Correctional Populations in the United States, 1986


Book Description

This volume replaces four separate publications that presented the data before 1985 and emphasizes the connections between the segments of the growing number of persons under correctional supervision.




The Growth of Incarceration in the United States


Book Description

After decades of stability from the 1920s to the early 1970s, the rate of imprisonment in the United States has increased fivefold during the last four decades. The U.S. penal population of 2.2 million adults is by far the largest in the world. Just under one-quarter of the world's prisoners are held in American prisons. The U.S. rate of incarceration, with nearly 1 out of every 100 adults in prison or jail, is 5 to 10 times higher than the rates in Western Europe and other democracies. The U.S. prison population is largely drawn from the most disadvantaged part of the nation's population: mostly men under age 40, disproportionately minority, and poorly educated. Prisoners often carry additional deficits of drug and alcohol addictions, mental and physical illnesses, and lack of work preparation or experience. The growth of incarceration in the United States during four decades has prompted numerous critiques and a growing body of scientific knowledge about what prompted the rise and what its consequences have been for the people imprisoned, their families and communities, and for U.S. society. The Growth of Incarceration in the United States examines research and analysis of the dramatic rise of incarceration rates and its affects. This study makes the case that the United States has gone far past the point where the numbers of people in prison can be justified by social benefits and has reached a level where these high rates of incarceration themselves constitute a source of injustice and social harm. The Growth of Incarceration in the United States examines policy changes that created an increasingly punitive political climate and offers specific policy advice in sentencing policy, prison policy, and social policy. The report also identifies important research questions that must be answered to provide a firmer basis for policy. This report is a call for change in the way society views criminals, punishment, and prison. This landmark study assesses the evidence and its implications for public policy to inform an extensive and thoughtful public debate about and reconsideration of policies.







Race of Prisoners Admitted to State and Federal Institutions, 1926-86


Book Description

Documents the racial composition of U.S. prisoners across 60 years. Statistics are year-by-year and state-by-state on the race of prisoners admitted to State and federal prisons in the U.S. Tables.







NPS Bulletin


Book Description




Locked In


Book Description

A groundbreaking reassessment of the American prison system, challenging the widely accepted explanations for our exploding incarceration rates In Locked In, John Pfaff argues that the factors most commonly cited to explain mass incarceration -- the failed War on Drugs, draconian sentencing laws, an increasing reliance on private prisons -- tell us much less than we think. Instead, Pfaff urges us to look at other factors, especially a major shift in prosecutor behavior that occurred in the mid-1990s, when prosecutors began bringing felony charges against arrestees about twice as often as they had before. An authoritative, clear-eyed account of a national catastrophe, Locked In is "a must-read for anyone who dreams of an America that is not the world's most imprisoned nation" (Chris Hayes, author of A Colony in a Nation). It transforms our understanding of what ails the American system of punishment and ultimately forces us to reconsider how we can build a more equitable and humane society.







Correctional Populations in the United States, 1995


Book Description

Presents statistical reports on: trends in U.S. correctional populations, jail inmates in 1995, probation in 1995, State & Federal correctional facilities in 1995, prisoners in 1995, parole in 1995, capital punishment in 1995, & U.S. military corrections in 1995. Includes a history of U.S. corrections statistics, definitions of common terms used in the tables, data sources, & index. Consists primarily of tables & graphs with explanatory notes.




Correctional Populations in the United States, 1993


Book Description

A summary of criminal justice characteristics of the population under correctional supervision in 1993 -- admission, type, release type, sentence length, escapes, probation and parole violations, facility crowding, and deaths in prison. Covers more than 4.9 million adults; 1.4 million in local jails or prisons and 3.5 million on probation or parole. More than 150 pages of tables, questionnaires, and explanatory text. Comprehensive!