U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics ----------------------------------------------------- This report 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 This file is text only without graphics and many of the tables. A Zip archive of the tables in this report in spreadsheet format (.csv) and the full report including tables and graphics in .pdf format are available on BJS website at:http://bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=4537 -------------------------------------------------------- Correctional Population in the United States, 2011 Lauren E. Glaze, BJS Statistician and Erika Parks, BJS Intern November 2012, NCJ 239972 There were 6.98 million offenders under the supervision of the adult correctional systems at yearend 2011, a decrease of more than 98,900 offenders during the year (figure 1). The adult correctional systems supervise offenders in the community under the authority of probation or parole agencies and those held in the custody of state and federal prisons or local jails. The 1.4% decline in the correctional population during 2011 was the third consecutive year of decline and by yearend, the population dropped below the level observed in 2004 (6,995,900). At yearend 2011, about 1 in every 34 adult residents in the U.S. was under some form of correctional supervision, down from 1 in 31 in 2007. This report provides summary data on offenders supervised by the adult correctional systems. (See Methodology for more information.) It also highlights significant changes in the components of the correctional population—probationers, parolees, state and federal prisoners, and local jail inmates. About 2.9% of adults in the U.S. (or 1 in every 34 adults) were under some form of correctional supervision at yearend 2011 (table 1). The correctional supervision rate observed in 2011 marked the lowest rate of adults in the U.S. under correctional supervision since 2000. The 2011 rate was comparable to the correctional supervision rate observed in 1998 (1 in every 34 adults) when about one million fewer offenders were under correctional supervision (5.9 million in 1998). *** Footnote 1 See Probation and Parole in the United States, 1998, BJS website, NCJ 178234, August 1999.*** At yearend 2011, the rate of adults in the U.S. who were under supervision in the community on probation or parole (2,015 per 100,000 adults) was more than twice as high as the rate of adults incarcerated in state and federal prisons or local jails (937 per 100,000 adults). (See appendix table 1 for the incarceration rate, which is different from the imprisonment rate published in Prisoners in 2011, BJS website, NCJ 239808, December 2012. See Probation and Parole in the United States, 2011, BJS website, NCJ 239686, November 2012, for the community supervision rate.) About 1 in every 50 adults in the U.S. was under community supervision and 1 in every 107 adults was incarcerated in 2011. At yearend 2011, about 7 in 10 offenders supervised by the adult correctional systems were on probation or parole, while about 3 in 10 were held in the custody of state and federal prisons or local jails. These findings have remained relatively constant since 2000. ************************************************** ******************** HIGHLIGHTS ******************** * Adult correctional authorities supervised about 6,977,700 offenders at yearend 2011, a decrease of 1.4% during the year. * The decline of 98,900 offenders during 2011 marked the third consecutive year of decrease in the correctional population, which includes probationers, parolees, local jail inmates, and prisoners in the custody of state and federal facilities. * About 2.9% of adults in the U.S. (or 1 in every 34 adults) were under some form of correctional supervision at yearend 2011, a rate comparable to 1998 (1 in every 34). * At yearend 2011, about 1 in every 50 adults in the U.S. was supervised in the community on probation or parole while about 1 in every 107 adults was incarcerated in prison or jail. * The community supervision population (including probationers and parolees, down 1.5%) and the incarcerated population (including local jail inmates and federal and state prisoners, down 1.3%) decreased at about the same rate in 2011. * The majority (83%) of the decline in the correctional population during the year was attributed to the decrease in the probation population (down 81,800 offenders). ************************************************* ************************************************* 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 (1,598,780 in 2011). The jurisdiction population count is reported in Prisoners in 2011, BJS website, NCJ 239808, December 2012. These prisoners may be held in prison or jail facilities located outside of the state or federal prison systems. The prison population reported in table 2 in this report is the number held in custody or physically housed in state (1,289,376 in 2011) and federal (214,774 in 2011) adult correctional facilities, regardless of which entity has legal authority over the prisoners (appendix table 1). 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 from the jurisdiction of legal authority to the custody of a confinement facility outside that jurisdiction. Because table 2 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. *********************************************************** *************************************************** Community supervision and incarcerated populations decreased at about the same rate during 2011 *************************************************** At yearend 2011 about 4,814,200 offenders were supervised in the community either on probation or parole, while about 2,239,800 offenders were incarcerated in state and federal prisons or local jails (table 2). During 2011, the population supervised in the community (down 1.5%) and the incarcerated (down 1.3%) population declined at about the same rate. This was the third consecutive year of decline in both correctional populations. All of the decrease in the number of offenders supervised in the community (down 71,300) on probation or parole was attributed to the decline in the probation population (down 81,800). An increase of 1.6% (13,300 parolees) in the parole population slightly offset the decline observed in the community supervision population during the year. *** Footnote 2 A small number of parolees were also on probation during 2011. The total community supervision population and change in the population during the year was adjusted to account for these offenders to avoid double counting. For this reason, the sum of the changes in the probation and parole populations during 2011 does not equal the total change in the community supervision population during the year. See Methodology for more details.*** During 2011, less than half (43%) of the decrease in the incarcerated population (down 30,400 inmates) was attributed to the decline in the local jail population (down 13,100). In comparison, more than half (57%) of the decrease in the incarcerated population was due to the decline in the number of persons in the custody of state and federal prisons (down 17,300).*** Footnote 3 Changes in the prison population in this report are not comparable to changes in the prison population reported in Prisoners in 2011, BJS website, NCJ 239808, December 2012. This is due to the difference in the custody prison population and the jurisdiction prison population, which is BJS’s official measure of the prison population. See the text box at the bottom of page 2 for more information.*** All of the decrease in the total prison population was due to the decline in the number of prisoners held in the custody of state facilities (down 25,100 prisoners or 1.9%), including privately operated facilities under state authority (appendix table 1). The increase in the number of prisoners held in the custody of federal facilities (up 7,800 or 3.8%) partially offset the decline in the total prison population during the year. The growth in the federal prison population during 2011 was lead by an increase in the number of federal prisoners held in privately operated facilities under federal authority (up 4,600 or 18.2%). *************************************************** Fewer probationers during 2011 accounted for most of the decline in the correctional population *************************************************** The probation population (57%) represented the largest component of the correctional population at yearend 2011, relatively consistent since 1980 (61%) (table 3). About 81,800 fewer offenders were on probation at the end of 2011, accounting for most (83%) of the decline in the correctional population during the year. The drop in the number of prisoners held in the custody of state and federal prisons (down 17,300) during 2011 represented about 18% of the decline in the correctional population, while the decrease in the number of local jail inmates (down 13,100) accounted for about 13%. The parole population (up 13,300) was the only correctional population to increase during 2011, partially offsetting the decline in the total correctional population during the year. ******************* 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 age 18 who were prosecuted as adults in a criminal court are considered adults, but persons under age 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 (1) the total number of adults supervised in the community on January 1 and December 31 each year, (2) the number of adults who enter and exit supervision during the reporting year, (3) characteristics of the populations at yearend, and (4) 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. 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 (about 5,900 in 2011; See Jail Inmates at Midyear 2011 – Statistical Tables, BJS website, NCJ 237961, April 2012). These inmates are included in the jail population count. The ASJ collects data from a nationally representative sample of local jails and 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 (1) the size of the jail inmate population at midyear, (2) the characteristics of the population, (3) information about jail capacity, and (4) 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 (1) jail jurisdictions’ supervised populations, which may include inmates under age 18 who were held before or after adjudication, (2) inmate counts and movements, and (3) 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 physically house a prisoner in one of its facilities or in a private facility under its 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. These prisoners may be held in prison or jail facilities located outside of the state or in the federal prison system. The prison data in this report reflect the NPS custody counts and they include all inmates held within a respondent’s facilities, including inmates housed for other correctional facilities, prisoners held in privately operated facilities, prisoners under age 18 who were serving time in a state or federal correctional facility after being sentenced as an adult in a criminal court (1,790 in 2011), and inmates in the six states in which prisons and jails form one integrated system, including inmates under age 18 who may have been held before or after adjudication.*** Footnote 4 See Prisoners in 2011, BJS website, NCJ 239808, December 2012, for more information about the six states with combined prison and jail systems.*** ---------------------------------- Probation and parole populations ---------------------------------- Total correctional population counts reflect data reported by probation and parole agencies within the specific reporting year. While 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, 2011, BJS website, NCJ 239686, December 2012.) 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 systems in each year reflect the population counts reported by probation and parole agencies within the reporting year. For example, the 2010 probation and parole totals are the December 31, 2010, population counts reported by the agencies for the 2010 reporting year. This method was first adopted with Correctional Populations in the United States, 2010, BJS website, NCJ 236319, December 2011. In previously published BJS reports, 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. 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 former 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 the newer method to estimate annual change in the total correctional population, and the probation and parole populations. This method is comparable to the method used for the 2010 report. (See Estimating annual change in the total correctional populations, page 7.) ***************************************** Local jail and custody prison population ***************************************** Respondents to the ASJ are asked to report the number of jail inmates confined as of the last weekday in June of each year. The total correctional population counts in each year include jail population counts as of the last weekday in June for all inmates confined in local jails. This is used as an estimate of the number in local jails at yearend. 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 2011, BJS website, NCJ 239808, December 2012. ******************************************* Counts adjusted for offenders with multiple correctional statuses ******************************************* Offenders under correctional supervision may have multiple correctional statuses for several 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. Table 4 includes the adjustments that were made to the total correctional population to exclude offenders with multiple correctional statuses. 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 2011. Due to these adjustments, the sum of the four correctional populations in tables 2 and 3 will not equal the total correctional population. In addition, the sum of the probation and parole populations for 2008 through 2011 will not equal the total community supervision population because the total was adjusted for parolees who were also on probation. ***************************************** Estimating annual change in the correctional populations ***************************************** 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, because probation and parole agencies may update their data (See Probation and parole populations on page 5), change their reporting methods from one year to the next, or discharge offenders on January 1 of each 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, 2011, BJS website, NCJ 239686, December 2012 for more information.) The annual change in the community supervision population was also calculated within the reporting year. For years 2008 through 2011, change in the community supervision population was calculated after accounting for offenders with multiple community supervision statuses. (See Counts adjusted for offenders with multiple correctional status on page 6.) For these reasons, in years 2008 through 2011, the sum of the changes in the probation and parole populations does not equal the total change in the community supervision population. For example, the change in the probation population (down 81,800) during 2011 plus the change in the parole population (up 13,300) during the year does not equal the total change in the community supervision population (down 71,300). The difference (up 2,800) is the change in the number of parolees who were also on probation during 2011. 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 2011 is the difference (down 13,100) between the populations on the last weekday in June 2010 and June 2011. The annual change in the custody prison population for 2011 is the difference (down 17,300) between the December 31, 2010, and December 31, 2011, custody prison populations. The change in the total incarcerated population was calculated as the sum of the change in the jail and custody prison populations from the prior year to the current year. The annual change in the total correctional population for each year was not calculated as the difference in the total correctional population from the prior year and the current year but rather the sum of the annual changes for each correctional population. For example, the annual change in the total correctional population (down 98,900) during 2011 was calculated as the sum of four components: (1) the change in the probation population (down 81,800) in 2011; (2) the change in the parole population (up 13,300) in 2011; (3) the change in the jail population (down 13,100), or the difference between the populations on the last weekday in June 2010 and June 2011; and (4) the change in the custody prison population (down 17,300), or the difference between the December 31 populations in 2010 and 2011. ***************************************** Probation coverage expanded beginning in 1998 through 1999 ***************************************** To address survey 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 27,644 probationers added through the expansion of coverage in 1998. The 1999 correctional population reported in figure 1 includes 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. ****************************************************** The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistics agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. James P. Lynch is director. Lauren E. Glaze and Erika Parks wrote this report. Lauren E. Glaze and Erika Parks analyzed the data and prepared the tables and graphs with assistance from E. Ann Carson. Todd Minton and E. Ann Carson provided statistical verification. Sheri Simmons provided statistical review. Doris J. James edited the report, and Barbara Quinn and Tina Dorsey produced the report under the supervision of Doris J. James. November 2012, NCJ 239972 ****************************************************** ****************************************************** Office of Justice Programs * Innovation * Partnerships * Safer Neighborhoods * http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov ****************************************************** ______________________ 11/26/12/JER/12:35pm ______________________ ******************************************************