U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2006 June 2007, NCJ 217675 Revised 03/07/08 ------------------------------------------------------- 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 from: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/pjim06.htm This report is one in a series. More recent editions may be available. To view a list of all in the series go to http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pubalp2.htm#pjmidyear -------------------------------------------------------- By William J. Sabol, Ph.D. Todd D. Minton and Paige M. Harrison BJS Statisticians During the 12 months ending June 30, 2006, the number of inmates in the custody of State and Federal prisons and local jails increased 2.8% to reach 2,245,189. From midyear 2005 to midyear 2006, inmates in State prisons increased 3.0%; Federal prisons, 3.2%; and local jails, 2.5%. The increase in the number of inmates in State or Federal custody accounted for about 70% of the growth in the total custody population. In the 12-month period ending June 30, 2006, the number of prisoners under the jurisdiction of State or Federal correctional authorities increased by 2.8% to reach 1,556,518. In both absolute numbers and percent change, the increase was the largest since midyear 2000. Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of a State or Federal correctional system over a prisoner, regardless of the location or type of facility where the prisoner is housed. Four jurisdictions -- the Federal Bureau of Prisons, California, Texas, and Florida -- accounted for 52% of the increase in the jurisdiction population. Prison admissions increased at a faster rate than releases, resulting in prison population growth. During calendar year 2005 (the most recent data available), State and Federal correctional authorities admitted 733,009 prisoners and released 698,459. The number of admissions during 2005 was 4.7% larger than the number admitted during 2004 (699,812), while the number of releases (672,202) increased by 3.9% during that period. For the 12 months ending June 30, 2006, State systems reported a larger increase than the Federal system in the number of inmates housed in private prisons. State prisoners held in private prisons increased by 12.9% to reach 84,867. Federal prisoners in private facilities increased by 2.1% to reach 27,108. The Federal system housed a larger share of prisoners in private facilities (14.2%)than the State systems (6.2%). The number of female prisoners rose at a faster rate than the number of male prisoners. Between midyear 2005 and 2006, the female prison population increased by 4.8% to reach 111,403. In the same period, the male prison population increased by 2.7% to reach 1,445,115. On June 30, 2006, an estimated 4.8% of black men were in prison or jail, compared to 1.9% of Hispanic men and 0.7% of white men. More than 11% of black males age 25 to 34 were incarcerated. Black women were incarcerated in prison or jail at nearly 4 times the rate of white women and more than twice the rate of Hispanic women. Additional data in appendix tables are available on the BJS Web site at . Prison incarceration rate reaches 496 per 100,000 U.S. residents At midyear 2006, 496 prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents were incarcerated in State or Federal prison, up from 488 at midyear 2005. Ten States exceeded the national incarceration rate, led by Louisiana (835 per 100,000 residents), Texas (687), and Mississippi (661). Six States had rates that were less than half the national rate, with the lowest rates in Maine (141 per 100,000 residents), Rhode Island (195), and New Hampshire (200). Prison authorities reported largest increase in number of prisoners since midyear 1999 to 2000 On June 30, 2006, State and Federal prison authorities had jurisdiction over 1,556,518 prisoners, an increase of 2.8% (42,552) from midyear 2005.***Footnote 1: The jurisdiction population includes jail inmates who are under the legal authority of State or Federal correctional systems.*** This was the largest absolute increase since the 1999 to 2000 increase of 51,931 prisoners (table 2). Within the State prison systems, the growth in the number of prisoners during the 6 months from December 31, 2005, to June 30, 2006 (2.0%), was faster than growth during the period from June 30, 2005, to December 31, 2005 (0.7%). Within the Federal system, growth was about the same during each 6-month period. Most of the increase (84.5%) in the total prison population was due to growth in prisoners under State jurisdiction (up 35,956). The 2.7% increase in State prisoners from midyear 2005 to midyear 2006 reversed a 3-year trend of declining growth rates. Similarly, the 3.6% increase in Federal prisoners reversed a period of declining growth rates from midyear 1999 to midyear 2005, when the annual growth rate declined steadily from 9.6% to 2.9%. Three jurisdictions responsible for a third of State and Federal prisoners at midyear 2006 The three largest jurisdictions -- the Federal system, California, and Texas -- accounted for more than a third (539,084 prisoners) of all prisoners under State or Federal jurisdiction on June 30, 2006. The Federal system had 12.3% of the total prison population under its jurisdiction; California, 11.3%; and Texas, 11.1%. The seven largest jurisdictions accounted for over half of prisoners under State or Federal jurisdiction. The 21 smallest jurisdictions accounted for 7.8% of the total population under jurisdiction at midyear 2006. Four jurisdictions accounted for more than half of the increase in the prison population Four jurisdictions (California, the Federal system, Georgia, and Florida) accounted for more than half of the increase in the jurisdiction population during the 12-month period ending June 30, 2006. California contributed 20% of the total increase in prisoners; the Federal system, 15%; Georgia, 9%; and Florida, 8%. The increase in these jurisdictions -- along with increases in Ohio, Arizona, Michigan, Texas, and Pennsylvania -- accounted for three-quarters of the total change in the jurisdiction population between midyear 2005 and 2006. Prison populations increased in 43 jurisdictions; 8 jurisdictions had no growth or declined In the 12 months ending June 30, 2006, the percentage change in prison population by jurisdiction ranged from -2.9% in Missouri to 9.4% in Alaska. The prison population in 43 jurisdictions grew, while 8 had no growth or declined. Of the 5 jurisdictions with the largest percentage increase in prisoners, 4 ranked among the 20 having the smallest prison population, and 1 (Georgia) ranked among the 10 largest jurisdictions. Prison admissions outpaced releases, resulting in population growth During calendar year 2005, State and Federal correctional authorities admitted 733,009 prisoners into their systems, an increase of 4.7% over the number admitted during 2004. (The 2005 calendar year data were the most recent data available.) States admitted 676,952 prisoners during 2005 which represented a 4.7% increase (30,122 admissions) over the number admitted during 2004. While 34 States had an increase in the number of admissions during 2005, three States accounted for over half of the total growth in admissions to State prison: Florida (up 6,145 admissions), California (up 6,022), and Texas (up 5,006). Federal prisons admitted 56,057 prisoners during 2005, an increase of 3,075 or 5.8% from 2004. The number of releases from State or Federal jurisdiction also increased during 2005, but at a slightly slower pace than admissions. State and Federal authorities released 698,459 prisoners during 2005, up 3.9% from the number in 2004. Growth in admissions driven by new court commitments and returned parole violators Between 2000 and 2005, the number of new court commitments to State prison increased by 20.3%, while the number of parole violators who were revoked and returned to prison increased by 14.1%. During 2005, the number of new court commitments increased at a lower rate (2.5%)than the number of returned parole violators (6.0%). States increased the use of private prisons more rapidly than the Federal system On June 30, 2006, the number of State and Federal prisoners housed in private facilities reached 111,975, an increase of 10,255 prisoners (or 10.1%) since midyear 2005. State prisoners held in private facilities increased 12.9%; those under Federal jurisdiction increased 2.1%. The proportion of all prisoners under State or Federal jurisdiction housed in privately operated facilities reached 7.2% at midyear 2006, up from 6.5% in 2003. Texas, Indiana, Colorado, and Florida accounted for more than half of the increase in prisoners held in private facilities between midyear 2005 and 2006. With an additional 2,806 prisoners in private facilities, Texas accounted for 27.3% percent of the total increase. Jurisdictions varied in their use of private facilities. At midyear 2006, 19 jurisdictions reported housing no prisoners in private facilities. Six jurisdictions held at least a quarter of their inmates in privately operated facilities, led by New Mexico (43%), Wyoming (38%) and Hawaii (30%). Number of persons under age 18 in State custody increased at midyear 2006 During the 12 months ending June 30, 2006, the number of juveniles in State prisons increased by 156 persons to reach 2,364, a 7.1% increase. This is the first annual increase in the number of persons under age 18 since 1995. Between 1995 and 2006, the number of juveniles declined 55%, from 5,309 to 2,208 (not shown in table). All but seven States housed at least one juvenile prisoner. Five States -- Connecticut (425), New York (219), Florida (221), North Carolina (188), and Texas (162)-- accounted for more than half of all juveniles held in State prisons. Little change in noncitizens in State or Federal prisons State and Federal prisons held 91,426 noncitizens on June 30, 2006, an increase of 337 prisoners (or 0.4%) over 12 months. More than two-thirds of the noncitizens in State or Federal prison were held by three jurisdictions: the Federal system housed 33,701 (37% of the total); California housed 15,849 (17% of the total); and Texas housed 9,227(10% of the total). Female prisoners continued to rise faster than male prisoners Between midyear 2005 and 2006, the percent increase in female prisoners under the jurisdiction of State or Federal authorities was almost twice that of male prisoners. The female prison population increased 4.6% to reach 111,403, while the male prison population increased 2.7% to reach 1,445,115. This growth is part of a larger trend between 2000 and 2006, when the female prison population grew 3.3% on average, compared to a 2.0% growth in the male prison population. Women made up 7.2% of the prison population on June 30, 2006, compared to 6.1% at yearend 1995 (not shown in table). At midyear 2006 men were 14 times more likely than women to be incarcerated. Their rate of incarceration was 939 men per 100,000 males, compared to 67 women per 100,000 females. Local jail population growth slowed from midyear 2005 to 2006 Between July 1, 2005, and June 30, 2006, the number of persons held in local jails increased 2.5% to reach 766,010 inmates, the slowest growth since the 1.6% increase in midyear 2001. The growth in the jail population was largely due to an additional 14,522 adult male inmates who made up 78.5% of the total change in the jail population. Similar to the prison population, the number of adult females in local jails grew at a faster rate (4.9%) than the number of adult males (2.2%). From 2000 to 2006, the number of adult females in local jails increased by 40%, compared to 22% in adult males. The number of juveniles held in adult jails declined by 1.0% (or 655 inmates). Juveniles held as adults dropped 16% in the 12 months ending June 30, 2006, but the number held as juveniles increased by 26%. Overall, the number of juveniles held in local jails decreased 20% between 2000 and 2006. At midyear 2006 local jails held 256 inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents, up from 252 at midyear 2005. The 1.6% increase in the incarceration rate continued a pattern of annual growth, but was less than half the 3.7% increase experienced from midyear 2004 to 2005. The jail incarceration rate varied by gender and race. Males (457 per 100,000) were incarcerated at about 7 times the rate of females (66 per 100,000). About 1 in every 219 males in the U.S. resident population was held in a local jail at midyear 2006, compared to 1 in every 1,515 females. Based on administrative records' designation of race and Hispanic origin, blacks were incarcerated at 4.8 times the rate of whites. About 1 in every 123 blacks were incarcerated on June 30, 2006, compared to 1 in every 353 Hispanics and 1 in every 588 whites. Characteristics of jail inmates changed slightly In the 12 months ending June 30, 2006, characteristics of inmates in local jails changed slightly. The reported percentage of females increased by 0.2% to reach 12.9% of all jail inmates. The respective percentages of white, black, convicted, and unconvicted jail inmates on June 30, 2006, were comparable to their percentages at midyear 2005. From 2000 to 2006 the number of females in local jails increased from 11.4% to 12.9% of the jail inmate population. Whites increased from 41.9% to 43.9%, and blacks decreased from 41.3% to 38.6%. The percentage of jail inmates who were convicted declined from 44% to 37.9%. Jail capacity expanded with the growth of the jail inmate population Total rated capacity of local jails at midyear 2006 reached 810,863 beds, an increase of 2.8%. Rated capacity is the maximum number of beds or inmates allocated by State or local rating officials to each jail facility. On June 30, 2006, local jails nationwide operated at an average of 94% of rated capacity. Based on the peak number of inmates incarcerated on a given day during the year, local jails nationwide operated at 100% of rated capacity. The smallest jail jurisdictions (those with an average daily population of fewer than 50 inmates) generally had a lower percent of capacity occupied. Jurisdictions with larger average daily populations generally met or exceeded their capacity. Local jail officials collectively added jail capacity at a rate about equal to the rate of growth in the jail inmate population. Between 1995 and 2006, the jail population and rated capacity both increased steadily, although during some periods the rates of increase in population and capacity varied. Between 1998 and 2001, capacity expanded more rapidly than did the jail population, and the average percentage of rated capacity used declined slightly, from about 97% to about 90%. After 2002 jail populations increased at a slightly faster rate than rated capacity, and the percentage of rated capacity used by local jails increased to 94% by 2006.***Footnote 2: On December 31, 2005, State prison systems were between operating 1% below and 14% above capacity. The Federal prison system was operating at 34% above capacity. See Prisoners in 2005, November 2006, NCJ 215092.*** A small number of large jail jurisdictions held majority of all jail inmates At midyear 2006, 5.6% of jurisdictions had average daily jail populations of 1,000 or more inmates. These jurisdictions held 50% of the nation's jail population. By comparison, 39.5% of jurisdictions had an average daily jail population of fewer than 50 inmates and held 3.1% of the nation's jail population. The Nation's 50 largest jail jurisdictions accounted for less than 2% of all jurisdictions but held 29.5% of all jail inmates on June 30, 2006. The two largest jail jurisdictions -- Los Angeles County and New York City -- held 32,703 inmates, or 4.3% of all jail inmates. In the 12-month period ending June 30, 2006, jail populations in the 50 largest jail jurisdictions increased 1.3%. Among these jurisdictions, 29 experienced jail inmate population increases, with the largest percentage increase occurring in Fresno County, California, up 22.2%. Twenty of the 50 largest jurisdictions experienced declines in jail inmate populations. The largest decrease occurred in Hillsborough County, Florida, down 16.9%. More than 60,000 jail inmates supervised outside of jail facilities On June 30, 2006, jail officials reported supervising 60,222 offenders in alternative programs outside of jail facilities. These offenders made up 7.3% of the total 826,232 offenders either in custody in jails or under supervision in the community by local jail officials. Offenders in community service(14,667), weekender programs(11,421), and on electronic monitoring (10,999) comprised the largest number of persons under supervision in the community. Total number of inmates in custody of prison or jail authorities increased by 2.8% During the 12 months ending midyear 2006, the total number of inmates in the custody of State and Federal prisons and in local jails increased by 2.8% to reach 2,245,189 inmates. This increase was smaller than the average annual growth rate of 3.4% percent from midyear 2000 to midyear 2006. The growth of inmates in different facilities varied. The number of inmates in Federal prisons increased by 3.2% from midyear 2005 to midyear 2006; those in local jails increased by 2.6%, and those in State prisons increased by 3.0%. One in every 133 U.S. residents in prison or jail at midyear 2006 At midyear 2006, 750 persons per 100,000 U.S. residents were in prison or jail, the equivalent to 1 in every 133 residents. This is an increase from 744 persons in prison or jail per 100,000 residents at midyear 2005. Increase in local jail inmates was a third of the total increase in total custody population In the 12 months ending June 30, 2006, the increase in the jail population accounted for 30% of the change in the population of inmates in custody, while the increase in the number of prisoners in State or Federal facilities accounted for 70%. By comparison, during the 12 months ending June 30, 2005 (the prior 12-month period), change in the local jail population accounted for 70% of the change in the custody population, while change in the number of inmates in State and Federal prisons accounted for 30% of the change in the total custody population. With one exception, jail population growth accounted for successively larger proportions of the change in the total custody population during each of the years from 2000 to 2005. The exception was during the 12 months ending on June 30, 2004. Between 2000 and 2005, the proportion of the change in the custody population due to change in the jail population increased from about 35% to 70%. Black males in their late twenties incarcerated at higher rates than other groups At midyear 2006 more black men (836,800) were in custody in State or Federal prison or local jail than white men (718,100) or Hispanic men (426,900). Black men comprised 41% of the more than 2 million men in custody, and black men age 20 to 29 comprised 15.5% of all men in custody on June 30, 2006. Relative to their numbers in the general population, about 4.8% of all black men were in custody at midyear 2006, compared to about 0.7% of white men and 1.9% of Hispanic men. Overall, black men were incarcerated at 6.5 times the rate of white men. The incarceration rate for black men was highest among black men age 25 to 29. About 11.7% of black males in this age group were incarcerated on June 30, 2006. Across age groups black men were between 5.7 and 8.5 times more likely than white men to be incarcerated. Among female offenders, more white women (95,300) than black women (68,800) or Hispanic women (32,400) were in custody. White women comprised 47% of the female population in custody at midyear 2006. In general females had a lower incarceration rate than males. White females had a lower incarceration rate (94 per 100,000 white women) than black females (358 per 100,000 black women) and Hispanic females (152 per 100,000 Hispanic women). The overall incarceration rate for black women was 3.8 times the rate for white women. Hispanic women were 1.6 times more likely than white women to be incarcerated. Across age groups black women were incarcerated between 2.8 and 4.3 times the rate of white women. Methodology National Prisoner Statistics The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), with the U.S. Census Bureau as its collection agent, obtains midyear and yearend counts of prisoners from the departments of corrections in the 50 States and from the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The National Prisoner Statistics(NPS)distinguishes prisoners in custody from those under jurisdiction. To have custody of a prisoner, a correctional agency must hold that person in one of its facilities. To have jurisdiction means that an entity has legal authority over a prisoner. Prisoners under a State's jurisdiction may be in the custody of a local jail, another State's prison, or in another correctional facility. Some States are unable to provide jurisdiction counts. NPS counts exclude persons confined in locally administered facilities (jails) and who are under the jurisdiction of local authorities. NPS counts include all inmates in State-operated facilities in Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Vermont, which have combined prison-jail systems. NPS exclude inmates held by the District of Columbia, which as of yearend 2001 operated only a jail system. Annual Survey of Jails, 2006 In each year between the years that BJS conducts a complete census of local jails, BJS conducts the Annual Survey of Jails (ASJ), a sample survey of local jails which is used to estimate the number and characteristics of local inmates nationwide. For the 2006 ASJ, the U.S. Census Bureau, as collection agent, drew a sample of 874 jurisdictions and 936 jail facilities. Local jail jurisdictions include counties (parishes in Louisiana) or municipal governments that administer one or more local jails. The 2006 ASJ sample included all jails operated jointly by two or more jurisdictions, multi-jurisdictional jails, with certainty (63). Other jail jurisdictions included with certainty (269)were those that(1) held juveniles inmates at the time of the 2005 Census of Jail Inmates and that had an average daily population of 500 or more inmates during the 12 months ending June 30, 2005, or (2) held only adults and the average daily inmate population was 750 or more. The remaining jurisdictions were stratified into two groups: jurisdictions with jails holding at least one juvenile on June 30, 2005, and jails hold only adults on that date. Using stratified random sampling, 542 jurisdictions were selected from 8 strata based upon the two conditions enumerated above and 4 strata based upon their average daily jail inmate population during 2005. The average daily jail inmate population was derived from the 2005 Census of Jail Inmates. Data were obtained from sampled jurisdictions by mail-out and web-based survey questionnaires. After follow-up phone calls to respondents, the response rate for the survey was 100% for critical items such as the number of inmates confined, average daily population, and rated capacity. (See Appendix tables 10, 11, and 12 for standard errors associated with reported estimates from the ASJ 2006 at .) National Prisoner Statistics jurisdiction notes Alaska -- Prisons and jails form one integrated system. All NPS data include jail and prison populations. Jurisdiction counts exclude inmates held in local jails that are operated by communities. Arizona -- Counts are based on custody data. California C Counts include unsentenced inmates temporarily housed in local jails or in hospitals. Colorado -- Counts include 579 inmates housed in local jails, 4,362 inmates in Colorado contract facilities, and 219 inmates in the Youthful Offender System, which was established primarily for violent juvenile offenders. Counts of inmates with sentences of more than 1 year include an undetermined number with a sentence of 1 year or less. Report foreign-born inmates rather than noncitizens. Connecticut -- Prisons and jails form one integrated system. All NPS data include jail and prison populations. Delaware -- Prisons and jails form one integrated system. All NPS data include jail and prison populations. Federal -- Custody counts include inmates housed in privately operated secure facilities under contract with BOP. Also includes 7,357 inmates held in privately operated community correctional centers. An additional 219 inmates under age 18 were housed in contract facilities. Georgia -- Counts are based on custody data. Hawaii -- Prisons and jails form one integrated system. All NPS data include jail and prison populations. Non-citizen data based only on inmates who reported their citizenship. Illinois -- Counts are based on jurisdiction data. Counts of inmates with sentences of more than 1 year include an undetermined number with a sentence of 1 year. Iowa -- Counts are based on custody data. Counts of inmates with sentences of more than 1 year include an undetermined number with a sentence of 1 year or less and unsentenced inmates. Kansas -- Counts of inmates with sentences of more than 1 year include an undetermined number with a sentence of 1 year or less. Citizenship counts are estimated. Louisiana -- Counts include 15,053 males and 1,177 females housed in local jails as a result of a partnership with the Louisiana Sheriffs' Association and local authorities. Maryland -- Counts by sentence length are estimates extracted from actual sentence length breakdowns from automated data and applied to totals based on manual data. Report foreign-born inmates rather than noncitizens. Massachusetts -- Jurisdiction counts exclude approximately 6,200 male inmates in the county system (local jails and houses of correction) serving a sentence of more than 1 year. These male inmates are included in Massachusetts' incarceration rate. By law, offenders may be sentenced to terms up to 2« years in locally operated jails and correctional institutions. Mississippi -- Does not collect citizenship data. Missouri -- Reports foreign-born inmates rather than noncitizens. New Jersey -- Counts of inmates with sentences of more than 1 year include an undetermined number with a sentence of 1 year. Citizenship data are not collected from every inmate. New York -- Reports foreign-born inmates rather than noncitizens. Ohio -- Counts of inmates with sentences of more than 1 year include an undetermined number with a sentence of 1 year or less. Rhode Island -- Prisons and jails form one integrated system. All NPS data include jail and prison populations. Tennessee -- Reports foreign-born inmates rather than noncitizens. Vermont -- Prisons and jails form an integrated system. All NPS data include jail and prison populations. ---------------------------------------------- The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. Jeffrey L. Sedgwick is director. BJS Bulletins present the first release of findings from permanent data collection programs. This Bulletin was written by William J. Sabol, Ph.D., Todd D. Minton, and Paige M. Harrison. Todd D. Minton and Paige M. Harrison also verified the report. Lisa A. McNelis, Pamela H. Butler, and Theresa M. Reitz carried out the data collection and processing under the supervision of Charlene M. Sebold, Governments Division, Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce. Duane H. Cavanaugh and Diron J. Gaskins provided technical assistance. Carolyn C. Williams and Tina Dorsey produced and edited the report, and Jayne Robinson prepared the report for final printing, under the supervision of Doris J. James. June 2007, NCJ 217675 ------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------ This report in portable document format (includes 12 appendix tables) and in ASCII and its related statistical data are available at the BJS World Wide Web Internet site: ------------------------------------------------ Revised 03/07/08 End of file 03/07/08 rck