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1992 Prisoners in 1 (1992)

handle is hein.death/prsin1992 and id is 1 raw text is: U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics

I.IC
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Prisoners in 1992

By Darrell K. GIllard
BJS Statistician
The number of prisoners under the
jurisdiction of Federal or State correctional
authorities at yearend 1992 reached a
record high of 883,593. The States and
the District of Columbia added 50,809
prisoners; the Federal system, 8,651. The
increase for 1992 brings total growth In the
prison population since 1980 to 553,772,
an increase of about 168% In the 12-year
period (table 1).
The 1992 growth rate (7.2%) was greater
than the percentage increase recorded
during 1991 (6.6%), and the number of
new prisoners added during 1992 was
8,451 more than the number added during
the preceding year (51,009). The 1992
Increase translates into a nationwide need
for approximately 1,143 prison bedspaces
Table 1. Change In the State and
Federal prison populations, 1980-92
Total
Annual  percent
Number   percent change
Year  of Inmates  chanqe  since 1980

329,821
369,930
413,806
436,855
462,002
502,752
545,378
585,292
631,990
712,967
773,124
824,133
883,593

12.2%
11.9
5.6
5.8
8.8
8.5
7.3
8.0
12.8
8.4
6.6
7.2

12.2%
25.5
32.5
40.1
52.4
65.4
77.5
91.6
116.2
134.4
149.9
167.9

per week, compared to the nearly 981
prison bedspaces per week needed in
1991.
Prisoners with sentences of more than 1
year (referred to as sentenced prisoners)
accounted for 96% of the total prison
population at the end of 1992, growing
by 7.3% during the year (table 2). The
remaining 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 pris-
oners increased at a faster rate than
sentenced prisoners In the States during
1992 (15.9% versus 6.8%). These annual
rates of increase were higher than in 1991
when the Federal system grew 12.5%, and
State systems, 6.4%.
The number of Federal prisoners with no
sentences or sentences of less than a ycar
decreased during 1992 (from 14,912 to
14,553), while the number of sentenced
prisoners increased by 9,010.
Prison populations in Maine, New Jersey,
North Dakota, Oregon, and Wyoming
decreased during 1992. The decrease In
these 5 States totaled 1,135 inmates. The
highest percentages of growth during 1992
were reported in Texas (18.4%), West
Virginia (16.2%), New Hampshire (15.9%),
Idaho (15.5%), and Wisconsin (15.4%).
Eight States reported total prisoner
population increases of 10% or more
since yearend 1991.
Texas' increase of 9,501 prisoners during
the year was the largest gain in the
number of prisoners for any single
jurisdiction, followed by California (7,688),

New York (3,874), and Michigan (2,596).
Texas accounted for about 16% of the
increase in prison population nationwide.
May 1993
This edition of the annual prisoner
report provides some added detail
on historical trends in the offense
composition and criminal justice
status of State prison admissions.
In 1980, about 1 of every 15 court-
committed entries to State prison
was an offender convicted of a drug
offense. In 1990 drug offenses
accounted for about 1 in 3 new
commitments to State prison. Across
the same period, the percentage of
prison admissions entering as viola-
tors of probation or parole conditions
also Increased - from about 17%
of all admissions In 1980 to aboul
30% of 1991 State prison admissions.
Together, these data translate into a
150%-Increase In the number of State
prisoners between 1980 and 1991, a
142%-Increase in the number of
court-committed admissions, and a
425%-Increase In the number of
admissions of conditional release
violators. From 1980 to 1990 the
number of drug offenders entering
State prisons Increased over 11-fold.
On behalf of BJS, I want to extend my
appreciation to those officials in State
correctional agencies who supplied
the data for this report.
Lawrence A. Greenfeld
Acting Director

aC.,

Note: All counts are for December 31 of each
year and may reflect revisions of previously
reported numbers.
-Not applicable.

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