U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics December 2011, NCJ 236319 Correctional Populations in the United States, 2010 Lauren E. Glaze, BJS Statistician --------------------------------------------------- This file is text without graphics and many of the tables. A Zip archive of the tables in this report in spreadsheet format (.cvs) and the full report including tables and graphs in .pdf format are available at: http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=2237 This reports is one in series. More recent editions may be available. To view a list of all reports in the series go to http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbse&sid=5 --------------------------------------------------- During 2010, the number of persons under supervision of adult correctional authorities declined by 1.3% (91,700 offenders), reaching 7.1 million at yearend (figure 1). This was the second consecutive year of decline in the correctional population. The population at yearend 2010 dropped below the 2006 level (7.2 million). The adult correctional systems supervise offenders in the community under the authority of adult probation or parole agencies and those incarcerated in state or federal prisons or local jails. (See text box below.) This report provides summary data on the total population under the supervision of the adult correctional systems and highlights significant changes in the components of the population. (See Methodology.) ----------------------------------------------------- Defining the adult correctional systems Community supervision data collected by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) were reported by probation and parole agencies that supervise adults. In these data, adults are defined as persons under the authority of an adult court or correctional agency. Persons under age 18 who are prosecuted as an adult in a criminal court are considered adults and are included in these probation and parole populations, but persons under age 18 who were under the authority of a juvenile court or agency are excluded. Jails are confinement facilities, usually administered by a local law enforcement agency, that are intended to hold adults. Local jails may also hold inmates under age 18 before or after adjudication (7,560 in 2010), and these inmates are included in the jail population. ***Footnote 1 See Jail Inmates at Midyear 2010-Statistical Tables, BJS Web, NCJ 233431, for more details***. The state and federal custody prison data were reported by state departments of corrections and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. (See text box on page 2 for discussion about the difference between the custody and jurisdiction prison populations.) In these data, adults are defined as prisoners who were serving time in a state or federal correctional facility or privately operated facility under state or federal authority after being sentenced as an adult in a criminal court. Prisoners under age 18 who were sentenced as an adult in a criminal court (2,295 in 2010) are considered adults and are included in the prison population.***Footnote 2 The estimate of 2,295 persons under the age of 18 who were held in state or federal prison in 2010 is based on a June 30 reference date***.The prison custody population also includes persons under age 18 who were held (before or after adjudication) in correctional facilities in the six states with combined prison-jail systems.***Footnote 3 See Prisoners in 2010, BJS Web, NCJ 236096, for more details***. --------------------------------------------------- At yearend 2010, the total number of offenders under the supervision of the adult correctional authorities represented about 3.0% of adults in the U.S. resident population, or 1 in every 33 adults. The rate of adults under correctional supervision has remained relatively stable since 2000 (3.1%). At yearend 2010, about 1 in every 48 adults in the U.S. was under supervision in the community on probation or parole, compared to about 1 in every 104 adults in the custody of state or federal prisons or local jails.***Footnote 4 See Probation and Parole in the United States, 2010, BJS Web, NCJ 236019, for community supervision rates***. The respective rates of supervision were 2,074 offenders in the community per 100,000 adults and 962 inmates per 100,000 adults. (See appendix tables 2 and 3 for incarceration rates.) Community supervision and incarcerated populations declined for the second consecutive year About 7 in 10 persons under the supervision of adult correctional systems were supervised in the community (4,887,900) on probation or parole at yearend 2010, while about 3 in 10 were incarcerated (2,266,800) in local jails or in the custody of state or federal prisons (table 1). (See text box below for a discussion about the difference between the custody and jurisdiction prison population.) Both the number of offenders under supervision in the community (down 1.3%) and incarcerated in prison or jail (down 1.1%) decreased during 2010. This marked the second consecutive year of decline in both correctional populations. The decrease observed in the community supervision population during 2010 was due to a decline in the probation population (down 1.7%). The parole population (up 0.3%) increased slightly during the last year. Declines in the jail population (down 2.4%) and the custody prison population (down 0.4%) contributed to the drop in the total incarcerated population during 2010. Probation population accounted for three-quarters of the decline in the correctional population during 2010 About three-quarters of the decline in the total correctional population (down 91,700) during 2010 was attributed to the decline in the number of probationers (down 69,500) during the year. The probation population (4,055,514) was the largest component (57%) of the total correctional population at yearend 2010 (table 2). The decline in the number of jail inmates (down 18,700) accounted for 20% of the decrease in the total correctional population. The jail population represented the smallest portion (11%) of offenders under the supervision of the adult correctional systems in 2010. The decline in the number of inmates in the custody of state or federal prisons (down 6,400) represented 7% of the decrease in the total correctional population during 2010. The increase in the parole population (up 2,900) slightly offset the decline in the number of persons supervised by the adult correctional systems at yearend 2010. ---------------------------------------------------- Prison populations: A comparison between the jurisdiction and custody populations BJS's official measure of the prison population is the count of prisoners under the jurisdiction or legal authority of state and federal adult correctional officials (1,605,127 in 2010) (appendix table 1). These prisoners may be held in prison or jail facilities located outside of the state or federal prison system. The prison population reported in table 1 is the number held in custody or physically housed in state (1,311,136 in 2010) and federal (206,968 in 2010) adult correctional facilities, regardless of which entity has legal authority over the prisoners (appendix table 2). This includes state and federal prisoners held in privately operated facilities. The difference between the number of prisoners in custody and the number under jurisdiction is the number of state and federal prisoners held in the custody of local jails, inmates out to court, and those in transit. Because table 1 presents data on the number of individuals under the supervision of the adult correctional systems by correctional status, BJS uses the count of the number of prisoners held in custody to avoid double counting prisoners held in local jails. ------------------------------------------------------ Methodology Sources of data The data were collected through five separate Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) data collections: Annual Probation Survey; Annual Parole Survey. BJS's Annual Probation Survey and Annual Parole Survey began in 1980 and collect data from probation and parole agencies in the U.S. that supervise adults. In these data, adults are persons subject to the jurisdiction of an adult court or correctional agency. Persons under the age of 18 who were prosecuted as adults in a criminal court are considered adults, but persons under the age of 18 who were under the jurisdiction of a juvenile court or agency are excluded. The National Criminal Justice Information and Statistics Service of the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA), BJS's predecessor agency, began a statistical series on parole in 1976 and probation in 1979. The Annual Probation Survey and the Annual Parole Survey collect data on the total number of adults supervised in the community on January 1 and December 31 each year, the number of adults who enter and exit supervision during the reporting year, and characteristics of the populations at yearend, and other information. Both surveys cover the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the federal system. BJS relies on the voluntary participation of state central reporters and separate state, county, and court agencies for its annual data on probation and parole. For more information, go to the Probation and Parole Population series page on the BJS website at www.bjs.gov. Annual Survey of Jails. BJS's Annual Survey of Jails (ASJ) began in 1982. The ASJ collects data from a nationally representative sample of local jails that are intended for adults but may hold inmates under the age of 18 before or after adjudication. The ASJ has been conducted annually except for 1983, 1988, 1993, 1999, and 2005 in which a complete census of U.S. local jails was conducted. It collects data on the size of the jail inmate population at midyear, the characteristics of the population, information about jail capacity, and in recent years data on weekly admissions and releases. BJS relies on the voluntary participation of local jail administrators for the ASJ data. For more information, go to the Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear series page on the BJS website at www.bjs.gov for the Jail Inmates at Midyear statistical products. Prior to 2007, the Jail Inmates at Midyear statistical products were titled Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear. Census of Jails. BJS's Census of Jails (CJS) is part of a series of data collection efforts aimed at studying the nation's locally administered jails. To reduce respondent burden, and improve data quality and timeliness, the census was split into two data collections in 2005 and 2006: the 2005 Census of Jail Inmates (CJI) and the 2006 Census of Jail Facilities (CJF). The census collects data on jail jurisdictions' supervised populations and may include inmates under the age of 18 who were held before or after adjudication, inmate counts and movements, and persons under jail supervision who were supervised outside a jail facility. The Census of Jails began in 1970 and was conducted in 1972, 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1999, 2002, 2005, and 2006. For more information on the 2005 CJI, 2006 CJF, and the original Census of Jails, go to www.bjs.gov. National Prisoner Statistics Program. Begun in 1926 under a mandate from Congress, the National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) program collects data on the number of state and federal prisoners at midyear and yearend. BJS relies on the voluntary participation by state departments of corrections and the Federal Bureau of Prisons for NPS data. The NPS distinguishes between prisoners in custody and prisoners under jurisdiction. To have custody of a prisoner, a state or federal correctional authority must hold a prisoner in one of their own facilities or in a private facility under their authority. To have jurisdiction over a prisoner, a state or federal prison must have legal authority over the prisoner, regardless of where the prisoner is held. The NPS custody counts include all inmates held within a respondent's facilities, including inmates housed for other correctional facilities; prisoners held in privately operated facilities; prisoners under the age of 18 who were serving time in a state or federal correctional facility after being sentenced as an adult; and inmates in the six states in which prisons and jails form one integrated system, including inmates under the age of 18 who may have been held before or after adjudication. The NPS custody counts exclude inmates held in local jails and in other jurisdictions. Total correctional population counts reflect data reported by probation and parole agencies within the specific reporting year Respondents to the Annual Probation Survey and Annual Parole Survey are asked to report the number of adults supervised on probation or parole at the beginning and end of each reporting year, the number that enter and exit supervision during the reporting year, and characteristics of the populations within the reporting year, and other information. Some agencies update their probation and parole data for different reasons after submitting their data. BJS does not obtain updated data for prior years. Updated data usually include data that were not entered into the information system before the survey was submitted or data that were not fully processed by yearend. Probation and parole agencies also experience changes in reporting methods over time. (See Probation and Parole in the United States, 2010, BJS Web, NCJ 236019, specifically tables 9 through 12.) Therefore, probation and parole population counts on January 1 of the current year may differ from population counts on December 31 of the prior reporting year. The number of offenders supervised by the adult correctional system in each year reflect the population counts reported by probation and parole agencies within the reporting year. For example, the 2009 probation and parole totals are the December 31, 2009 population counts reported by the agencies for the 2009 reporting year. This is a different method compared to previously published BJS reports, when the December 31 probation and parole population counts within a reporting year were updated with the January 1 probation and parole population counts from the next reporting year; therefore, the total correctional population counts within a year in previously published BJS reports included the January 1 probation and parole population counts from the next reporting year. This different method was previously used to facilitate the estimation of annual change in the total correctional population, as well as the probation and parole populations, by attempting to account for annual reporting changes or updated data. However, for this report, BJS used a new method to estimate annual change in the total correctional population, as well as the probation and parole populations, as explained in Estimating annual change in the total correctional population. Local jail and custody prison population counts included in the total correctional population Respondents to the ASJ are asked to report the number of jail inmates confined as of June 30 of each year. Therefore, the total correctional population counts in each year include jail population counts as of June 30 for all inmates confined in local jails. Respondents to the NPS are asked to report separate population counts of the number of prisoners in the custody of and under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional facilities on December 31 of each year. The total correctional population count in each year reflects the custody prison populations as of December 31, and differs from the jurisdiction population counts reported in Prisoners in 2010, BJS Web, NCJ 236096. Estimating annual change in the total correctional population Because probation and parole agencies may update their data for reasons discussed in the section Total correctional population counts reflect data reported by probation and parole agencies within the specific reporting year, or experience changes in reporting methods from one year to the next, the probation and parole population counts on January 1 of the current year may differ from population counts on December 31 of the prior reporting year. For these reasons, annual change in the probation and parole populations was calculated within the reporting year. (See Methodology in Probation and Parole in the United States, 2010, BJS Web, NCJ 236019 for more information.) The annual change in the jail and custody prison populations was based on the change from the prior year to the current year because respondents are only asked to report a population count for one reference date. For example, the annual change in the jail population for 2010 is the difference between the June 30, 2009, and June 30, 2010, populations. The annual change in the custody prison population for 2010 is the difference between the December 31, 2009, and December 31, 2010, custody prison populations. The annual change in the total correctional population for each year was not calculated as the difference between the yearend populations but rather the sum of the annual changes for each correctional population. For example, the annual change in the total correctional population during 2008 was calculated as the sum of four components: the changes in the probation (up 36,446) and parole (up 6,992) populations within 2008, the change in the jail population (up 5,359), or the difference between the June 30 population in 2007 and 2008; and the change in the custody prison population (up 4,967), or the difference between the December 31 populations in 2007 and 2008. Total correctional population counts adjusted to account for offenders with multiple correctional statuses Offenders under correctional supervision may have multiple correctional statuses for a number of reasons. For example, probation and parole agencies may not always be notified immediately of new arrests, jail admissions, or prison admissions; absconders included in a probation or parole agency's population in one jurisdiction may actually be incarcerated in another jurisdiction; individuals may be admitted to jail or prison before formal revocation hearings and potential discharge by a probation or parole agency; and individuals may be serving separate probation and parole sentences concurrently. In 1998, BJS began collecting data on the number of offenders with multiple correctional statuses and has expanded on the information collected since then. Below are the adjustments that were made to the total correctional population to exclude offenders with multiple correctional statuses: * 1998 excludes 28,805 probationers in jail and 20,734 probationers in prison * 1999 excludes 23,906 probationers in jail and 22,758 in prison * 2000 excludes 20,400 probationers in jail and 22,136 in prison * 2001 excludes 23,415 probationers in jail and 20,226 in prison * 2002 excludes 29,325 probationers in jail and 20,939 in prison * 2003 excludes 25,497 probationers in jail and 21,478 in prison * 2004 excludes 34,387 probationers in jail and 21,595 in prison * 2005 excludes 32,630 probationers in jail, 22,073 probationers in prison, 18,325 parolees in jail, and 18,355 parolees in prison * 2006 excludes 33,884 probationers in jail, 21,679 probationers in prison, 20,722 parolees in jail, and 15,677 parolees in prison * 2007 excludes 19,286 probationers in jail, 23,055 probationers in prison, 18,827 parolees in jail, 14,623 parolees in prison, and 3,562 parolees on probation * 2008 excludes 23,799 probationers in jail, 32,443 probationers in prison, 19,273 parolees in jail, 15,585 parolees in prison, and 3,905 parolees on probation * 2009 excludes 21,356 probationers in jail, 23,130 probationers in prison, 19,123 parolees in jail, 14,339 parolees in prison, and 4,420 parolees on probation * 2010 excludes 21,256 probationers in jail, 21,485 probationers in prison, 21,403 parolees in jail, 14,420 parolees in prison, and 8,259 parolees on probation All of these estimates are based on reported data provided by the probation and parole agencies that were capable of providing the information within the specific reporting year. Because some probation and parole agencies did not provide these data each year, the numbers may underestimate the total number of offenders with multiple correctional statuses between 1998 and 2010. Because of these adjustments, the sum of the four correctional populations in tables 1 and 2 will not yield the total correctional population. In addition, the sum of the probation and parole populations for 2008 through 2010 will not yield the total community supervision population because the total was adjusted for parolees who were also on probation. Probation coverage expanded beginning in 1998 through 1999 To address undercoverage, the number of probation agencies was expanded beginning in 1998 and continued through 1999 to include misdemeanor probation agencies in a few states that fell within the scope of this survey. In 1998, survey coverage was expanded to include 35 additional probation agencies, which accounted for 27,644 additional probationers. Expansion of probation coverage continued through 1999, and in that year an additional 178 probation agencies were added to the collection, which accounted for 259,744 additional probationers. Therefore, the 1998 total correctional population reported in figure 1 includes the additional 27,644 probationers added through the expansion of coverage in 1998. The 1999 correctional population reported in figure 1 includes the additional 259,744 probationers added through the expansion of coverage in 1999. To calculate the annual change in the total correctional population between 1997 and 1998, the 27,644 probationers added through the expansion of coverage in 1998 were subtracted from the 1998 total correctional population reported in figure 1. The 259,744 probationers added through the expansion of coverage in 1999 were subtracted from the 1999 correctional population total in order to calculate the annual change between 1998 and 1999. Estimating some types of correctional data in specific years Because the ASJ did not begin until 1982, the 1980 and 1981 adult jail populations were estimated based on data from the 1978 Census of Jails. Virginia was unable to provide parole data for January 1, 2008. Virginia's parole population on January 1, 2008, was estimated by BJS; this estimate was included in the national probation population count for January 1, 2008, which was used to calculate the national change in the population within the year. (See Probation and Parole in the United States, 2008, BJS Web, NCJ 228230.) Oklahoma was unable to provide community supervision data in 2007. Community supervision data for Oklahoma were estimated by BJS. (See Probation and Parole in the United States, 2007 Statistical Tables, BJS Web, NCJ 224707.) Nevada was unable to provide prison data for 2007. Prison data for Nevada were estimated by BJS. See Prisoners in 2008, BJS Web, NCJ 228417. (The Methodology pertaining to Prisoners in 2007, BJS Web, NCJ 224280, was updated in Prisoners in 2008 ***************************************************** Office of Justice Programs * Innovation * Partnerships * Safer Neighborhoods * http://www.ojp.gov The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. James P. Lynch is director. Lauren E. Glaze wrote this report. Lauren E. Glaze analyzed the data and prepared the tables and graphs with assistance from William J. Sabol. Todd D. Minton, E. Ann Carson, and Paige Harrison provided statistical verification. Sheri Simmons provided statistical review. Jill Thomas edited the report, Tina Dorsey produced the report, and Jayne E. Robinson prepared the report for final printing under the supervision of Doris J. James. December 2011, NCJ 236319 The full text of each report is available in PDF and ASCII formats on the BJS website at www.bjs.gov. Tables are also available in PDF and CSV formats. Related datasets are made available on the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data website at http:// www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/NACJD/index.jsp. *********************************************************** 12/1/2011/ JER/ 11:08