parole fell to a 21-year low in 2021 (1,440 per 100,000 adult U.S. residents), after declining each year since its peak in 2007 (2,240 per 100,000) (figure 1). The rate at which persons were in prison or jail increased for the first time since 2005, rising from 660 per 100,000 U.S. residents in 2020 to 680 per 100,000 in 2021, though it remained below the rate preceding the COVID-19 pandemic (810 per 100,000 in 2019)."

"• At yearend 2021, about 5,444,900 persons were under the supervision of a correctional authority in the United States, including 3,745,000 persons under community supervision and 1,775,300 incarcerated in state or federal prisons or local jails (table 1).

"• The total correctional population in 2021 showed a 1% decline from yearend 2020 (5,506,000) and a 22% decline from 2011 (6,994,500).

"• The total correctional population declined by 0.6% to 2% each year from 2011 to 2019, but it decreased 13% from 2019 to 2020 due to responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"• On December 31, 2021, about 2,963,000 persons were supervised in probation programs, a decline of 3% from 2020 (3,053,700).

"• The population under community supervision decreased almost 4% from yearend 2020 to yearend 2021 and 22% from yearend 2011 to yearend 2021.

"• While state and federal prison populations decreased by 16,800 persons from yearend 2020 to yearend 2021, local jails incarcerated 87,200 more persons in 2021 than in 2020, resulting in a 5% increase in the total number of persons incarcerated by federal, state, and local authorities.

"• The number of persons incarcerated at yearend 2021 decreased 21% from yearend 2011."

"ƒ A total of 1,767,200 adults were in the custody of state and federal prisons and local jails at yearend 2021, a 6% increase from 2020, the year the custody count declined due to responses to the COVID-19 pandemic (table 9).²

"ƒ The number of persons in the custody of state-operated prison facilities decreased by 17,400 (down 2%) from yearend 2020 to 2021.

"ƒ State departments of corrections held 2,900 (4%) more persons in privately operated facilities at yearend 2021 than at yearend 2020.

"ƒ The BOP housed 33% more persons in privately operated prison facilities in 2021 (29,300) than in 2020 (22,100).

"ƒ From 2020 to 2021, the number of persons in the custody of local jails grew by 87,200 and the number in the custody of the BOP increased by 20,300.

"ƒ In 2021, about 11,530 persons were incarcerated in territorial prisons, military correctional facilities, and jails in Indian country (table 10).

"ƒ The U.S. military held 1,130 persons in military prisons, Indian country jails incarcerated 2,040 persons, and prisons in the five U.S. territories held 8,360 persons in 2021."

"• One in every 48 adult U.S. residents (about 2%) was under correctional supervision at yearend 2021, compared to 1 in 34 (almost 3%) at yearend 2011 (table 4).
"• An estimated 1.4% (1,440 per 100,000) of adult U.S. residents were under community supervision at yearend 2021.
"• In 2021, the incarceration rate for adult U.S. residents (680 per 100,000) increased from the previous year for the first time since 2006. (See appendix table 1.)"

"An estimated 3,745,000 adults were under community supervision at yearend 2021, a 3.5% decline from the 3,881,600 who were supervised in the community on January 1, 2021 (figure 1).¹ This decline is attributed to both a reduction in the number of persons on probation, who made up 79% of the community supervision population, and the number on parole. During 2021, the number of persons on probation decreased from 3,032,400 to 2,963,000 (down 2.3%). The number of persons on parole fell from 864,200 to 803,200 (down 7.1%) during 2021, the largest annual change in the population in almost 30 years (not shown)."

Of the 2,963,000 adults on probation in the US at the end of 2021, 16% (approximately 474,080 people) had a drug charge as their most serious offense. The most serious offense was unknown for 38% of the total (approximately 1,125,940 people).

Of the 803,200 people on parole in the US at the end of 2021, 22% (approximately 176,704 people) had a drug charge as their most serious offense. The most serious offense was unknown for another 22% of the total.

"From yearend 2011 to yearend 2021, the total adult community supervision population fell 22%, from 4,818,300 to 3,745,000 (table 1). Most of this decrease was due to a decline of 25% (1 million) in the number of adults on probation. The community supervision population has declined each year since 2007 and, at yearend 2021, was at its lowest level since 1994.²

"The probation population declined for the fourteenth consecutive year in 2021, falling below 3 million for the first time since 1994. Between 2011 and 2019, the U.S. parole population remained relatively stable, then decreased 8.6% from yearend 2019 to yearend 2021.

"The probation population had an annual decrease of 2.3% in 2021, about a quarter of the 8.3% annual decline observed during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 (figure 2). In 2021, the parole population had its largest recorded annual decrease (down 7.1%) since 1980, when BJS started collecting probation and parole information on a yearly basis (figure 3)."

"ƒ The U.S. prison population was 1,230,100 at yearend 2022, a 2% increase from yearend 2021 (1,205,100).

"ƒ The number of females in state or federal prison increased almost 5% from yearend 2021 (83,700) to yearend 2022 (87,800).

"ƒ Nine states and the BOP increased their total prison populations by over 1,000 persons from yearend 2021 to yearend 2022.

"ƒ State correctional authorities had jurisdiction over 1,039,500 persons sentenced to at least 1 year in prison in 2022, while the BOP had legal authority over 146,100 persons with similar sentences.

"ƒ At yearend 2022, an estimated 32% of sentenced state and federal prisoners were black; 31% were white; 23% were Hispanic; 2% were American Indian or Alaska Native; and 1% were Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander.

"ƒ The imprisonment rate at yearend 2022 (355 sentenced prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents of all ages) was down 26% from yearend 2012 (480 per 100,000) but up 1% from yearend 2021 (350 per 100,000).

"ƒ In 2022, states and the BOP admitted 469,200 persons to prison, which was 20,800 more than they released that year (448,400) and 48,200 more than they admitted the year before (421,000)."

"• At yearend 2021, about 5,444,900 persons were under the supervision of a correctional authority in the United States, including 3,745,000 persons under community supervision and 1,775,300 incarcerated in state or federal prisons or local jails (table 1).

"• The total correctional population in 2021 showed a 1% decline from yearend 2020 (5,506,000) and a 22% decline from 2011 (6,994,500).

"• The total correctional population declined by 0.6% to 2% each year from 2011 to 2019, but it decreased 13% from 2019 to 2020 due to responses to the COVID-19 pandemic."

Table: Total Number of Adults Supervised by the US Correctional System, 2000, 2005, and 2010-2018

"On December 31, 2018, an estimated 2,123,100 persons were either under the jurisdiction of state or federal prisons or in the custody of local jails, which was 30,500 fewer persons than in 2017. By year-end 2018, the number of persons incarcerated in state or federal prisons or local jails fell to the lowest level since 2003, when 2,086,500 persons were incarcerated (not shown in tables).

"During 2018, the prison population decreased 1.6%, while the jail population remained relatively stable. The prison population at year-end 2018 (1,465,200) was at its lowest level since 2002 (1,440,100; not shown in tables). The total incarcerated population was 1.4% lower in 2018 than in 2017."

Table: Number of people in US State or Federal Prisons and Local Jails, by Type of Facility, 2000 and 2007-2018

City and county jails in the US held 663,100 people at on June 28, 2022. ("Rates are based on the number of inmates held on the last weekday in June.") Note: the jail population figure is only a one-day snapshot. There were a total of 7,300,000 admissions to jails in the US throughout the 12-month period ending June 30, 2022.

Demographics of the jail population on that date are as follows:
570,200 male, 92,900 female.
Juveniles: 1,700 held as adults, 200 held as juveniles.
Racial demographics were as follows:
White: 317,100
Black: 234,900
Hispanic: 93,700
American Indian/Alaska native: 9,500
Asian/native Hawaiian/other Pacific islander: 4,800
Two or more races: 2,000

Only 197,000 people confined to a local jail had been convicted of any crimes and had either already been sentenced or were awaiting sentencing. The remaining 466,100 people confined to local jails were unconvicted and awaiting court action on a current charge or held in jai for other reasons.

"ƒ Local jails held 92,900 females at midyear 2022, accounting for 14% of the jail inmate population. From 2021 to 2022, the number of females in jail increased 9%, while the number of males increased 3% (table 2).

"ƒ From 2012 to 2022, the number of persons age 17 or younger in jail decreased from 5,400 to 1,900, averaging a 10% decline per year (table 2).

"ƒ The total number of adults in jail increased 4%, from 634,400 in 2021 to 661,100 in 2022. The growth was concentrated among older adults, with approximately an 8% increase for those ages 35–64 and an 18% increase for those age 65 or older; the numbers of persons ages 18–24 and 25–34 did not change from 2021 to 2022 (table 2).

"ƒ The number of persons in jail who were black increased 6% (up 13,700 inmates) from 2021 to 2022, accounting for more than 50% of the jail population increase (up 26,800 inmates) during this period. In comparison, whites accounted for 26% of the increase in inmate population (table 2).

"ƒ The racial and ethnic composition of the jail population remained stable from 2021 to 2022. At midyear 2022, about 48% of all persons held in jail were white, 35% were black, and 14% were Hispanic. American Indian or Alaska Native persons, Asian persons, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander persons, and persons of two or more races together accounted for 3% of the total jail population (table 3)."

"The number of prisoners sentenced to more than 1 year in federal or state prison, representing 96% of the overall prison population, decreased by 1.7% in 2012 (table 5). The number of sentenced federal prisoners declined slightly (down 0.2%) in 2012, while the total federal population increased. The increase was driven primarily by population increases among inmates without sentences or with sentences of 1 year or less (1,929, not shown in table). The number of sentenced state prisoners also declined, with 25,987 (down 1.9%) fewer sentenced inmates in 2012 than in 2011. California accounted for 57% of this decline. Overall, the number of sentenced male inmates in state or federal prison declined by 1.7% (down 24,109) from 2011 to 2012, and the number of sentenced female inmates decreased by 2.3% (down 2,354) during the same period.

"Among the reporting jurisdictions, 25 out of the 47 states and the federal prison system showed declines in their sentenced prison population (table 6). Five states had decreases of more than 10% in their sentenced female prison population, while five others showed increases among females of more than 10% from 2011 to 2012. However, the majority of these states had a small overall prison population."

"ƒ At midyear 2022, there were 199 jail inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents, compared to 237 inmates per 100,000 at midyear 2012 (table 4).

"ƒ The jail incarceration rate for males (345 per 100,000 male U.S. residents) was more than 6 times the rate for females (55 per 100,000 female U.S. residents) at midyear 2022 (table 4).

"ƒ In 2022, U.S. residents ages 25–34 had the highest jail incarceration rate (496 per 100,000), which was about 26 times the rate for U.S. residents age 65 or older (19 per 100,000) (table 4).

"ƒ The jail incarceration rate for black U.S. residents (558 per 100,000) was 3.4 times the rate for white U.S. residents (162 per 100,000) at midyear 2022 (table 4).

"ƒ From midyear 2012 to midyear 2022, the jail incarceration rate for Hispanic persons decreased at an average annual rate of 3.7%. The rate decreased, on average, 2.4% a year for black persons and 0.7% a year for white persons (table 4)."

"ƒ At midyear 2022, 30% (197,000) of the jail population was convicted, either serving a sentence or awaiting sentencing on a conviction, while 70% (466,100) was unconvicted, awaiting court action on a current charge or held in jail for other reasons (tables 5 and 6).

"ƒ From midyear 2012 to midyear 2022, the number of convicted persons in jail decreased 33%, while the number of unconvicted persons increased 3% (table 5).

"ƒ An estimated 76% (505,700) of the jail population was held for a felony offense at midyear 2022, up from 69% at midyear 2017 (tables 5 and 6).

"ƒ A total of 122,800 persons were held in jail for a misdemeanor at midyear 2022, down from 194,700 at midyear 2017 (table 5).

"ƒ The number of persons in jail for probation violations fell from 97,500 at midyear 2019 to 91,600 at midyear 2022. During this period, the number held for violating the conditions of their parole rose from 28,900 to 32,200 (table 7)."

"ƒ One in every 48 adult U.S. residents (about 2%) was under correctional supervision at yearend 2021, compared to 1 in 34 (almost 3%) at yearend 2011 (table 4).

"ƒ An estimated 1.4% (1,440 per 100,000) of adult U.S. residents were under community supervision at yearend 2021.

"ƒ In 2021, the incarceration rate for adult U.S. residents (680 per 100,000) increased from the previous year for the first time since 2006. (See appendix table 1.)"

Table: Estimated rate of persons supervised by US adult correctional systems, by correctional status, 2000 and 2005–2018

"• This report shows that more than 740,000 women and girls are held in penal institutions throughout the world, either as pre-trial detainees/remand prisoners or having been convicted and sentenced. Figures for five countries are not available and those for China are incomplete. The actual total is therefore higher still.

"• More than 200,000 female prisoners are in the United States of America (about 211,375). The countries with the next highest totals are China (145,000 plus an unknown number of women and girls in pre-trial detention and ‘administrative detention’), Brazil (42,694), Russia (39,120), Thailand (32,952), India (22,918), Philippines (16,439), Vietnam (15,152), Indonesia (13,709), Mexico (12,782), Turkey (12,242) and Myanmar (9,807)."

"• The countries with the highest female prison population rate – that is, the number of female prisoners per 100,000 of the national population – are the USA (64), Thailand (47), El Salvador (42), Turkmenistan (38), Brunei Darussalam (36), MacauChina (32), Belarus (30), Uruguay (29), Rwanda (28) and Russia (27).*

"• There are also considerable variations between continents in the female prison population rate. Africa has the lowest rate, at 3 per 100,000 of the national population. In Asia, the rate is 7 (9 excluding China and India); in Europe, 10 (7 excluding Russia); in Oceania 10; and in the Americas, 30 (14 excluding the USA.)."

"• At year-end 2019, an estimated 47% of sentenced prisoners in the U.S. were ages 25 to 39 (table 9).

"• While almost 22% of all sentenced male prisoners were age 50 or older at year-end 2019, the percentage differed across race or ethnicity, with 28% of white, 20% of black, and 16% of Hispanic sentenced male prisoners in this age group.

"• At year-end 2019, 3.2% of male prisoners and 1.6% of female prisoners sentenced to more than one year in state or federal prison were age 65 or older.

"• On December 31, 2019, an estimated 1% of U.S. residents ages 35 to 39 (1,000 per 100,000 residents) were in state or federal prison on a sentence (table 10).

"• The imprisonment rate of males in 2019 (789 prisoners per 100,000 male U.S. residents) was 13 times the imprisonment rate of females (61 per 100,000 female U.S. residents).

"• Together, state and federal correctional authorities held more than 1% of black male U.S. residents ages 20 to 64 at year-end 2019, and more than 1% of Hispanic male U.S. residents ages 20 to 54.

"• While the imprisonment rate of black males (2,203 per 100,000 black male U.S. residents) was 5.7 times the rate of white males (385 per 100,000 white male U.S. residents), the imprisonment rate of black females (83 per 100,000 black female U.S. residents) was 1.7 times the rate of white females (48 per 100,000 white female U.S. residents).

"• The imprisonment rate of Hispanic females (63 per 100,000 Hispanic female U.S. residents) was 1.3 times the rate of white females in 2019, and was higher than all age groups except white females ages 45 to 49.

"• Black males ages 18 to 19 were 12 times as likely to be imprisoned as white males of the same ages, the highest black-to-white racial disparity of any age group in 2019."

"Taxpayers spent about $68.7 billion in 2008 to feed, clothe, and provide medical care to prisoners in county jails, state and federal prisons and facilities housing legal and illegal aliens facing possible deportation.⁴⁶ From 1982 to 2002, state and federal spending on corrections, not adjusted for inflation, rose by 423%, from $40 to $209 per U.S. resident.⁴⁷ Corrections spending, as a share of state budgets, rose faster than health care, education, and natural resources spending from 1986 to 2001.⁴⁸ The average cost of housing a prisoner for a year was about $24,000 in 2005, though rates vary from state to state.⁴⁹"

"The calculations in Table 4 assume that for each non-violent offender shifted from prison or jail (at an average cost of about $25,500 to $26,000 per year) to probation or parole (at average cost of $1,300 to $2,800 per year), government corrections systems would save $23,000 to $25,000 per inmate per year. Given the mix of prisoners by offense type (see Table 3), a 50 percent reduction in non-violent-offender inmates would save the federal government about $2.1 billion per year, state governments about $7.6 billion per year, and local governments about $7.2 billion per year, even after factoring in additional probation and parole costs. Across all three levels of government, these savings total $16.9 billion or about 22.8 percent of the total national spending on corrections in 2008."

"• Nearly half of state prisoners (47%) and more than half of federal prisoners (57%) reported having at least one minor child.

"• In state prison, about 58% of females were parents with minor children, compared to 46% of males.

"• Nearly 3 in 5 females (58%) and males (57%) in federal prison were parents with minor children.

"• Nearly 1.5 million persons age 17 or younger had a parent who was in state or federal prison in 2016.

"• Parents in state or federal prison had an average of two minor children each.

"• An estimated 19% of minor children with a parent in state prison and 13% with a parent in federal prison were age 4 or younger."

"• Parents in state prison had 1,252,100 minor children, and parents in federal prison had 221,600 minor children (table 2).

"• In state prison, fathers reported 1,133,800 minor children and mothers reported 118,300.

"• In federal prison, fathers reported 208,200 minor children and mothers reported 13,400.

"• Among state prisoners, an estimated 3 in 5 white (60%) and Hispanic (62%) females and about 1 in 2 black (50%) females were mothers with minor children (table 3).

"• In state prison, 48% of black males, 51% of Hispanic males, and 40% of white males reported having a minor child.

"• Nearly 7 in 10 Hispanic (67%) females in federal prison were mothers with minor children, compared to about 1 in 2 white (49%) and black (54%) females.

"• Among federal prisoners, about 3 in 5 black (64%) and Hispanic (64%) males and 3 in 10 white (34%) males were fathers with minor children.

"• The average age of a minor child among parents in state prison was 9 years old (table 4).

"• Among minor children of parents in state prison, 1% were younger than age 1, about 18% were ages 1 to 4, and 48% were age 10 or older.

"• The average age of a minor child among parents in federal prison was 10 years old.

"• An estimated 13% of minor children of federal prisoners were age 4 or younger, and 20% were ages 15 to 17."

"• At year-end 2016, a total of 14 states and the BOP met or exceeded the maximum measure of their prison facilities’ capacity, and 27 states and the BOP had a number of prisoners in their custody that met or exceeded their minimum number of beds (table 16).

"• Jurisdictions with more prisoners in custody than the maximum number of beds for which their facilities were designed, rated, or operationally intended included Illinois (138%), Nebraska (126%), Iowa (115%), the BOP (114%), Delaware (114%), Colorado (109%), and Virginia (108%)."

"• In both state and federal prisons, female prisoners were more likely than male prisoners to report a cognitive, ambulatory, or independent-living disability (tables 2 and 3).

"• Forty-four percent of white state prisoners reported a disability, compared to 37% of Hispanic and 33% of black state prisoners.

"• Black and Hispanic state prisoners were less likely than white state prisoners to report a hearing, cognitive, ambulatory, or independent-living disability.

"• Black federal prisoners were less likely than white federal prisoners to report a hearing, vision, cognitive, ambulatory, or independent-living disability, and equally likely to report a self-care disability.

"• More than half of state (57%) and federal (51%) prisoners ages 55 to 64 reported having a disability, and 7 in 10 state (70%) and federal (68%) prisoners age 65 or older reported a disability.

"• State and federal prisoners (38%) were about two and a half times more likely to report a disability than adults in the U.S. general population (15%) (table 4).

"• Twenty-five percent of state prisoners and 14% of federal prisoners reported having ever attended special education classes (table 5).

"• State prisoners (15%) were nearly twice as likely as federal prisoners (8%) to report that a doctor, psychologist, or teacher had ever told them that they had a learning disability, such as dyslexia or dyscalculia."

"The increase in U.S. incarceration rates means that a sizable number of children experience parental incarceration. Between 5 million and 8 million children have had a resident parent (most often a father) incarcerated in jail, state prison, or federal prison, and this number excludes children with parents under other forms of correctional supervision such as probation or parole (Murphey & Cooper, 2015). A growing research literature conceptualizes parental incarceration as an adverse childhood experience (ACE) with considerable deleterious consequences for children's wellbeing (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2015). Children exposed to parental incarceration, compared to their counterparts not exposed to parental incarceration, experience disadvantages across behavioral, educational, and health outcomes (for reviews, see Foster & Hagan, 2015; Johnson & Easterling, 2012; Murray, Farrington, & Sekol, 2012).

"Importantly, given social inequalities in exposure to criminal justice contact, many children of incarcerated parents are a demographically and socioeconomically disadvantaged group even prior to the experience of parental incarceration. For example, parental incarceration is more common among children of disadvantaged race/ethnic groups; about one-fourth (24%) of Black children and one-tenth (11%) of Hispanic children experience parental incarceration by age 17, compared to 4% of White children (Sykes & Pettit, 2014). Parental incarceration is also concentrated among children living in households with incomes below the poverty line, children of unmarried parents, and children residing in disadvantaged neighborhoods (Foster & Hagan, 2015; Wakefield & Wildeman, 2013)."

"The most commonly reported type of disability among both state and federal prisoners was cognitive disability (23%), followed by ambulatory (12%) and vision (11%) disabilities.² Among all prisoners, 24% reported that a doctor, psychologist, or teacher had told them at some point in their life that they had an attention deficit disorder. Nearly a quarter of all prisoners reported participating in special education classes (24%)."

"At yearend 2021, an estimated 11,810 persons in the custody of state and federal correctional authorities were known to be living with HIV, a decrease of about 2% from yearend 2020 (12,060) (figure 1).1 This decrease followed the largest 1-year decline (down 15% between 2019 and 2020, largely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic) since data collection began in 1991. The population of state and federal prisoners living with HIV has fallen for 23 straight years from its peak of 25,980 in 1998, largely due to a roughly 4% average annual decrease in state prisoners with HIV."

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, US jails in 2022 held 1,900 juveniles, of whom 1,600 were being held as adults.
In 2021, US jails held 2,000 juveniles, of whom 1,700 were being held as adults.
In 2012, US jails held 5,400 juveniles, of whom 4,600 were being held as adults.

"Note: Data are based on the inmate population confined on the last weekday in June."

"• This report shows that more than 10.77 million people are held in penal institutions throughout the world, either as pre-trial detainees/remand prisoners or having been convicted and sentenced. Figures for Eritrea, Somalia and the Democratic People’s Republic of (North) Korea are not available and those for China are incomplete (see footnote to Table 3 concerning China). Also missing are prisoners held under authorities not recognised internationally and those pre-trial prisoners who are held in police facilities and not included in published national prison population totals. The full total is therefore higher than 10.77 million and may well be in excess of 11.5 million.

"• There are more than 2 million prisoners in the United States of America, 1.69 million in China (plus unknown numbers in pre-trial detention and other forms of detention), 811,000 in Brazil, 478,000 in India, 471,000 in the Russian Federation, 309,000 in Thailand, 291,000 in Turkey, 266,000 in Indonesia, 220,000 in Mexico, 189,000 in Iran, and 165,000 in the Philippines."

"Children exposed to parental incarceration were more likely to have other ACEs than children not exposed to parental incarceration. For example, only 14.3% of children exposed to parental incarceration had no other ACEs, compared to 72.2% of children not exposed to parental incarceration. Further, among children exposed to parental incarceration, about 28.9% experienced one other ACE (compared to 19.4% of children not exposed to parental incarceration), 21.2% experienced two other ACEs (compared to 5.5%), 16.4% experienced three other ACEs (compared to 1.8%), and 19.3% experienced four or more other ACEs (compared to 1.2%).

"Table 2 presents descriptive statistics of ACEs for two groups of children: those who experienced parental incarceration and those who did not experience parental incarceration. Children exposed to parental incarceration had more ACEs than those not exposed to parental incarceration (2.06 compared to 0.41, p < 0.001). Children exposed to parental incarceration were also more likely to report any ACE (85.7% compared to 27.8%, p < 0.001). Children exposed to parental incarceration were nine times more likely to experience household member abuse (31.9% compared to 3.4%, p < 0.001) and violence exposure (20.3% compared to 2.3%, p < 0.001). They were eight times more likely to experience household member substance problems (45.5% compared to 5.8%, p < 0.001); five times more likely to experience parental death (11.8% compared to 2.5%, p < 0.001); and four times more likely to experience household member mental illness (24.1% compared to 6.4%, p < 0.001) and parental divorce or separation (72.7% compared to 20.5%, p < 0.001)."

"• The countries with the highest prison population rate – that is, the number of prisoners per 100,000 of the national population – are the United States (629 per 100,000), followed by Rwanda (580), Turkmenistan (576), El Salvador (564), Cuba (510), Palau (478), British Virgin Islands (447), Panama (436), St Kitts & Nevis (423), Grenada (413), Thailand (412), U.S. Virgin Islands (394), Bahamas (392), Uruguay (383) and Brazil (381).

"• By contrast, more than half of all countries and territories (53%) have rates below 150 per 100,000.

"• The world prison population rate, based on United Nations estimates of national population levels, is 140 per 100,000."

(Editor's Note: In the World Prison Population report, "prisoners" includes people incarcerated in both prisons and jails in the US.)

"Among people in state and federal prisons in 2016, an estimated 40.4 percent reported a psychiatric disability, and 56.0 percent reported a nonpsychiatric disability (exhibit 1). Overall, an estimated 66 percent of incarcerated people were disabled. Exhibit 1 presents the distribution of specific types of disability and shows that bipolar, depressive, and anxiety disorders were especially common among psychiatric disabilities, as were cognitive disability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and having been enrolled in “special education” among nonpsychiatric disabilities."

"For the first time in nearly 40 years, the number of state prisoners in the United States has declined. Survey data compiled by the Public Safety Performance Project of the Pew Center on the States, in partnership with the Association of State Correctional Administrators, indicate that as of January 1, 2010, there were 1,404,053 persons under the jurisdiction of state prison authorities, 4,777 (0.3 percent) fewer than there were on December 31, 2008.¹ This marks the first year-to-year drop in the state prison population since 1972.
"In this period, however, the nation’s total prison population increased by 2,061 people because of a jump in the number of inmates under the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The federal count rose by 6,838 prisoners, or 3.4 percent in 2009, to an all-time high of 208,118.
"Prior to 1972, the number of prisoners had grown at a steady rate that closely tracked growth rates in the general population. Between 1925 (the first year national prison statistics were officially collected) and 1972, the number of state prisoners increased from 85,239 to 174,379.²
"Starting in 1973, however, the prison population and imprisonment rates began to rise precipitously. This change was fueled by stiffer sentencing and release laws and decisions by courts and parole boards, which sent more offenders to prison and kept them there for longer terms.³ In the nearly five decades between 1925 and 1972, the prison population increased by 105 percent; in the four decades since, the number of prisoners grew by 705 percent.⁴ Adding local jail inmates to state and federal prisoners, the Public Safety Performance Project calculated in 2008 that the overall incarcerated population had reached an all-time high, with 1 in 100 adults in the United States living behind bars.⁵"

"• Prison population rates vary considerably between different regions of the world, and between different parts of the same continent. For example:

"• in Africa, the median rate for western African countries is 44.5, whereas for southern African countries it is 248;

"• in the Americas, the median rate for north American countries is 212.5, whereas for central American countries it is 278;

"• in Asia, the median rate for countries in southern Asia is 85, whereas for the countries of south-eastern Asia it is 171;

"• in Europe, the median rate for western European countries is 73, whereas for the countries spanning Europe and Asia (e.g. the Russian Federation and Turkey) it is 253; and

"• in Oceania the median rate is 166.5."

"The percentage of State prison inmates who were HIV positive was —

"1.3% of those who never used drugs
"1.7% of those who had ever used drugs
"1.9% of those who used drugs in the month before their current offense
"2.8% of those who had used a needle to inject drugs
"5.1% of those who had shared a needle.

"Like State inmates, Federal inmates who used a needle and shared a needle had higher rates of HIV infection than those inmates who reported ever using drugs or using drugs in the month before their current offense."

"The prevalence of any PI [Parental Incarceration] was 12.5% with the 95% confidence interval (CI) of 11.3% to 13.8%. The distribution of incarceration status by category was: neither parent (87.5%, 95% CI: 86.2%–88.7%), father only (9.9%, 95% CI: 8.9%–10.9%), mother only (1.7%, 95% CI: 1.4%–2.0%), and both parents (0.9%, 95% CI: 0.7%–1.2%). A significant association was found between race and PI. Black and Hispanic individuals had the highest prevalence of PI, 20.6% and 14.8%, compared with 11.9% for white individuals and 11.6% for those classified as other. Pairwise comparison indicated the black and white prevalence rates were significantly different."

^{Note: Regarding study sample size: "The current study used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a 4-wave longitudinal study following a nationally representative probability sample of adolescents in grades 7 through 12 in the 1994–1995 school year.46 The first 3 waves of Add Health data were collected from April to December 1995, from April to August 1996, and from August 2001 to April 2002. The fourth wave of data was collected in 2007 and 2008. The full sample for Wave 4 included 15 701 or 80.3% of the eligible participants from Wave 1. The response rates for Waves 1, 2, 3, and 4 were 79.0%, 88.6%, 77.4%, and 80.3%, respectively. The mean ages of participants during the 4 waves of data collection were 15.7 years, 16.2 years, 22.0 years, and 28.8 years, respectively.}

"The current study was based on 14,800 participants who were interviewed during Wave 1 and Wave 4 and have a sampling weight. Of the 15,701 participants who participated in both Wave 1 and Wave 4 interviews, 14,800 participants have a sampling weight at Wave 4 interview that could be used to compute population estimates. For data analysis, data describing participants’ sociodemographic characteristics from Wave 1 of the Add Health study were combined with Wave 4 self-reported health outcomes and PI history."

"At yearend 2006, 23 States and the Federal system operated at more than 100% of their highest capacity. Seventeen States operated at between 90% and 99% of their highest capacity. The Federal prison system was operating at 37% above its rated capacity at yearend 2006.
"By comparison, in 1995 States operated at 114% of their highest capacity and 125% of their lowest reported capacity. The Federal system was operating at 26% over reported capacity in 1995."

"Title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations, part 505, allows for assessment of a fee to cover the average cost of incarceration for Federal inmates. We calculate the cost of incarceration fee (COIF) by dividing the number representing the Bureau of Prisons (Bureau) facilities’ monetary obligation (excluding activation costs) by the number of inmate-days incurred for the fiscal year, and then by multiplying the quotient by the number of days in the fiscal year. Based on FY 2018 data, FY 2018 COIF was $37,449.00 ($102.60 per day) for Federal inmates in Bureau facilities and $34,492.50 ($94.50 per day) for Federal inmates in Community Corrections Centers."

"In 2018, juvenile justice administrators reported 2,467 allegations of sexual victimization in state juvenile systems and locally or privately operated juvenile facilities (figure 1). Of those allegations, 321 were substantiated based on a follow-up investigation. Sexual victimizations include youth-on-youth nonconsensual sexual acts and abusive sexual contact, and staff sexual misconduct and sexual harassment.1 The number of sexual victimization allegations rose 89% from 2013 to 2018, while the number of substantiated incidents grew 44%. The overall rate of reported allegations increased from 21.7 per 1,000 youth in juvenile facilities in 2013 to 54.1 per 1,000 in 2018. Youth made a total of 12,060 allegations from 2013 to 2018, more than half (52%) of which were allegedly perpetrated by staff. About 8% of these staff-on-youth allegations were substantiated, compared to 23% of youth-on-youth allegations."

In 2015, federal prisons held a total of 185,917 sentenced adult prisoners. Of those, 13,700 had a violent offense as the most serious charge for which they had been sentenced, 11,200 had a property offense as the most serious charge for which they had been sentenced, 92,000 had a drug offense as the most serious charge for which they had been sentenced, and 67,500 had a public order offense as the most serious charge for which they had been sentenced. Additionally, there were 1,400 for whom the charges were unknown or unspecified.

Violent Offense Categories: Homicide, Robbery, Other Violent
Property Offense Categories: Burglary, Fraud, Other Property
Public Order Offense Categories: Immigration, Weapons, Other Public Order

Click here for the complete data table.

"In 2018, correctional administrators reported 27,826 allegations of sexual victimization in prisons, jails, and other adult correctional facilities (figure 1). Of those allegations, 1,673 were substantiated after investigation. The number of allegations rose 180% from 2011 to 2015, which was partly attributable to correctional authorities’ response to the 2012 release of the National Standards to Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Prison Rape. From 2015 to 2018, the number of allegations increased more slowly (14%). During 2016-18, the majority of allegations involved staff sexual victimizations of inmates (56%), but most substantiated incidents involved inmate sexual victimizations of other inmates (55%)."

"Allegations of sexual victimization rose sharply after the national standards’ 2012 release, then stabilized from 2016 to 2018, changing less than 7% annually during this 3-year period.³ About 6% of allegations during this period were substantiated, and 51% were unsubstantiated. From 2010 to 2018, most allegations of sexual victimization were found to be unsubstantiated after investigation (figure 2). The exception was in 2014, when most allegations were determined to be unfounded. The number of unfounded allegations reached a high of 11,169 in 2016, decreased to 10,084 in 2017, then increased to 10,869 in 2018.

"In 2018, 18,884 allegations of sexual victimization were reported by prisons (68%) and 8,651 were reported by jails (31%) (table 1). By comparison, in 2015 about 76% of sexual victimization allegations were reported by prisons and 24% were reported by jails. Allegations reported by state prison systems declined 4% from 2016 to 2018, from a high of 17,080 to 16,448. In jails, allegations increased each year from 2015 to 2018, going from 5,809 to 8,651 allegations.

"The overall rate of allegations in prisons increased 8%, from 12.5 per 1,000 inmates in 2015 to 13.5 per 1,000 in 2018 (table 2). The rate reported by jails rose 48% during the same period. Military facilities have had the highest rate since 2013, which peaked at 32.7 allegations per 1,000 inmates in 2018. State prisons had the second-highest rate in 2018 at 14.9 per 1,000.

"The number of allegations of all types of sexual victimization decreased from 2016 to 2017, after consistently rising after the implementation of the 2012 national standards (figure 3). Allegations of inmate-on-inmate nonconsensual sexual acts and abusive sexual contact as well as allegations of staff sexual misconduct then rose again from 2017 to 2018, while allegations of staff sexual harassment continued to decline from 6,943 in 2016 to 6,449 in 2018."

"Allegations of sexual victimization in all types of juvenile facilities increased by 995 (76%) between 2013 and 2016 (table 1). During that period, allegations increased by 477 (66%) in state juvenile systems and by 518 (88%) in locally and privately operated facilities. These increases can be partly attributed to juvenile justice authorities’ response to the 2012 release of the National Standards to Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Prison Rape.⁴ From 2016 to 2018, the number of allegations generally remained stable across juvenile facilities, though they increased by 177 (15%) in state juvenile systems."

"The overall rate of allegations in juvenile facilities increased from 2013 to 2018. From 2013 to 2016, state juvenile systems (up 117%) and local and private facilities (up 115%) saw their rates more than double. From 2016 to 2018, there was a further 32% increase in the rate in state systems (from 81.3 to 107 allegations per 1,000), while the rate in local and private facilities remained stable (30.7 per 1,000 youth in 2016 and 33.4 per 1,000 in 2018). From 2013 to 2018, state juvenile systems accounted for 52% to 62% of all reported allegations but about 30% of all youth held by juvenile justice authorities (not shown in tables). As a result, the rate of allegations has been 2.6 to 4.2 times as high in state systems as in local and private juvenile facilities.⁵"

"• Rates of inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization among prison inmates were higher among females (6.9%) than males (1.7%), higher among whites (2.9%) or inmates of two or more races (4.0%) than among blacks (1.3%), higher among inmates with a college degree (2.7%) than among inmates who had not completed high school (1.9%), and lower among currently married inmates (1.4%) than among inmates who never married (2.1%) (table 7).

"• Similar patterns of inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization were reported by jail inmates. Female jail inmates (3.6%), whites (2.0%), and inmates with a college degree (3.0%) reported higher rates of victimization than males (1.4%), blacks (1.1%), and inmates who had not completed high school (1.4%).

"• Rates of inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization were unrelated to age among state and federal prisoners, except for slightly lower rates among inmates age 55 or older.

"• Rates were lower among jail inmates in the oldest age categories (ages 35 to 44, 45 to 54, and 55 or older) than among jail inmates ages 20 to 24."

"Data on deaths are no longer presented in this report. BJS ceased collection of detailed mortality data in state and local correctional facilities after the 2019 data year."

"An estimated 809,800 prisoners of the 1,518,535 held in the nation's prisons at midyear 2007 were parents of minor children, or children under age 18. Parents held in the nation's prisons -- 52% of state inmates and 63% of federal inmates -- reported having an estimated 1,706,600 minor children, accounting for 2.3% of the U.S. resident population under age 18."

"The corrections sector is a large and growing part of the labor force. According to the Census Bureau, more than 770,000 people worked in the U.S. correctional industry in 2008.⁶⁰ The U.S. Department of Labor, in its 2010-11 Occupational Outlook Handbook, estimates there were about 620,000 guards, probation officers, prison supervisors and court bailiffs in 2008.⁶¹"

"ƒ At yearend 2021, an estimated 11,810 persons with HIV were in the custody of state and federal correctional authorities, down from 12,060 in 2020 (table 1).

"ƒ From yearend 2020 to yearend 2021, the number of males in state and federal prison living with HIV declined from 11,390 to 11,190 (down 2%) and the number of females declined from 670 to 620 (down 7%).

"ƒ From 2017 to 2021, the number of males in state and federal prison who had HIV declined an average of 6% per year, while the number of females with HIV declined an average of 10% per year.

"ƒ At yearend 2021, about 1.1% of persons—1.2% of males and 0.9% of females—in state and federal prison were living with HIV.

"ƒ The number of persons in federal prison living with HIV increased 6%, from 1,144 at yearend 2020 to 1,216 at yearend 2021, while the number in state prison declined 3%, from 10,920 to 10,600. (See appendix table 1.)"

"Paternal incarceration, however, was found associated with a greater number of health outcomes than maternal incarceration. Also, paternal incarceration was found to be associated with both physical and mental health problems, whereas maternal incarceration was found associated only with poor mental health.
"For paternal incarceration, with the exception of HIV/AIDS, larger associations were found for mental health as compared with physical health outcomes. Caution should be taken in understanding the significance of the finding related to HIV/AIDS, given its low overall sample prevalence and wide CI. If this is a true association, it may be related to paternal HIV/AIDS status and other risk factors related to father absence. Given the high correlation between HIV/AIDS and incarceration, increased odds of HIV/AIDS in offspring could come from perinatal transmission. However, social factors may also explain this relationship."

"As shown in Table 2, bivariate analyses indicate PI [Parental Incarceration] was significantly associated with 8 of the 16 health conditions (heart disease, asthma, migraines, depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], HIV/AIDS, and fair/poor health). With the exception of heart disease and HIV/AIDS, individuals who reported neither parent had an incarceration history had the lowest prevalence rates of these 8 health conditions. Individuals who reported father incarceration only had the highest prevalence rates of 3 of the 8 health conditions (heart disease, HIV/AIDS, and fair/poor health); whereas individuals who reported mother incarceration only were highest on 2 conditions (depression and anxiety) and individuals who reported incarceration of both parents were highest on 3 conditions (asthma, migraine, and PTSD)."

"With far less notice, the number of people on probation or parole has skyrocketed to more than 5 million, up from 1.6 million just 25 years ago. This means that 1 in 45 adults in the United States is now under criminal justice supervision in the community, and that combined with those in prison and jail, a stunning 1 in every 31 adults, or 3.2 percent, is under some form of correctional control. The rates are drastically elevated for men (1 in 18) and blacks (1 in 11) and are even higher in some high-crime inner-city neighborhoods."

"Since sentenced prisoners made up 96% of the prison population in 2011, it was expected that the changes in the sentenced prison population in 2011 mirrored those in the total prison population. The total number of sentenced prisoners declined by 1.0%, and the sentenced prison population in the federal system increased by 3.4%. The sentenced state prison population declined by 1.6%.
"Between 2010 and 2011, the imprisonment rate—the number of sentenced prisoners divided by the U.S. resident population times 100,000—declined from 500 to 492 per 100,000 U.S. residents (table 6). The imprisonment rate has declined consistently since 2007 when there were 506 persons imprisoned per 100,000 U.S. residents. The rate in 2011 was comparable to the rate observed in 2005 (492 per 100,000)."

"The U.S. incarcerates nearly 2.4 million people,¹³ including people held pretrial and those sentenced for an offense; if they were all in one state, it would be the 36th most populated, between New Mexico and Nevada.¹⁴ No other country in the world incarcerates as many people as the United States. China, a country of 1.3 billion people—about four times as many people as the U.S.¹⁵—is second, incarcerating 1.6 million people.¹⁶

"During 2007, the prison population increased more rapidly than the U.S. resident population. The imprisonment rate — the number of sentenced prisoners per 100,000 residents — increased from 501 prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents in 2006 to 506 prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents in 2007. From 2000 through 2007, the imprisonment rate increased from 475 per 100,000 U.S. residents to 506 per 100,000 U.S. residents. During these seven years, the number of sentenced prisoners increased by 15% while the general population increased by 6.4%."

"The reported use or threat of physical force to engage in sexual activity with staff was generally low among all prison and jail inmates (0.8%); however, at least 5% of the inmates in three state prisons and one high-rate jail facility reported they had been physically forced or threatened with force. (See appendix tables 3 and 7.) The Clements Unit (Texas) had the highest percentage of inmates reporting sexual victimization involving physical force or threat of force by staff (8.1%), followed by Denver Women’s Correctional Facility (Colorado) (7.3%), and Idaho Maximum Security Institution (6.0%). Wilson County Jail (Kansas) led all surveyed jails, with 5.6% of inmates reporting that staff used physical force or threat of force to have sex or sexual contact.
"While 0.8% of prison and jail inmates reported the use or threat of physical force, an estimated 1.4% of prison inmates and 1.2% of jail inmates reported being coerced by facility staff without any use or threat of force, including being pressured or made to feel they had to have sex or sexual contact. In 8 of the 24 facilities with high rates of staff sexual misconduct, at least 5% of the inmates reported such pressure by staff. Among state prisoners, the highest rates were reported by female inmates in the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility (Colorado) (8.8%) and by male inmates in the Clements Unit (Texas) (8.7%). Among jail inmates, the highest rates were reported by inmates in the Rose M. Singer Center (New York) (5.6%) and the Contra Costa County Martinez Detention Facility (California) (5.2%)."

"The United States has adopted a set of criminal justice policies that has produced a tidal wave of imprisonment in this country. Between 1970 and 2005, the number of men, women, and children locked up in this country has grown by an historically unprecedented 700%. As a result, the United States locks up almost a quarter of the prisoners in the entire world. In fact, if all our prisoners were confined in one city, that city would be the fourth largest in the country."

"State spending on corrections reflects the costs to build and operate prison system and may include spending on juvenile justice programs and alternatives to incarceration such as probation and parole. Total state spending on corrections in fiscal 2020 increased 4.1 percent over fiscal 2019, to $65.9 billion, with a median growth rate of 3.7 percent. State general funds comprised nearly 89 percent of corrections spending in fiscal 2020; no other major area of state government spending is so heavily reliant upon the state general fund. General fund spending for corrections increased 3.3 percent in estimated 2020. In fiscal 2019, total state spending for corrections totaled $63.3 billion, a 3.9 percent increase, with a median growth rate of 3.9 percent. General fund spending grew 3.5 percent in fiscal 2019."

(Federal Prison Overcrowding) "The number of inmates held in BOP [Bureau of Prisons] facilities grew from 125,560 in FY20005¹ to 180,725 as of September 2011. From FY2000–FY2010, prison crowding grew from 32% over rated capacity to 37% over rated capacity, despite the fact that the number of facilities operated by BOP increased from 97 to 116. The growing federal prison population has not only resulted in more crowded prisons, but it has also strained BOP’s ability to properly manage and care for federal inmates."

"Resources"
"The FY 2021 budget request for BOP totals $7,711 million, which is a 0.9 percent decrease from the FY 2020 Enacted."

"Organization:
"The BOP is led by a Director, who is a career public administrator appointed by the Attorney General. The BOP is managed from its Central Office located in Washington, DC. The Director, Deputy Director, Assistant Directors, and General Counsel provide administrative oversight to the BOP offices and facilities. There are 122 prisons operating across the country.

"Personnel:
"The BOP's direct positions for FY 2021 total 38,868 positions, including an increase of 129 positions over the FY 2020 Enacted of 38,739 direct positions."

"State spending on corrections reflects the costs to build and operate prison systems and may include spending on juvenile justice programs and alternatives to incarceration such as probation and parole. Total state spending on corrections in fiscal 2020 increased 4.1 percent over fiscal 2019, to $65.9 billion, with a median growth rate of 3.7 percent. State general funds comprised nearly 89 percent of corrections spending in fiscal 2020; no other major area of state government spending is so heavily reliant upon the state general fund. General fund spending for corrections increased 3.3 percent in estimated 2020. In fiscal 2019, total state spending for corrections totaled $63.3 billion, a 3.9 percent increase, with a media growth rate of 3.9 percent. General fund spending grew 3.5 percent in fiscal 2019."

"The increase in justice expenditures over nearly 20 years reflects the expansion of the Nation's justice system. For example, in 1982 the justice system employed approximately 1.27 million persons; in 2003 it reached over 2.3 million.
"Police protection
"One indicator of police workload, the FBI's arrest estimates for State and local police agencies, grew from 12 million in 1982 to an estimated 13.6 million in 2003. The number of employees in police protection increased from approximately 724,000 to over 1.1 million.
"Judicial and legal
"The judicial and legal workload, including civil and criminal cases, prosecutor functions, and public defender services, also expanded during this period. Cases of all kinds (criminal, civil, domestic, juvenile, and traffic) filed in the nearly 16,000 general and limited jurisdiction State courts went from about 86 million to 100 million in the 16-year period, 1987-2003. The total of judicial and legal employees grew about 101% to over 494,000 persons in 2003.
"Corrections
"The total number of State and Federal inmates grew from 403,000 in 1982 to over 1.4 million in 2003. The number of local jail inmates more than tripled from approximately 207,000 in 1982 to over 691,000 in 2003. Adults on probation increased from over 1.4 million to about 4.1 million persons. Overall, corrections employment more than doubled from nearly 300,000 to over 748,000 during this same period."

"Thirty-seven percent of parents held in state prison reported living with at least one of their children in the month before arrest, 44% reported just prior to incarceration, and 48% reported at either time (table 7). Mothers were more likely than fathers to report living with at least one child. More than half of mothers held in state prison reported living with at least one of their children in the month before arrest, compared to 36% of fathers. More than 6 in 10 mothers reported living with their children just prior to incarceration or at either time, compared to less than half of fathers.
"Parents held in federal prison were more likely than those held in state prison to report living with a child in the month before arrest, just prior to incarceration, or at either time (appendix table 7). Mothers in federal prison were more likely than fathers to report living with a child."

2019: States spent $63.3 billion on Corrections in 2019, $213.1 billion on Higher Education, and only $25.0 billion on Public Assistance.

2012: States spent $53.2 billion on Corrections in 2012, $171.8 billion on Higher Education, and only $24.4 billion on Public Assistance.

2008: States spent $52 billion on Corrections in 2008, $158.2 billion on Higher Education, and only $25.1 billion on Public Assistance.

2005: States spent $42.9 billion on Corrections in 2005, $131.2 billion on Higher Education, and only $24.7 billion on Public Assistance.

"Mothers in state prison (58%) were more likely than fathers (49%) to report having a family member who had also been incarcerated (table 11). Parents in state prison most commonly reported a brother (34%), followed by a father (19%). Among mothers in state prison, 13% reported a sister and 8% reported a spouse. Six percent of fathers reported having a sister who had also been incarcerated; 2%, a spouse.

"While growing up, 40% of parents in state prison reported living in a household that received public assistance, 14% reported living in a foster home, agency, or institution at some time during their youth, and 43% reported living with both parents most of the time (appendix table 11). Mothers (17%) held in state prison were more likely than fathers (14%) to report living in a foster home, agency, or institution at some time during their youth. Parents in federal prison reported lower percentages of growing up in a household that received public assistance (31%) or living in a foster home, agency, or institution (7%). These characteristics varied little by gender for parents held in federal prison.

"More than a third (34%) of parents in state prison reported that during their youth, their parents or guardians had abused alcohol or drugs. Mothers in state prison (43%) were more likely than fathers (33%) to have had this experience. Fewer parents (27%) in federal prison reported having a parent or a guardian who had abused alcohol or drugs."

"The trendline for state prisoner populations continues to slowly decline. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, states held 27,788 fewer prisoners at year-end 2019 than in 2018, a decline of 2.2 percent, and more than 143,700 less than in 2009, a decrease of 10.5 percent. Thirty-three states had a decrease in their sentenced prison population in 2019, while 13 states had increases. Even as the number of prisoners continues a gradual decrease, state spending on corrections has seen annual growth.

"While the number of prisoners is declining, states will not capture significant savings until the population is reduced enough to close a prison unit or facility, which decreases the number of staff needed. The primary cost drivers in corrections are personnel costs, care and support for inmates including health care, contract costs for community-based programs, and maintenance of a large physical plant. Related to these cost drivers, the mix of prisoners is also changing, with an increasing number of inmates aged 55 or older. In 2011, the percentage of sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of states and the federal government in this age group was 7.9 percent; by 2019, that number had risen to 13.1 percent. Having a larger percentage of older inmates often translates to increased health care costs as well as necessary facility changes to accommodate an aging population."

"State correctional spending patterns reflect the rise in the prison population that began in the early 1980’s and persisted until 2010.¹⁷ Expansion of the state prison population required increased spending for capital infrastructure, the state employee workforce, and the administrative needs of the judicial system. From fiscal 1986 to fiscal 2012, spending from state funds¹⁸ for corrections increased by 427 percent from $9.9 billion to $52.4 billion (without adjusting for inflation).¹⁹ By comparison, total spending from state funds increased by 315 percent over the same time period.

"For many states, the effect of disproportionate growth in correctional spending led to a larger share of general fund dollars going to corrections. Since the mid 1980’s, the share of general fund budgets going to corrections doubled in 15 states and increased by at least half in 31 states.²⁰ In the aggregate, corrections spending has gone from 4.7 percent of general fund spending in fiscal 1986 to 7.0 percent in fiscal 2012, an increase of 2.3 percentage points. This additional 2.3 percent of state general funds was equivalent to $15 billion in fiscal 2012.²¹

"Corrections expenditures, as a percent of spending from total state funds, (general funds, other state funds and bonds), have remained more stable, and the rate of increase has been lower compared to the growth in general fund spending. Corrections spending as a share of state funds has gone from 3.6 percent in fiscal 1986 to 4.6 percent in fiscal 2012, an increase of 1 percent.²² This figure has remained more stable due to the rise in earmarked funds or trust funds in other program areas besides corrections that designate revenues for specific purposes set by statute. For example, higher education derives much of its state funding from designated revenue streams outside the general fund. To some extent, this trend may have insulated other program areas from budgetary pressures related to increased general fund spending for corrections."

According to the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 2010, state corrections institutions spent $37.3 billion to imprison a total of 1,316,858 inmates. BJS estimates that the mean expenditures per capita was $28,323. There was a wide range in state spending: the bottom 25th percentile averaged only $21,417, the 50th percentile averaged $29,094, and the 75th percentile averaged $40,175.

"In general, states are targeting criminal justice reforms to address the cost drivers of correctional budgets in such a way that public safety is not put at risk. For example, 21 states have amended drug offense classification and penalties since 2010.²⁶ Justice reforms that seek incarceration alternatives for drug offenders have demonstrated cost savings and improved outcomes, especially for non-violent drug offenders. Texas appropriated $240 million in the 2008-2009 biennium for correctional programs focusing on treatment, rehabilitation and enhanced local supervision and discretion. The state’s reforms led to $443 million in estimated savings that were utilized for other areas of the corrections budget.²⁷ Justice reinvestment reforms are relying more on local government discretion as well, to enhance probation and parole oversight. Twenty states have enacted graduated sanctions for technical parole violations to help states reduce prison costs and the number of inmates.²⁸

"Despite the demonstrated successes of criminal justice reforms, cost savings have yet to produce an overall decline in corrections spending. However, the policy reforms are improving the way states spend money for corrections, and the outcomes show better results for individuals and citizens. Over time, the cost savings from smart, criminal justice polices may lead to correctional spending declines, an outcome that would benefit all of state government."

"State spending for corrections increased from $65 per resident in 1986 to $134 in 2001 (table 1). Per capita expenditures for State prison operations alone rose from $49 in 1986 to $104 in 2001.

"At an average annual increase of 6.2% for total State correctional spending and 6.4% specifically for prisons, increases in the cost of adult incarceration outpaced those of health care (5.8%), education (4.2%), and natural resources (3.3%).

"Although correctional spending grew at a faster rate than many other State boards and programs (including court payments between 1986 and 2001, it remained one of the smaller cost items. For example, the outlay for education, at $374.5 billion, was nearly 10 times larger, and that for welfare, at $260.3 billion, was nearly 7 times larger."

From 2000 through 2014, a total of 569 people died from AIDS-related illnesses while serving time in a local jail in the US. Of those, 98 were white non-Latinx, 395 were black non-Latinx, 73 were Latinx, and 3 were "other."
In 2015, a total of 10 people serving time in local jails in the US died from AIDS-related illnesses.

"The rate of growth of the State prison population slowed between 1995 and 2001 and then began to rise. During this time the percentage change in the first 6 months of each year steadily decreased, reaching a low of 0.6% in 2001, and then rose to 1.0% in 2005 (table 2). The percentage change in the second 6 months of each year showed a similar trend, resulting in an actual decrease in State prison populations for the second half of 2000 and 2001.
"Since 1995 the Federal system has grown at a much higher rate than the States, peaking at 6.0% growth in the first 6 months of 1999. In the first 6 months of 2005, the number of Federal inmates increased 2.3%, more than twice the rate of State growth."

(Educational Level of Prisoners) "With the emphasis on law enforcement over education, it is no surprise that according to the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy Prison Survey, 37 percent of people in U.S. prisons had not finished high school. Only 4 out of 10 (41 percent) had a high school education or GED equivalent; 74 percent had parents who had a high school education or less; and 26 percent had parents who did not finish high school.¹⁶⁵"

"In December 2000, the Prison Journal published a study based on a survey of inmates in seven men's prison facilities in four states. The results showed that 21 percent of the inmates had experienced at least one episode of pressured or forced sexual contact since being incarcerated, and at least 7 percent had been raped in their facility. A 1996 study of the Nebraska prison system produced similar findings, with 22 percent of male inmates reporting that they had been pressured or forced to have sexual contact against their will while incarcerated. Of these, over 50 percent had submitted to forced anal sex at least once. Extrapolating these findings to the national level gives a total of at least 140,000 inmates who have been raped."

"In 2003 the United States spent a record $185 billion for police protection, corrections, and judicial and legal activities. Expenditures for operating the Nation's justice system increased from almost $36 billion in 1982 to over $185 billion in 2003, an increase of 418%.
"Local governments funded half of all justice system expenses. Another 33% of direct justice funding came from the States.
"Total justice expenditures comprised approximately 7.2% of all State and local public expenditures in 2003. Compared to justice expenditures, State and local governments continued to spend almost 4 times as much on education, twice as much on public welfare, and roughly an equal amount on hospitals and healthcare."

"Correctional authorities spent $38.2 billion to maintain the Nation?'s State correctional systems in fiscal year 2001, including $29.5 billion specifically for adult correctional facilities. Day-to-day operating expenses totaled $28.4 billion, and capital outlays for land, new building, and renovations, $1.1 billion.
"The average annual operating cost per State inmate in 2001 was $22,650, or $62.05 per day. Among facilities operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, it was $22,632 per inmate, or $62.01 per day."

"We must have law enforcement authorities address the issue because if we do not, prevention, education, and treatment messages will not work very well. But having said that, I also believe that we have created an American gulag."

(Growth of Prison Population) "The prison population began to climb in the late 1970s as states and the federal government cracked down on crime. One turning point was New York State’s 1973 imposition of mandatory sentencing laws for drug offenses, under the administration of Gov. Nelson Rockefeller.⁴⁰ Other states followed. Initiatives included mandatory sentences for repeat armed career criminals. Congress, in the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 (18 U.S.C. 3651), repealed federal courts’ authority to suspend criminal sentences and made other changes.⁴¹ In 1994, California voters and legislators approved Proposition 184, the so-called Three Strikes Law. Among other things, the law set a minimum sentence of 25 years to life for three-time offenders with prior serious or violent felony convictions.⁴²"

"• At year-end 2019, privately operated facilities held an estimated 116,000 prisoners, which was about 7% (88,500) of all state prisoners and 16% (27,400) of all federal prisoners (table 18).

"• The number of state prisoners held in privately operated facilities decreased by 2% from 2018 to 2019, while the number of federal prisoners in private facilities decreased by 1%.

"• Five states housed more than 20% of their prison population in privately operated facilities at year-end 2019: Montana (47%), New Mexico (36%), Tennessee (29%), Oklahoma (25%), and Hawaii (24%).

"• Eighteen states that reported data to the NPS did not hold prisoners in privately operated facilities at yearend 2019.

"• California held 1,100 prisoners in private prisons at year-end 2019, down from 4,000 at year-end 2018 after ending contracts with private out-of-state providers and returning prisoners to state-operated facilities."

"Between 2001 and 2010, the estimated number of inmates with HIV/AIDS declined by 16%, and the number of AIDS-related deaths in prison declined by 77% (not shown in table) resulting in declines in the rates of HIV/AIDS and AIDS-related deaths among all inmates and those with HIV/AIDS. At yearend 2001, the estimated rate of HIV/AIDS among state and federal prison inmates was 194 HIV/AIDS cases per 10,000 inmates. By yearend 2010, the estimated rate was 146 cases per 10,000. Among the total inmate population, the rate of AIDS-related deaths declined from 24 per 100,000 inmates in 2001 to 5 per 100,000 in 2010. Among the inmate population with HIV/AIDS, the rate declined from 134 AIDS-related deaths per 10,000 inmates in 2001 to 38 per 10,000 in 2010."

"The rate of AIDS-related deaths in state prisons among inmates ages 15 to 54 declined sharply between 2001 and 2009, compared to the more modest decline observed among the same age group in the U.S. general population. As a result, the AIDS-related death rate in state prisons fell below the rate in the U.S. general population in 2009. Between 2001 and 2009, the AIDS-related death rate among state prisoners ages 15 to 54 declined from 22 deaths per 100,000 inmates to 6 per 100,000, while the rate among that age group in the general population declined from 9 per 100,000 to 7 per 100,000."

"In personal interviews conducted in 2002, nearly two-thirds of local jail inmates reported ever being tested for HIV; of those, 1.3% disclosed that they were HIV positive."

"Among jail inmates in 2002 who had ever been tested for HIV, Hispanics (2.9%) were more than 3 times as likely as whites (0.8%) and twice as likely as blacks (1.2%) to report being HIV positive."

(State Prison Population and Violent Crime) "As state prison populations fell, so did the violent crime rate, which provides further evidence that increased incarceration does not mean more public safety. Concurrent with the 5.3 percent fall in violent crime in 2008-2009, state prison populations decreased 0.2 percent, the first population decrease since 2000.⁴ The number of people in prison is still growing, but at a slower rate than during the last few decades and primarily due to increases in federal prison system population.⁵ The 0.2 percent growth in the total U.S. prison population during 2009 was the third year of decline in the rate of growth and the slowest growth in eight years."

"In 2006, an estimated 1,205,273 persons were convicted of a felony (federal and state courts). Of that number, 1,132,290 were convicted in state courts, the vast majority (94 percent) of whom pleaded guilty. At the time of sentencing, about 3 out of 4 felons sentenced (77 percent) were sentenced for a single felony."

The accompanying data table shows that 377,860 (33.4%) of these convictions were for Drug Offenses, of which 165,360 (14.6% of all convictions) were for Possession and 212,490 (18.8% of all convictions) were for Trafficking.

Note: The 2012 Statistical Abstract was the last one published: "The U.S. Census Bureau terminated the collection of data for the Statistical Compendia program effective October 1, 2011."

"Over the last 25 years, the number of state facilities increased from just fewer than 600 to over 1,000 in the year 2000, an increase of about 70 percent. In other words, more than 40 percent of state prisons in operation today opened in the last 25 years."

"We calculate that a reduction by one-half in the incarceration rate of non-violent offenders would lower correctional expenditures by $16.9 billion per year and return the U.S. to about the same incarceration rate we had in 1993 (which was already high by historical standards). The large majority of these savings would accrue to financially squeezed state and local governments, amounting to about one-fourth of their annual corrections budgets. As a group, state governments could save $7.6 billion, while local governments could save $7.2 billion."

"While it may seem obvious that locking up more people would lower the crime rate, the reality is much more complicated. Sentencing and release policies, not crime rates, determine the numbers of persons in prison. This point is illustrated by examining what happened to incarceration rates and crime rates nationally in the period from 1991-1998. This was a period in which crime rates fell but rates of incarceration continued to increase. During that time, the states that experienced below-average increases in their rate of incarceration actually experienced above-average decreases in crime. The three largest states offer useful examples: Texas experienced a 144% increase in incarceration with a 35% drop in crime rates, and California had a 44% rise in its incarceration rate with a 36% drop in crime rates. In contrast, New York saw its incarceration rate increase by only 24%, yet nonetheless experienced a drop in crime rates of 43%."

"Incarceration has not been definitively shown to reduce crime rates. Bruce Western at Harvard University recently found that only 10 percent of the crime decline in the 1990s was due to increased use of incarceration.⁷ Between 1998 and 2007, states that had the greatest increases in incarceration rates did not necessarily see a corresponding drop in crime rates. Some states (Maryland Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas) lowered their incarceration rates and still experienced a drop in crime rates.⁸ Such uneven results do not support continued over-reliance on incarceration, particularly in a time of fiscal crisis."

"The prison construction boom was not concentrated in a few, key states or in certain regions of the country. Prison systems expanded significantly in states across the country. Prison systems also expanded within states. The share of counties in the top 10 states that were home to at least one prison increased from 13 to 31 percent between 1979 and 2000. State level maps (figures 13 to 22) illustrate that new prisons were geographically dispersed throughout the states. New prisons were generally not spatially concentrated, as few counties gained three or more prisons. Finally, prisons expanded into different types of counties; prisons increased significantly in both non-metro counties and metro counties."

"Every dollar transferred to a 'prison community' is a dollar that is not given to the home community of a prisoner, which is often among the country's most disadvantaged urban areas. According to one account, Cook County Illinois will lose nearly $88 million in federal benefits over the next decade because residents were counted in the 2000 Census in their county of incarceration rather than their county of origin (Duggan 2000). Losing funds from the 'relocation' of prisoners is also an issue for New York City, as two-thirds of state prisoners are from the city, while 91 percent of prisoners are incarcerated in upstate counties (Wagner 2002a)."

"The few studies on the local economic impacts of prisons to date have not found significant positive impacts. For example, a study by the Sentencing Project challenges the notion that a new prison brings economic benefits to smaller communities. Using 25 years of data from New York State rural counties, the authors looked at employment rates and per capita income and found 'no significant difference or discernible pattern of economic trends' between counties that were home to a prison and counties that were not home to a prison (King, Mauer, and Huling 2003). According to a recent study by Iowa State University, many towns that made sizeable investments in prisons did not reap the economic gains that were predicted (Besser 2003). Another analysis in Texas found no impacts as measured by consumer spending in nearly three-fourths of the areas examined (Chuang 1998)."

"The effect of prisoner location on population counts may also influence the allocation of political representation and, therefore, political influence (Haberman 2000). In Wisconsin, the number of state prisoners who were housed in other states (known as interstate transfers) caused concern because these prisoners would be counted in the decennial census in the states where they were incarcerated. In 1999, U.S. Representative Mark Green introduced a bill (unsuccessfully) that proposed changes to the census policy so Wisconsin prisoners held in other states would be counted as Wisconsin residents."

"The economic benefits of new prisons may come from the flow of additional state and federal dollars. In the decennial census, prisoners are counted where they are incarcerated, and many federal and state funding streams are tied to census population counts. According to the U.S. General Accounting Office (2003), the federal government distributes over $140 billion in grant money to state and local governments through formula-based grants. Formula grant money is in part based on census data and covers programs such as Medicaid, Foster Care, Adoption Assistance, and Social Services Block Grant (U.S. General Accounting Office 2003). Within a state, funding for community health services, road construction and repair, public housing, local law enforcement, and public libraries are all driven by population counts from the census."

"Another issue related to prison expansion of the 1980s and 1990s is the disparity between where prisoners come from ("home counties") and where prisoners serve their sentences ("prison counties"). Many believe that the prison construction boom of the last 20 years happened in areas that were located far away from prisoners' homes. This has been an area of concern because greater distances between a prisoner's home and where he or she is incarcerated can negatively impact a prisoner and his or her family members. Being incarcerated far away from home makes it more challenging to maintain familial relationships and parent/child relationships in particular. In addition, challenges related to reintegrating into the community increase when a prisoner is housed far away from home. For example, steps that may facilitate prisoner reentry, such as finding a job and a place to live, are more difficult when a prisoner is imprisoned a long distance from the place to which he or she will return after release."

"Once they [people with drug addiction and mental health disorders] are incarcerated, researchers have found that the people’s reaction to jail conditions can exacerbate mental health problems and conditions that may increase their propensity towards suicidal behavior. Newly jailed people experience fear of the unknown, distrust of the environment, isolation from family and significant others, shame and stigma of incarceration, a loss of stabilizing resources and severe guilt or shame over the alleged offense. Current mental illness and prior history of suicidal behavior also intensify in the jail environment.¹⁵⁰ These conditions and stressors conspire to increase the suicide rate in jails, as compared to the general population. Compared with a U.S. suicide rate of 17 per 100,000 people, the suicide rate in local jails is 47 per 100,000 people.¹⁵¹ Suicide is second only to illness in the leading cause of death in jails: 25 percent of all deaths in jails in 2006 were suicides.¹⁵²"