Prisoners in 1993 Bulletin U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics NCJ-147036 June 1994 Full text with tables available from: Bureau of Justice Statistics Clearinghouse 800-732-3277 Box 179 Annapolis Junction, MD. 20701-0179 FAX Number (for report orders and mail list signup only): 410-792-4358 Prisoners in 1993 The number of inmates under the jurisdiction of State or Federal prison authorities at the end of 1993 was 7% higher than the count a year earlier. Since 1980, the number of prisoners nationwide has grown by 619,060--an average of 47,600 per year or more than 900 additional inmates per week. The 1993 growth rate translates into an average of more than 1,254 additional inmates each week. Over the last 10 years, 22 jurisditions have reported prisoner increases of 100% or more. During 1993, five States, the District of Columbia, and the Federal prison system experienced increases of 10% or more. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) data on prisoners indicate that returned conditional release violators, drug offenders, and an increased probability of incarceration given arrest constitute the largest elements in these popu- lation increases. BJS appreciates the assistance of employees of departments of corrections nationwide who make these data available. This report marks the 67th anniversary of this Federal-State partnership. Lawrence A. Greenfeld Acting Director Prisoners in 1993 By Darrell K. Gilliard and Allen J. Beck BJS Statisticians The number of prisoners under the jurisdiction of Federal or State correctional authorities at yearend 1993 reached a record high of 948,881. The States and the District of Columbia added 55,898 prisoners; the Federal system, 9,327. The increase for 1993 brings total growth in the prison population since 1980 to 619,060, an increase of about 188% in the 13-year period. The 1993 growth rate of 7.4% was slightly greater than the percentage increase recorded during 1992 (7.0%), and the number of new prisoners added during 1993 was 7,188 more than the number added during the preceding year (58,037). The 1993 increase translates into a nationwide need to confine an additional 1,254 inmates each week, compared to the nearly 1,116 additional inmates per week in 1992. Prisoners with sentences of more than 1 year (referred to as "sentenced prisoners") accounted for 96% of the total prison population at the end of 1993, growing by 7.5% during the year. The remaining prisoners had sentences of a year or less or were unsentenced (for example, those awaiting trial in States with combined prison-jail systems). The number of sentenced Federal prisoners increased more than that of sentenced State prisoners during 1993 (13.2% versus 7.0%). The rate of increase slowed somewhat from the year before. In 1992 the Federal system had increased 15.9%, and the State population had grown 6.6%. Prison populations decreased in eight States and the District of Columbia through the end of 1993. This decrease amounted to a combined total of 716 inmates. Six of the eight States had decreases of at least 1%: Kansas, Nebraska, Maine, Montana, Vermont, and Wisconsin. During 1993 five States and the Federal system reported increases of at least 10%. Connecticut experienced the greatest increase (20.1%), followed by Texas (16.2%), Minnesota (15.5%), Mississippi (15.2%), the Federal system (11.6%), and Oklahoma (10.7%). During 1993 the Nation's prison population increased by 65,225 prisoners. Increases in prison populations in California (10,455), Texas (9,925), the Federal system (9,327), and Florida (4,746) accounted for over half of the total increase (52.8%). These jurisdictions incarcerate just over a third of the Nation's prison population. Rates of incarceration increase On December 31, 1993, the number of sentenced prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents was 351, a new record. Of the 17 States with rates equal to or greater than the rate for the Nation, 11 were located in the South, 3 were in the West, 2 were in the Midwest, and 1 was in the Northeast. Since 1980 the number of sentenced inmates per 100,000 residents has risen from 139 to 351. During this period, per capita incarceration rates rose the most in the West (from 105 to 317) and the South (from 188 to 381). The rate in the Northeast rose from 87 to 272, and the rate in the Midwest from 109 to 283. The number of sentenced Federal prisoners per 100,000 residents increased from 9 to 29 over the same period. Prison populations in Southern States grow the fastest During 1993 the average growth in the number of sentenced State and Federal prisoners was equal to a demand for 1,215 additional bedspaces per week, about 106 more than the average weekly growth in 1992. Regionally, during 1993 the percentage increase in the number of sentenced prisoners was highest in the Southern States, a gain of 9.0%. The number of sentenced prisoners grew by 8.0% in the West, 4.7% in the Northeast, and 4.0% in the Midwest. The sentenced Federal prison population grew by 13.2%. In 19 States and the District of Columbia, the percentage change in the number of sentenced prisoners during 1993 was higher than that of 1992. Among these jurisdictions, four had increases of at least 10%, led by Connecticut (19.5%), the District of Columbia (18.3%), Minnesota (15.5%), and Mississippi (14.0%). In the last 5 years, net gains in the number of sentenced prisoners have averaged about 1,178 prisoners per week--a gain of about 1,056 State prisoners and 122 Federal prisoners per week over the period. The largest net gains have occurred in the South (448 inmates per week), followed by the West (228), the Midwest(205), and the Northeast (175). Texas accounted for slightly over a quarter of the 51.5% growth in the 16 Southern States and the District of Columbia. California accounted for over two-thirds of the growth in the 13 Western States. In 1993 the 10 States with the largest prison populations held 53% of the total prison population nationwide--California, Texas, and New York accounting for over 25%. Texas had the highest incarceration rate, with 553 sentenced prisoners per 100,000 residents. During 1993 Connecticut's prison numbers grew the fastest, increasing 20.1%. Over the past 5 years the State prison population of Washington grew the fastest, increasing 79.1%. Female prisoner population grows at a faster pace The number of female inmates (55,365) increased at a faster rate during 1993 (9.6%) than the number of male inmates (893,516 at 7.2%). The rate of incarceration for sentenced males (679 per 100,000 males in the resident population) was nearly 18 times higher than that for sentenced females (38 per 100,000 females in the resident population). At the end of 1993 women accounted for 5.8% of all prisoners nationwide. In 1993, 27 States, the District of Columbia, and the Federal system ad more than 500 female inmates. Among these jurisdictions, 9 had increases of at least 10%, led by the Texas increase of 61.4% (from 2,487 in 1992 to 4,015 in 1993). The Federal prison system's increase during 1993, 492 inmates, accounted for 10.1% of the total prison increase of 4,872. Local jails held almost 51,000 prisoners because of State prison crowding At the end of 1993, 22 jurisdictions reported a total of 50,966 State prisoners held in local jails or other facilities because of crowding in State facilities. Texas accounted for almost 60% of the prisoners sentenced to prison but incarcerated locally. Five States --Texas, Louisiana, Virginia, New Jersey, and West Virginia--held more than 10% of their prison population locally. Overall, 5.4% of the State prisoners were confined in local jails on December 31, 1993, because of prison crowding. Prison capacity estimates are difficult to compare The extent of crowding in the Nation's prisons is difficult to determine because of the absence of uniform measures for defining capacity. The 52 reporting jurisdictions apply a wide variety of capacity measures to reflect both available space to house inmates and the ability to staff and operate an institution. To estimate the capacityof the Nation's prisons, jurisdictions were asked to supply three measures for yearend 1993: rated, operational, and design capacities. These measures were defined as follows: Rated capacity is the number of beds or inmates assigned by a rating official to institutions within the jurisdiction. Operational capacity is the number of inmates that can be accommodated based on a facility's staff, existing programs, and services. Design capacity is the number of inmates that planners or architects intended for the facility. Of the 52 reporting jurisdictions, 35 supplied rated capacities, 42 provided operational capacities, and 34 submitted design capacities. As a result, estimates of total capacity and measures of the relationship to population are based on the highest and lowest capacity figures provided. (Twenty-five jurisdictions reported 1 capacity measure or gave the same figure for each capacity measure they reported.) Most jurisdictions are operating above capacity Prison generally require reserve capacity to operate efficiently. Dormitories and cells need to be maintained and repaired periodically, special housing is needed for protective custody and disciplinary cases, and space may be needed to cope with emergencies. At the end of 1993, 13 States reported they were operating at or below 99% of their highest capacity. Forty-two jurisdictions and the Federal prison systemreported operating at 100% or more of their lowest capacity. At the end of 1993, the Federal system was estimated to be operating at 36% over capacity. State prisons were estimated to be operating at 118% of their highest capacities and 129% of their lowest capacities. Rise in prison population linked to changes in prison admissions Underlying the dramatic growth in the State prison population during the 1980's were changes in the composition of prison admissions. Since 1977 the relative sizes of the two principal sources of admissions to prison--court commitments and returned conditional release violators--have changed. Court commitments account for a decreasing share of all prison admissions: 69.5% in 1992, down from 82.4% in 1980. As a percentage of all admis sions, those returning to prison after a conditional release increased from 17.0% to 29.5%. These conditional release violators had originally left prison as parolees, mandatory releases, and other types of releases involving community supervision. The absolute number of conditional release violators returned to prison grew 5-fold, from 27,177 in 1980 to 141,961 in 1992, while the number of new court commitments more than doubled, from 131,215 to 334,301. Overall, the increase in the number of conditional release violators accounted for more than a third of the growth in the total admissions to State prisons. An increasing percentage of court commitments sentenced for drug offenses In 1992, the latest year for which data are available, the number of new court commitments for drug offenses totaled an estimated 102,000 . The number of persons admitted for drug offenses was nearly as large as the number admitted for property offenses (104,300) and larger than the numberfor violent offenses (95,300) and public-order offenses (29,400). An estimated 30.5% of all new court commitments in 1992 were drug offenders, up from 6.8% in 1980 . In 1992 an estimated 31.2% were property offenders; 28.5%, violent offenders; and 8.8%, public-order offenders. The increase in drug offenders admitted to prison accounted for nearly 46% of the total growth in new court commitments since 1980. The growth in the number of persons arrested for drug law violations and the increase in the rate of incarceration for drug offenses account for the change in the prison offense distribution. Between 1980 and 1992, the estimated number of adult arrests for drug law violations increased by 108%, from 471,200 to 980,700. Compounding the impact of more drug arrests, the rate of drug offenders sent to State prison rose from 19 per 1,000 adult arrests for drug violations in 1980 to 104 admissions per 1,000 in 1992. An increasing number of arrests and a rise in the probability of incarceration for serious crime Growth in the prison population was not solely the result of more commitments of drug offenders. Between 1980 and 1992 the number of persons admitted to prison for the selected serious offenses of sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and burglary also rose by nearly 50,000. The total number of arrests for serious crimes rose during this period by 34%, from 666,500 to 892,000, while the ratio of prison admissions to adult arrests for these crimes increased from 128 commitments per 1,000 arrests to 148. Although the prison commitment ratio was higher in 1992 than in 1980, it changed from year to year: increasing from 1980 to 1983, fluctuating between 1984 and 1988, and then generally increasing after 1988. Although more persons were admitted to prison for sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and burglary, increases in the number arrested for aggravated assault and in the probability of incarceration for burglary accounted for much of the total. The growth in the number of arrests for aggravated assault accounted for more than three-quarters of the total increase in arrests for serious crimes. In 1992 an estimated 432,900 adults were arrested for aggravated assault, up from 236,600 in 1980. The probability of going to prison given arrest for aggravated assault went from 45 admissions per 1,000 arrests to 58. When combined with this increased probability, the larger number of arrests for aggravated assault by 1992 accounted for nearly a third of the total increase in prison admissions for serious offenses. A rise in the prison-admissions-to-arrest ratio for burglary accounted for an additional 30% of the total increase in prison admissions for serious offenses. While the annual number of adults arrested for burglary dropped by 3,300 between 1980 and 1992, the number of admissions to prison per 1,000 arrests increased from 107 to 159. At least 14,000 more admissions to prison for burglary occurred in 1992 than in 1980 because of the higher rate of imprisonment. Rise in prison population greatest among black males The number of prisoners with sentences of more than a year rose over 530,000 between 1980 and 1992. The number of white males grew 143%, the number of black males 186%, the number of white females 275%, and the number of black females 278%. The growth in the number of black male prisoners (261,100) accounted for nearly half of the total increase during the 12-year period. While the numbers of white and black female prisoners grew at a faster pace, their increases represented a small portion (6%) of the overall growth. At yearend 1992, 47.4% of sentenced State and Federal prisoners were black males; 45.8% were white males; 2.8% black females; and 2.6% white females. Relative to the number of residents in the U.S. population, the number of sentenced persons incarcerated in State and Federal prisons rose from 139 per 100,000 residents to 344--an increase of nearly 150% during the 12-year period. Among black males the incarceration rate rose 141%; among white males, 121%. In 1992 the incarceration rate of black males was 2,678 per 100,000 black residents, more than 7 times the rate of white males (372 per 100,000). The female incarceration rates, although substantially smaller than the male rates, were also 7 times larger for Blacks than whites for whites. The incareceration rate among blacks females was 143 per 100,000, compared to 20 among white females. In 1991, the latest year for which age-related data are available, black males age 25 to 29 had the highest incarceration rate (6,301 per 100,000), which was more than 6 times the rate among white males. In every age group the incarceration rate of black males varied between 6 and 9 times that of white males. For each age group the incarceration rates of white and black males rose between 1980 and 1991. Males age 25 to 29 experienced the largest increases-- among white males the rate rose from 408 per 100,000 residents to 932 , and among black males, from 3,557 to 6,301. Among males age 30 or older, the incarceration rates of blacks and whites more than doubled Methodological notes This Bulletin is based on an advance count of prisoners conducted for the National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) program immediately after the end of each calendar year. A detailed, final count containing any revisions to the jurisdictions' advance count will be published later. Federal. Population counts for "Unsentenced inmates" include an undetermined number of persons who come under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. The rated capacity of Federal facilities on December 31, 1993, 59,849 inmates, did not include 8,177 contract bedspaces. Alabama. The capacity of the community programs is not included in the capacity figures reported. Alaska. Prisons and jails form one integrated system. All NPS data include prison and jail populations. Arizona. Population counts are based on custody data. Counts exclude 157 male inmates housed in local jails because of overcrowding. Arkansas. Population counts for "Inmates with over 1 year maximum sentence"include 592 males and 16 females whose sentence is unknown. California. Population counts are based on custody data. Colorado. Population counts for "Inmates with over 1 year maximum sentence"include an undetermined number of "Inmates with a maximum sentence of 1 year or less." Connecticut. Prisons and jails form one integrated system. All NPS data include prison and jail populations. Delaware. Prisons and jails form one integrated system. All NPS data include prison and jail populations. Population counts are based on custody data. District of Columbia. Prisons and jails form one integrated system. All NPS data include prison and jail populations Florida. Population counts are based on custody data. Georgia. Population counts are based on custody data. Population counts exclude an undetermined number of inmates housed awaiting pickup. Hawaii. Prisons and jails form one integrated system. All NPS data include prison and jail populations. Idaho. Population counts are based on jurisdictional data for the first time. All data reported in the past were custody counts. Illinois. Population counts are based on custody data. Population counts for "Inmates with over 1 year maximum sentence" include an undetermined number of "Inmates with a maximum sentence of 1 year." Iowa. Population counts are based on custody data. Maryland. Population counts exclude an undetermined number of State inmates housed in the Baltimore County jail. Population counts by sentence length are estimated. Massachusetts. Population counts are based on custody data for January 1, 1994. Population counts exclude 871 inmates housed in local jails because of overcrowding. Counts by sex are estimated. Michigan. Population counts are based on custody data. Capacity figures exclude the capacities of the Community Residential Program. Mississippi. Population counts for "Inmates with over 1 year maximum sentence" include an undetermined number of "Inmates with a sentence of 1 year." Missouri. Population counts are based on custody data. Missouri reported jurisdiction counts through June 30, 1993, but custody counts for December 31, 1993. New Jersey. The capacity figures include 808 bedspaces in county facilities. North Carolina. Population counts for sentence length are estimated. Population counts exclude inmates housed in county jails for whom the State government has parole authority but who are not under the jurisdiction of the North Carolina Division of Prisons. Ohio. Population counts for "Inmates with over 1 year maximum sentence" include an undetermined number of "Inmates with a sentence of 1 year or less." Oklahoma. Population counts for "Inmates with over 1 year maximumsentence" include an undetermined number of "Inmates with a sentence of1 year." Population counts exclude 332 male and 48 female inmates housed in local jails because of crowding. Oregon. Population counts for "Inmates with a maximum sentence of 1 year or less" include an undetermined number of persons whose sentence informationis unknown. Rhode Island. Prisons and jails form one integrated system. All NPS data include prison and jail populations. Inmates given partially suspended sentences (part served in prison, part under probation) are included with the "Inmates with over 1 year maximum sentence" only if the prison portion of the sentence exceeds one year. As a result, the "Inmates with over 1 year maximum sentence" population is understated, and the "Inmates with a year or less maximum sentence" population is overstated. Tennessee. Population counts for "Inmates with over 1 year maximum sentence" include an undetermined number of "Inmates with a sentence of 1 year or less." Population counts include 1,077 male and 101 female inmates housed in local jails because of crowding. Population counts exclude an undetermined number of felons sentenced to serve time in local jails but housed at State expense. Texas. Population counts are based on custody data. Population counts exclude 29,546 inmates backed up in local jails awaiting transport. Vermont. Prisons and jails form an most completely integrated system; however, some county and municipal authorities operate local lockups. NPS data include inmates held in local lockups. Population counts include 298 persons (278 males, 20 females) on long-term furlough. The capacity figures exclude 4 male inmates housed in local lockups and 298 inmates on long-term furlough. Washington. Capacities exclude State work release and pre-release facilities that house inmates, parolees, probationers, and offenders serving partial confinement sentences. On December 31, 1993, these facilities housed 746 male inmates and 155 female inmates. West Virginia. Population counts exclude 241 male and 21 female inmates housed in local jails because of crowding. Wisconsin. Population counts for "Inmates with over 1 year maximum sentence" include 333 persons whose sentence information is not available. Wyoming. The operational capacity figure for 1993 includes 150 bedspaces in community centers. Darrell K. Gilliard and Allen J. Beck wrote this report. James Stephan provided statistical review. Tom Hester edited the report. Marilyn Marbrook, assisted by Betty Sherman and Jayne Robinson, administered final production. Data collection and processing were carried out by Marita Perez under the supervision of Gertrude Odom and N. Gail Hoff, Demographic Surveys Division, U.S. Bureau of the Census. June 1994, NCJ-147036