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1991 Prisoners in 1 (1991)

handle is hein.death/prsin1991 and id is 1 raw text is: U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics II II= Bureau~~~. of Jutc -ttsis Prisoners in 1991 By Tracy L Snell BJS Statistician and Danielle C. Morton Statistical Assistant The number of prisoners under the jurisdic- tion of Federal or State correctional authori- ties at yearend 1991 reached a record high of 823,414. The States and the District of Columbia added 44,208 prisoners; the Fed- eral system, 6,082. The increase for 1991 brings total growth in the prison population since 1980 to 493,593 - an increase of about 150% In the 11-year period (table 1). The 1991 growth rate (6.5%) was less than the percentage increase recorded during 1990 (8.7%), and the number of new pris- oners added during 1991 was 9,867 less than the number added during the preced- ing year (60,157). The 1991 increase Table 1. Change In the State and Federal prison populations, 1980-91 Total Number Annual percent of percent change Year Inmates change since 1980 1980 329,821 1981 369,930 12.2% 12.2% 1982 413,806 11.9 25.5 1983 436,855 5.6 32.5 1984 462,002 5.8 40.1 1985 502,752 8.8 52.4 1986 545,378 8.5 65.4 1987 585,292 7.3 77.5 1988 631.990 8.0 91.6 1989 712,967 12.8 116.2 1990 773,124 8.4 134.4 1991 823,414 6.5 149.7 Note: All counts are for December 31 of each year and may reflect revisions of previously reported numbers. translates Into a nationwide need for ap- proximately 967 prison bedspaces per week, compared to the 1,157 prison bedspaces per week needed in 1990. Prisoners with sentences of more than 1 year (referred to as sentenced prison- ers) accounted for 96% of the total prison population at the end of 1991, growing by 6.8% during the year (table 2). The remain- ing prisoners had sentences of a year or less or were unsentenced (for example, those awaiting trial In States with combined prison-jail systems). The number of sentenced Federal prisoners increased at a faster rate than sentenced prisoners in the States during 1991 (12.5% versus 6.4%). While the rate of increase in the number of sentenced prisoners for State systems was lower than in 1990 (6.4% and 8.7%), the rate of Increase in the Federal system was higher (13.2% and 10.7%). The number of Federal prisoners with no sentences or sentences of less than a year decreased by 211 during 1991 (from 15,123 to 14,912), while the number of sentenced prisoners increased by 6,293. Prison populations in New Mexico, West Virginia, and Wyoming decreased during 1991. The decrease in these 3 States totaled only 187 inmates. The highest percentage Increases during 1991 were reported for Rhode Island (15.9%), Washington (14.5%), New Hampshire (14.2%), and Arkansas (13.9%). Ten States reported total prisoner population increases of 10/ or more since yearend 1990. California's Increase of about 4,500 prisoners during the year was the largest gain in the number of prisoners for any single jurisdiction; however, 1991 was the first year since 1977 when California's rate of Increase fell below the national average. May 1992 This Bulletin presents counts of the Nation's prisoners at the end of 1991. The 1991 Increase of over 50,000 pris- oners equals a demand for approxi- mately 1,000 new prison beds per week nationwide. State prisons were estimated to be operating from 16% to 31% above their capacities at yearend. The 1991 growth rate was the lowest annual percentage change since 1984. During 1991, 12 States and the Federal prison system experienced growth of 10% or more in the number of sentenced prisoners. By contrast, in 1989, a year of peak growth, 29 States and the Federal system exper- ienced such an increase. The number of sentenced prisoners increased more in 1991 than In any year from 1985 to 1988 but less than in the record years of 1989 and 1990. The Bureau of Justice Statistics expresses its appreciation to the departments of corrections in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the Federal Prison System, that make it possible for us to gather and report data on the Nation's prisoners. Steven D. Dillingham, Ph.D. Director

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