U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

Adult correctional facilities

Prisoners in 2002

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M. EDT Bureau of Justice Statistics
SUNDAY, JULY 27, 2003 Contact: Stu Smith
  202/307-0784

U.S. PRISON POPULATION RISES 2.6 PERCENT DURING 2002

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The country's prisons, jails and juvenile facilities held 2,166,260 persons at the end of last year, the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) said in a report released today. This incarcerated population was...

Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2003

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M. EDT Bureau of Justice Statistics
THURSDAY, May 27, 2004 Contact: Stu Smith 202/307-0784
  After hours: 301-983-9354

NATION'S PRISON POPULATION INCREASE LARGEST IN FOUR YEARS

Nearly 2.1 Million Incarcerated in Local, State and Federal Facilities

WASHINGTON, D.C.- The nation's prisons and jails held 2,078,570 men and women on June 30, 2003, an increase of 57,600 more inmates than state...

Prison and Jail Inmates, Midyear 2004

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M. EDT Bureau of Justice Statistics
APRIL 24, 2005 www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs
  Contact: Stu Smith 202/307-0784
  After hours: 301-983-9354

NATION'S PRISON AND JAIL POPULATION GREW BY 932 INMATES PER WEEK NUMBER OF FEMALE INMATES REACHED MORE THAN 100,000

WASHINGTON - The nation's prisons and jails held 2,131,180 inmates as of June 30, 2004, the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics...

Suicide and Homicide in State Prisons and Local Jails

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M. EDT Bureau of Justice Statistics
SUNDAY, AUGUST 21, 2005 bjs.gov
  Contact: Stu Smith 202/307-0784
  After hours: 301-983-9354

STATE PRISON HOMICIDE RATES DOWN 93 PERCENT JAIL SUICIDE RATES 64 PERCENT LOWER THAN IN EARLY 1980s

WASHINGTON - The suicide rate in local jails fell from 129 per 100,000 inmates in 1983 to 47 per 100,000 in 2002, the...

Prisoners in 2003

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M. EST Bureau of Justice Statistics
SUNDAY, November 7, 2004 Contact: Stu Smith 202/307-0784
  After hours: 301-983-9354

U.S. PRISON POPULATION APPROACHES 1.5 MILLION

WASHINGTON - State and federal authorities held 1,470,045 prisoners as of December 31, 2003, a 2.1 percent increase during the year, the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today. The Federal Bureau of Prisons...

Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear, 2005

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M. EDT Bureau of Justice Statistics
SUNDAY, May 21, 2006 Contact: Stu Smith 202/307-0784
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs After hours: 301-983-9354
   

NATION'S PRISON AND JAIL POPULATION GREW 2.6 PERCENT DURING 12 MONTHS THAT ENDED JUNE 30, 2005

WASHINGTON - During the year that ended last June 30, the nation's prison and jail population grew 2.6 percent, reaching 2,186,230 inmates behind bars...

Prisoners in 2004

ADVANCED FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M. EDT Bureau of Justice Statistics
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2005 http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/
  Contact: Stu Smith 202-307-0703
  After hours: 301-983-9354

THE NATION'S PRISON POPULATION CONTINUES ITS SLOW GROWTH
UP 1.9 PERCENT LAST YEAR

WASHINGTON - The number of prisoners in the United States rose 1.9 percent during 2004, the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today. This was lower...

Mental Health Problems of Prison and Jail Inmates

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M. EDT Bureau of Justice Statistics
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2006 bjs.gov
  Contact: Stu Smith 202/307-0784
  After hours: 301-983-9354

STUDY FINDS MORE THAN HALF OF ALL PRISON AND JAIL INMATES HAVE MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS

WASHINGTON - More than half of all prison and jail inmates, including 56 percent of state prisoners, 45 percent of federal prisoners and 64 percent...

HIV in Prisons, 2004 and Medical Problems of Jail Inmates

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M. EST Bureau of Justice Statistics
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2006 bjs.gov
  Contact: Stu Smith 202/307-0784
  After hours: 301-983-9354

HIV-POSITIVE STATE AND FEDERAL PRISONERS DECREASED FOR A FIFTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR

More than one third of jail inmates reported a medical problem in a national survey

WASHINGTON - The numbers of both HIV-positive state and federal prisoners and AIDS-related prisoner...

Prisoners in 2005 and Probation and Parole in the United States, 2005

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M. EST Bureau of Justice Statistics
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2006 www.bjs.gov
  Contact: Stu Smith 202/307-0784
  After hours: 301-983-9354

ONE IN EVERY 32 ADULTS WAS IN A PRISON, JAIL, ON PROBATION, OR ON PAROLE AT THE END OF 2005

WASHINGTON - As of last Dec. 31 there were 1,525,924 prisoners being held by state and federal correctional authorities, the...

Medical Causes of Death in State Prisons, 2001-2004

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT NOON EST Bureau of Justice Statistics
SUNDAY, JANUARY 21, 2007 www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs
  Contact: Stu Smith 202/307-0784
  After hours: 301-983-9354

DEATH RATES LOWER IN STATE PRISONS THAN IN THE GENERAL POPULATION

Nine in Ten Deaths Due to Illness

WASHINGTON - The nation's state prison officials reported that 12,129 inmates died while in custody from 2001 through 2004, the Justice Department's Bureau...

Veterans in State and Federal Prisons, 2004

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:00 P.M. EDT Bureau of Justice Statistics
SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 2007 Contact: Stu Smith 202/307-0784
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs After hours: 301-983-9354

MALE VETERANS LESS THAN HALF AS LIKELY AS MALE NON-VETERANS TO BE IN PRISON IN 2004

Veterans Older, Better Educated Than Other State and Federal Prisoners

WASHINGTON - There were an estimated 140,000 veterans held in state and federal prisons in 2004...

Prisoners in 2006 and Probation and Parole in the United States, 2006

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:00 P.M. EST Bureau of Justice Statistics
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2007 Contact: Stu Smith 202-307-0784
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/ After hours: 301-983-9354

ONE IN EVERY 31 U.S. ADULTS WAS IN A PRISON OR JAIL OR ON PROBATION OR PAROLE AT THE END OF LAST YEAR

WASHINGTON - The U.S. adult correctional population, incarcerated or in the community, reached 7.2 million men and women, an...

Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2006

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT NOON EDT Bureau of Justice Statistics
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27, 2007 Contact: Stu Smith 202/307-0784
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov After hours: 301-983-9354
Revised 6/28/07  

Corrections:
Paragraph 2- increased by 42,552
Paragraph 4 - Alaska had the largest percentage increase (up 9.4 percent)

LARGEST INCREASE IN PRISON AND JAIL INMATE POPULATIONS
SINCE MIDYEAR 2000

More Than 2.24 Million Incarcerated as of June 30, 2006

WASHINGTON...

HIV in Prisons, 2005

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:00 P.M. EDT Bureau of Justice Statistics
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2007 Contact: Sheila Jerusalem 202-616-3227
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs After hours: 410-585-0565

HIV/AIDS CASES AMONG STATE AND FEDERAL PRISON INMATES
FELL FOR THE SIXTH STRAIGHT YEAR DURING 2005

The Estimated Number of AIDS-Related Deaths Continued to Decline

WASHINGTON - There were 22,480 state and federal inmates who were HIV infected or had confirmed AIDS...

HIV in Prisons, 2006 and Medical Problems of Prisoners

ADVANCE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Bureau of Justice Statistics
TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 2008 Contact: Stu Smith 202-307-0784
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs After hours: 301-983-9354

NUMBER OF HIV-POSITIVE STATE AND FEDERAL INMATES CONTINUES TO DECLINE

About 44 percent of state inmates and 39 percent of federal inmates have medical problems

WASHINGTON Between 2005 and 2006 the number of state and federal prisoners who were HIV-positive decreased 3.1 percent from 22,676...

Prison Inmates at Midyear 2007 and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2007

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 12:01 A.M. EDT Bureau of Justice Statistics
FRIDAY, JUNE 6, 2008 Contact: Sheila Jerusalem: 202-616-3227
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs After hours: 202-598-3570

SLOWER GROWTH IN THE NATION’S PRISON AND JAIL POPULATIONS

WASHINGTON -- The growth in the number of prisoners under state or federal jurisdiction slowed during the first six months of 2007, the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reported today. The...

Parents in Prison and Their Minor Children

IMMEDIATE RELEASE AT 4:00 P.M. EDT Bureau of Justice Statistics
TUESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2008 Contact: Kara McCarthy: 202-307-1241
bjs.gov After hours: 781-308-3696

AN ESTIMATED 809,800 INMATES IN THE NATION'S PRISONS WERE PARENTS TO 1,706,600 MINOR CHILDREN AT MIDYEAR 2007

WASHINGTON - An estimated 809,800 prisoners of the 1,518,535 held in the nation's prison at midyear 2007 were parents of minor children, according to a report...

Prison Inmates at Midyear 2008 - Statistical Tables and Jail Inmates at Midyear - Statistical Tables

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:00 P.M. EDT Bureau of Justice Statistics
TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 2009 Contact: Kara McCarthy 202-307-1241
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs After hours: 781-308-3696

GROWTH IN PRISON AND JAIL POPULATIONS SLOWING:

16 States Report Declines in the Number of Prisoners

WASHINGTON - As of June 30, 2008, state and federal correctional authorities had jurisdiction or legal authority over 1,610,584 prisoners. Additionally, 785,556 inmates were held in...