NCJ Number
175313
Journal
Corrections Compendium Volume: 23 Issue: 6 Dated: June 1998 Pages: 7-20
Date Published
1998
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Statistics provided by corrections officials in 43 jurisdictions in the United States and Canada regarding prison violence, riots, and escapes in 1996 and 1997 revealed that violence has increased in some categories and is fairly stable in others.
Abstract
The United States jurisdictions reported a 5.75-percent increase in their average daily inmate populations between 1996 and 1997, compared to an 8.25-percent increase in the number of inmates killed by inmates and an increase from 2 to 4 in the number of inmates killed by staff. The number of staff killed by inmates declined from three in 1996 to two in 1997. Assaults on staff increased by 7.38 percent between 1996 and 1997 in the United States and were almost unchanged in Canada. Canada had a 2.5-percent decrease in the average daily population of the 7 reporting jurisdictions. Inmate deaths at the hands of other inmates declined from five to two; the number of inmates killed by staff declined from four to two. The number of inmate suicides declined 25 percent in Canada and increased 11.9 percent in the United States. General disturbances increased by 30 percent from 1997 to 1997 in United States jurisdictions; 9 incidents in 1996 and 7 in 1997 were serious enough to be reported as riots. Canada had few general disturbances, but injuries and damage were greater in Canada. The United States jurisdictions reported 702 escapees in 1996 and 684 in 1997; 6 percent of the 684 were still at large at the end of the year. The United States jurisdictions reported 5,059 walkaways in 1997. Canada reported 104 escapes and walkaways in 1997. Tables