Prisons

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 5 P.M. EST          BJS
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1995          202/307-0784

         STATE AND FEDERAL PRISONS REPORT
        RECORD GROWTH DURING LAST 12 MONTHS

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The number of state and
federal prison inmates grew by 89,404 during the
12 months ending June 30, 1995, the Department of
Justice announced today.  It was the largest one-
year population increase the...

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

     THE NATION'S PRISON POPULATION GREW
                ALMOST 9 PERCENT LAST YEAR

                      ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 5 P.M. EDT BJS 
                        WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 1995 202/307-0784

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The nation's state and federal prisons had to 
find room for 83,294 more inmates last year--the
second largest annual increase in history and just 1,470 fewer than 
the 84,764 increase recorded in 1989. The total...

Survey of Inmate Characteristics

 
ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 5 P.M. EDT
WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 1990                         BJS                           

202-307-0784
 
     An estimated 16 percent of prison inmates were armed with
a gun when they committed the offense for which they were
serving time, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced
today.  About half of the armed inmates (or about 8 percent of
all prisoners) said they had fired...

Comparing Federal and State Prisoners

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 5 P.M. EST                           
BJS  SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1994                            
202-307-0784

            COMPARING FEDERAL AND STATE PRISONERS

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Most federal prisoners are drug
offenders, but almost half of state prisoners are serving
time for violent crimes.  Offenders in federal prisons are
almost three times as likely as state prisoners to be
incarcerated for a drug offense, according...

Record Number of Prisoners Reached Again Last Year
U.S. Department of Justice

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 5 P.M. EST                            BJS
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 1994                             202-307-0784


WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The number of state and federal prisoners at 
the end of last year reached a new record number--948,881 
inmates, an almost two-fold increase since 1980, the Justice 
Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today.  
In 1980...

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 5 P.M. EST           BJS
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1995          202/307-0784

 23 PERCENT OF THOSE ARRESTED FOR WEAPONS OFFENSES
           ARE YOUNGER THAN 18 YEARS OLD

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Almost a quarter of those
arrested for weapons offenses are minors, the
Department of Justice said today.  In a study of
people arrested for weapons offenses during 1993,
23 percent were...

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 5 P.M. EDT           BJS
SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 1996            202/633-3047


         Almost 1.6 milllion men and women
        in the Nation's Prisons and Jails

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- There were almost 1.6 million
men and women in the nation's jails and prisons
last year, an increase of 66,843 in state prisons
and 5,216 in federal prisons from 1994, the
Department of...