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1981 Prisoners in 1 (1981)

handle is hein.death/prsin1981 and id is 1 raw text is: U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics P son s R9A During 1981, the Nation's prison population grew by almost 40,000--by far the largest increase in a single year since data became available in 1925. This huge 12.1 percent influx pushed the number of Federal and State prisoners up to 369,009 and surpassed the record 10.5 percent annual growth rate set in 1975. Between 1980 and 1981 the incarceration rate of sentenced prisoners rose from 139 to 154 per 100,000 U.S. resident population. The sharp increase can be attributed in part to sentencing laws enacted by many States during the past 5 years, notably mandatory imprisonment for certain crimes, usually those of a violent nature, and determinate sentencing, which, in general, pre- cludes the possibility of parole. During 1981, the number of States under court orders to reduce over- May 1982 The statistics in this report are from the National Prisoner Statistics program, which is among the oldest in the criminal justice statistical series. These data are collected annually for the Bureau of Justice Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau from the departments of corrections in the 50 States and the District of Columbia. The cooperation of State officials, whose generous assistance and unfailing patience make the NPS program possible, is gratefully acknowledged. Benjamin H. Renshaw III Acting Director crowding rose from 28 to 31, while the number involved in litigation about overall prison conditions increased from Number of sentenced State and Federal prisoners, yearend 1925-81 Thousands 360 - 360 330 - Jurisdiction 330 300 _ 300 270 - - 270 240 - 240 210 - 210 180 - 180 150 - 150 120 Custody - 120 90 - 90 60 - 60 30 30 925 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 Note: Prior to 1978, NPS reports were based on the custody population. Beginning in 1978, focus is on the jurisdiction population. Both figures are shown for 1977 to facilitate year-to year comparison. Figure 1 32 to 37. Moreover, dependence on local jails for substitute housing grew substantially. The 1981 prison population increase affected both Federal and State correctional systems, as well as both sentenced and unsentenced prison inmates. The number of prisoners under Federal jurisdiction grew by nearly 3,800, or 16 percent, reversing a 3-year decline begun in 1978 that had reduced the Federal prison population by one-fourth. Federal authorities linked the 1981 growth to increased attention to bank robbery and drug offenses. The bulk of the increase in prisoners occurred in State institutions, which held an additional 36,000 inmates at yearend. Behind this growth were measures reflecting a sterner public attitude toward crime and criminals. During the past 5 years 37 States have passed mandatory sentencing laws and 11 States have passed determinate sentencing laws, both of which frequently result in a longer average time served than indeterminate sentences. Many States have adopted more stringent regulations on the use of parole, and four States have abolished it altogether. During 1981, prison populations increased in 49 States and the District of Columbia. Only Michigan, which released prisoners under its new emergency rollback law, reported a decline (I percent). Increases of less than 5 percent occurred in only seven States (Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, West Virginia, and Wyoming). Nearly half the growth in the number of State prisoners occurred in the seven States that added more than 1,600 ,! r

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