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...

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M. EST          BJS
SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 1997             202/633-3047

    NATION'S JAIL AND PRISON INCARCERATION RATE
         ALMOST DOUBLED DURING LAST DECADE

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The incarceration rate in
the nation's federal and state prisons and local
jails almost doubled during the last decade, the
Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics
(BJS) announced today.  However, this growth
recently slowed...

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M. EDT           BJS
THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 1997              202/633-3047
       
       PRISON CONSTRUCTION KEEPING PACE 
           WITH POPULATION GROWTH


     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- State and federal officials
built 213 new prisons--168 state and 45 federal
facilities--with more than 280,000 beds between 1990
and 1995 to keep pace with the growing prison
population, the Justice Department announced today. 
As of mid-year 1995...

Truth in Sentencing in State Prisons

U.S.DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M. EST         BJS 
SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 1999            202/307-0784
         
STATE SENTENCING LAW CHANGES LINKED TO
INCREASING TIME SERVED IN STATE PRISONS  

     WASHINGTON, D.C.--As the states continue to
enact restrictions on the possibility of
early release, prisoners, especially violent
offenders, are spending more time behind bars, the
Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics...

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M. EDT              BJS
SUNDAY, JULY 11, 1999                     202/307-0784 
                
         
MORE THAN A QUARTER MILLION PRISON AND JAIL INMATES
ARE IDENTIFIED AS MENTALLY ILL

   WASHINGTON, D.C.   An estimated 283,800 mentally
ill offenders were held in the nation's state and
federal prisons and local jails at midyear 1998,
according to a special report released today by the
Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics...

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M. EDT           BJS
SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 1999               202/307-0784 


THE NATION'S PRISON POPULATION GREW BY 60,000
INMATES LAST YEAR THE LARGEST INCREASE SINCE 1995  

     WASHINGTON, D.C.   The nation's state and
federal prison population grew by almost 60,000
inmates during 1998 the states and the District of
Columbia added 49,798 prisoners and the federal
system added 10,068, the Justice Department's
Bureau of...

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

EMBARGOED UNTIL 4:30 P.M. EDT                                   BJS
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30,  2000                       202/307-0784    
             
         
ALMOST 1.5 MILLION MINOR CHILDREN
HAVE A MOTHER OR FATHER IN PRISON

     WASHINGTON, D.C.   Of the nation's 72 million minor
children (17 years old and younger), an estimated 2 percent had an
imprisoned parent in 1999, the Justice Department's Bureau of
Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today.  Last year, an estimated...

EMBARGOED UNTIL 4:30 P.M. EDT                                          BJS
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9,  2000                                    202/307-0784  
               
THE NATION'S PRISON POPULATION GROWTH RATE SLOWS

     WASHINGTON, D.C.   During 1999, the nation's prison population
rose at the lowest rate since 1979 and recorded the smallest absolute
increase since 1988, according to a bulletin released today by the
Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The prison
population growth slowed to 3.4 percent last...