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1983 Prisoners in 1 (1983)

handle is hein.death/prsin1983 and id is 1 raw text is: U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics IU~ TJPI1Sk 7L 74 7 00 During 1983 some 24,000 prisoners were added to State and Federal prison rolls, bringing the total number to 438,830. The increase for 1983, 5.9%, was less than half of that for 1982 (table 1). The slowdown took place only in State institutions, whose population increased by 5.8%, compared to 12.5% in 1982. The Federal prison population grew at a somewhat faster rate in 1983 than in 1982, 7.6% and 5.5%, respec- tively. Table 1. Change in total prison population, 1974-83 Percent Year Number change 1974 229,721 1975 253,816 10.5 1976 278,000 9.5 1977f- stody) 291,667 4.9 19776urisdiction) 300,024 NA 1978 307,276 2.4 1979 314,457 2.3 1980 329,821 4.9 1981 369,930 12.2 1982 414,362 12.0 1983 438,830 5.9 NOTE: Before 1977, National Prisoner Statis- tics reports were based on the custody popula- tion; beginning in 1977, they were based on the jurisdiction population. Both are shown for 1977 to facilitate year-to-year comparison. NA Not applicable. The slowing of the growth rate, evi- dent already in the first half of 1983, conti ued during the second half of the year.y Data for both 1981 and 1982 suggest a general slowing of growth toward the end of the year that may be a seasonal effect. However, the down- turn in the second half of 1983 was much sharper than the second-half downturns in 1981 and 1982. During 1983, 11 States experienced declines in their prison populations; of these, 7 had declines of at least 5%. In 1See Prisoners at Midyear 1983, BJS Bulletin, October 1983, NCJ-91034. April 1984 This bulletin presents 1983 yearend information on the popula- tion confined within our Nation's prisons. Such data have been col- lected continuously from the States and the Federal Prison System since the mid-1920's as a central compo- nent of the National Prisoner Statistics (NPS3 program. This year, two new features have been added to the collection effort. First, due to concern about prison capacity and the substantial public funds that have been allocated to capital improvements, reporting jurisdictions were asked to provide capacity estimates for available housing stock. Second, jurisdictions were asked to provide data on the use of early release due to crowding as a means of assessing the extent of such crowding. This added informa- tion, together with the statistics collected on State-sentenced persons who are held in local jails due to a lack of prison space, helps to provide a more comprehensive picture of prison capacity. The problems associated with prisons during 1983, including insuf- ficient capacity, court orders, jail back-ups, and emergency releases, represent major dilemmas for the orderly operation of facilities. From a different perspective, however, such problems have also contrast, only two States reported declines in 1982 and none in 1981. New Jersey was the only State added to the list of those with more than 10,000 inmates; this was because for the first time it included in its offi- cial count inmates held in local jails because of prison crowding. In 1983, as in 1982, the same number of States, provided opportunities to explore the utility and feasibility of new directions for the Nation's prisons. Many systems, for example, have be- gun to seek, in the private sector, solutions to problems such as health care, prison industry, housing, and even the operation of prisons. At a broader policy level, legislatures have taken a heightened interest in defining the purposes of prison and have begun to experiment with new models to guide sentencing and release decisions. Corrections prac- titioners, by articulating minimum standards for facilities, have begun carefully to examine and suggest consensual policies for the profession. Finally, research and systematic inquiry have been initia- ted to assess the impact of policy and legislative reforms as well as the effectiveness and efficiency of cor- rectional methods and practices. The Bureau of Justice Statistics wishes to acknowledge the coopera- tion and continued support of the departments of corrections in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the Federal Prison System. The con- tinuing success of the program for nearly 60 years is entirely due to the generous voluntary partinipation of each of the jurisdictions. Steven R. Schlesinger Director four, held more than 20,000 inmates. Only about half as many States (18 vs. 34) had prison population increases of 10% or more in 1983 as compared to 1982. The slowing of the growth rate during 1983, following record high increases in 1981 and 1982, was similar to the situation in 1977, when the C 1I9e 3

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