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Trends in U.S. Corrections: State and Federal Prison Population, 1925-2010

NCJ Number
238750
Date Published
May 2012
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This report from the Sentencing Project presents data on current trends in U.S. State and Federal correctional systems.
Abstract
Highlights from this report on incarceration rates and prison populations in State and Federal facilities include the following: the total Federal and State prison population increased from around 100,000 in 1925 to over 1.6 million in 2010; in 2010, drug offenses accounted for 51.1 percent of the Federal prison population, while violent offenses accounted for 53.2 percent of State prison populations; and in 1980, the number of people in Federal prison for drug offenses accounted for just over 20 percent of all inmates, increasing to just over 50 percent of all inmates in Federal prisons in 2010. Additional findings include the Population Under Control of the U.S. Corrections System, 1980 and 2010; International Rates of Incarceration, 2011; Lifetime Likelihood of Imprisonment, by gender and race; the Number of Women in Federal and State Prisons, 1980-2010; the Rate of Incarceration per 100,000, by gender, race, and ethnicity, 2010; the Highest and Lowest State Incarceration Rates (Per 100,000), 2010; People in State and Federal Prisons, by race and ethnicity, 2010; the Number of People Serving Life Sentences, 1984-2008; the Number of People Serving Life Without Parole Sentences, 1992-2008; the Number of Juveniles Held in Adult Prisons and Jails, 1985-2010; and State Expenditures on Corrections, 1985-2010. Tables and figures