Prisons

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...

NATION'S STATE PRISON POPULATION FALLS IN SECOND HALF OF 2000 -- FIRST SUCH DECLINE SINCE 1972

WASHINGTON, D.C. - During the last six months of 2000, the nation's state prison population declined by more than 6,200 inmates - the first measured decline since 1972, the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)...

FEDERAL PRISON POPULATION INCREASES A RECORD AMOUNT
STATE AND LOCAL INMATE GROWTH MODERATES

WASHINGTON, D.C. - During the first six months of 2001 the federal prison system added 7,372 inmates, the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today. It was the largest ever six-month growth in the federal system. At...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...