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

Victims of crime

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...

Assault

An unlawful physical attack or threat of attack. Assaults may be classified as aggravated or simple. Rape, attempted rape, and sexual assaults are excluded from this category, as well as robbery and attempted robbery. The severity of assaults ranges from minor threats to nearly fatal incidents.