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Reentry Trends in United States

Criminal Offenders Statistics

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About the data collections

Summary findings

For additional information about homicide offenders, see Homicide Trends in the United States.

Prevalence of imprisonment in the United States

  • As of December 31, 2001, there were an estimated 5.6 million adults who had ever served time in State or Federal prison, including 4.3 million former prisoners and 1.3 million adults in prison.

  • Nearly a third of former prisoners were still under correctional supervision, including 731,000 on parole, 437,000 on probation, and 166,000 in local jails.

  • In 2001, an estimated 2.7% of adults in the U.S. had served time in prison, up from 1.8% in 1991 and 1.3% in 1974.

  • The prevalence of imprisonment in 2001 was higher for
    -- black males (16.6%) and Hispanic males (7.7%) than for white males (2.6%)
    -- black females (1.7%) and Hispanic females (0.7%) than white females (0.3%)

  • Nearly two-thirds of the 3.8 million increase in the number of adults ever incarcerated between 1974 and 2001 occurred as a result of an increase in first incarceration rates; one-third occurred as a result of an increase in the number of residents age 18 and older.

Lifetime likelihood of going to State or Federal prison

  • If recent incarceration rates remain unchanged, an estimated 1 of every 15 persons (6.6%) will serve time in a prison during their lifetime.

  • Lifetime chances of a person going to prison are higher for
    -- men (11.3%) than for women (1.8%)
    -- blacks (18.6%) and Hispanics (10%) than for whites (3.4%)

  • Based on current rates of first incarceration, an estimated 32% of black males will enter State or Federal prison during their lifetime, compared to 17% of Hispanic males and 5.9% of white males.

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Characteristics of State Prison inmates

  • Women were 6.6% of the State prison inmates in 2001, up from 6% in 1995.
  • Sixty-four percent of prison inmates belonged to racial or ethnic minorities in 2001.
  • An estimated 57% of inmates were under age 35 in 2001.
  • About 4% of State prison inmates were not U.S. citizens at yearend 2001.
  • About 6% of State prison inmates were held in private facilities at yearend 2001.
  • Altogether, an estimated 57% of inmates had a high school diploma or its equivalent.
  • Among the State prison inmates in 2000:
    -- nearly half were sentenced for a violent crime (49%)
    -- a fifth were sentenced for a property crime (20%)
    -- about a fifth were sentenced for a drug crime (21%)

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Characteristics of jail inmates

Demographics
  • Women were 12% of the local jail inmates in 2002, up from 10% in 1996.
  • Jail inmates were older on average in 2002 than 1996: 38% were age 35 or older, up from 32% in 1996.
  • More than 6 in 10 persons in local jails in 2002 were racial or ethnic minorities, unchanged from 1996.
  • An estimated 40% were black; 19%, Hispanic, 1% American Indian; 1% Asian; and 3% of more than one race/ethnicity.
Conviction Offense
  • Half of jail inmates in 2002 were held for a violent or drug offense, almost unchanged from 1996.
  • Drug offenders, up 37%, represented the largest source of jail population growth between 1996 and 2002.
  • More than two-thirds of the growth in inmates held in local jails for drug law violations was due to an increase in persons charged with drug trafficking.
  • Thirty-seven percent of jail inmates were convicted on a new charge; 18% were convicted on prior charges following revocation of probation or parole; 16% were both convicted of a prior charge and awaiting trial on a new charge; and 28% were unconvicted.
Criminal History
  • Fifty-three percent of jail inmates were on probation, parole or pretrial release at the time of arrest.
  • Four in 10 jail inmates had a current or past sentence for a violent offense.
  • Thirty-nine percent of jail inmates in 2002 had served 3 or more prior sentences to incarceration or probation, down from 44% in 1996.
Substance Use and Treatment
  • Half (50%) of convicted jail inmates were under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the offense, down from 59% in 1996.
  • Three out of every four convicted jail inmates were alcohol or drugs-involved at the time of their current offense.
  • Alcohol use at the time of the offense dropped from 41% (1996) to 35% (2002), while drug use dropped from 35% to 29%.
  • Average sentence length of inmates serving their time in a local jail increased from 22 months in 1996 to 24 months in 2002.
  • Time expected to be served in jail dropped from 10 months in 1996 to 9 months, in 2002
Family background
  • Thirty-one percent of jail inmates had grown up with a parent or guardian who abused alcohol or drugs
  • About 12 percent had lived in a foster home or institution.
  • Forty-six percent had a family member who had been incarcerated.
  • More than 50% of the women in jail said they had been physically or sexually abused in the past, compared to more than 10% of the men.

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Comparing Federal and State prison inmates

  • In 1997, Federal inmates were more likely than State inmates to be
    -- women (7% vs. 6%)
    -- Hispanic (27% vs. 17%)
    -- age 45 or older (24% vs. 13%)
    -- with some college education (18% vs. 11%)
    -- noncitizens (18% vs. 5%)
  • In 2000, an estimated 57% of Federal inmates and 21% of State inmates were serving a sentence for a drug offense; about 10% of Federal inmates and 49% of State inmates were in prison for a violent offense.
  • Violent offenders accounted for 53% of the growth in State prisons between 1990 to 2000, drug offenders accounted for 59% of the growth in Federal prisons.

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Recidivism

  • Of the 272,111 persons released from prisons in 15 States in 1994, an estimated 67.5% were rearrested for a felony or serious misdemeanor within 3 years, 46.9% were reconvicted, and 25.4% resentenced to prison for a new crime.
  • The 272,111 offenders discharged in 1994 accounted for nearly 4,877,000 arrest charges over their recorded careers.
  • Within 3 years of release, 2.5% of released rapists were rearrested for another rape, and 1.2% of those who had served time for homicide were arrested for a new homicide.
  • Sex offenders were less likely than non-sex offenders to be rearrested for any offense –– 43 percent of sex offenders versus 68 percent of non-sex offenders.
  • Sex offenders were about four times more likely than non-sex offenders to be arrested for another sex crime after their discharge from prison –– 5.3 percent of sex offenders versus 1.3 percent of non-sex offenders.

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Sex offenders

  • On a given day in 1994 there were approximately 234,000 offenders convicted of rape or sexual assault under the care, custody, or control of corrections agencies; nearly 60% of these sex offenders are under conditional supervision in the community.
  • The median age of the victims of imprisoned sexual assaulters was less than 13 years old; the median age of rape victims was about 22 years.
  • An estimated 24% of those serving time for rape and 19% of those serving time for sexual assault had been on probation or parole at the time of the offense for which they were in State prison in 1991.
  • Of the 9,691 male sex offenders released from prisons in 15 States in 1994, 5.3% were rearrested for a new sex crime within 3 years of release.
  • Of released sex offenders who allegedly committed another sex crime, 40% perpetrated the new offense within a year or less from their prison discharge.

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Child victimizers

  • Approximately 4,300 child molesters were released from prisons in 15 States in 1994. An estimated 3.3% of these 4,300 were rearrested for another sex crime against a child within 3 years of release from prison.
  • Among child molesters released from prison in 1994, 60% had been in prison for molesting a child 13 years old or younger.
  • Offenders who had victimized a child were on average 5 years older than the violent offenders who had committed their crimes against adults. Nearly 25% of child victimizers were age 40 or older, but about 10% of the inmates with adult victims fell in that age range.

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Intimate victimizers

  • About 4 in 10 inmates serving time in jail for intimate violence had a criminal justice status -- on probation or parole or under a restraining order -- at the time of the violent attack on an intimate.
  • About 1 in 4 convicted violent offenders confined in local jails had committed their crime against an intimate; about 7% of State prisoners serving time for violence had an intimate victim.
  • About half of all offenders convicted of intimate violence and confined in a local jail or a State prison had been drinking at the time of the offense. Jail inmates who had been drinking prior to the intimate violence consumed an average amount of ethanol equivalent to 10 beers.
  • About 8 in 10 inmates serving time in State prison for intimate violence had injured or killed their victim.

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Use of alcohol by convicted offenders

  • Among the 5.3 million convicted offenders under the jurisdiction of corrections agencies in 1996, nearly 2 million, or about 36%, were estimated to have been drinking at the time of the offense. The vast majority, about 1.5 million, of these alcohol-involved offenders were sentenced to supervision in the community: 1.3 million on probation and more than 200,000 on parole.
  • Alcohol use at the time of the offense was commonly found among those convicted of public-order crimes, a type of offense most highly represented among those on probation and in jail. Among violent offenders, 41% of probationers, 41 of those in local jails, 38% of those in State prisons, and 20% of those in Federal prisons were estimated to have been drinking when they committed the crime.

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Women offenders

  • In 1998 there were an estimated 3.2 million arrests of women, accounting for 22% of all arrests that year.
  • Based on self-reports of victims of violence, women account for 14% of violent offenders, an annual average of about 2.1 million violent female offenders.
  • Women accounted for about 16% of all felons convicted in State courts in 1996: 8% of convicted violent felons, 23% of property felons, and 17% of drug felons.
  • In 1998 more than 950,000 women were under correctional supervision, about 1% of the U.S. female population.

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BJS Publications

This list is in order of the most recent publication first. Additional titles are listed on other topical pages and a comprehensive list is contained on the BJS publications page. To see a full abstract of a publication with links to electronic versions of the publication, click on the title below.

Mental Health Problems of Prison and Jail Inmates, 9/06. Presents estimates of the prevalence of mental health problems among prison and jail inmates using self-reported data on recent history and symptoms of mental disorders. NCJ 213600

Violent Felons in Large Urban Counties, 8/06. Presents data collected from a representative sample of felony cases that resulted in a felony conviction for a violent offense in 40 of the Nation's 75 largest counties. NCJ 205289

Hate Crimes Reported by Victims and Police, 11/05. Provides information on the number of hate crimes reported to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and their characteristics. NCJ 209911

Juvenile Victimization and Offending, 1993-2003 8/05. Presents findings about violent crime committed against or by juveniles from 1993 to 2003. NCJ 164265

Violence by Gang Members, 1993-2003 06/05. Provides estimates of the number and rate of violent crimes committed by offenders that victims perceived to be members of gangs based on National Crime Victimization Survey data. NCJ 208875

Family Violence Statistics: Including Statistics on Strangers and Acquaintances, 6/05. Compares family and nonfamily violence statistics from victimization through the different stages of the justice system. NCJ 207846

American Indians and Crime: A BJS Statistical Profile, 1992-2002, 12/04. Reports the rates and characteristics of violent crimes experienced by American Indians and summarizes data on American Indians in the criminal justice system. NCJ 203097

Intellectual Property Theft, 10/04. Presents statistics on both criminal and civil enforcement of Federal intellectual property laws for 1994-2002. NCJ 205800

Profile of Nonviolent Offenders Exiting State Prisons, 05/02. Provides a description of the general characteristics of prison populations serving time for nonviolent crimes as they exit State prisons. NCJ 207081

Cross-National Studies in Crime and Justice, 09/04. Summarizes the results from a study that documents crime and criminal punishment trends from 1981 to 1999 in eight countries: Australia, Canada, England, the Netherlands, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. NCJ 200988

Profile of Jail Inmates, 2002, 7/04. Describes the characteristics of jail inmates in 2002, including offenses, conviction status, criminal histories, sentences, time served, drug and alcohol use and treatment, and family background. Characteristics of jail inmates include gender, race, and Hispanic origin. NCJ 201932

Profile of Jail Inmates, 1996, 4/98. NCJ 164620

Recidivism of Sex Offenders Released from Prison in 1994, 11/03. Presents, for the first time, data on the rearrest, reconviction, and reimprisonment of 9,691 male sex offenders, including 4,295 child molesters, who were tracked for 3 years after their release from prisons in 15 States in 1994. NCJ 198281

Prevalence of Imprisonment in the U.S. Population, 1974-2001, 08/03. Presents estimates of the number of living persons in the United States, 1974 to 2001, who have ever been to State or Federal prison. NCJ 197976

Education and Correctional Populations, 01/03. Compares educational attainment of State and Federal prison inmates, jail inmates, and probationers to that of the general population. NCJ 195670

Immigration Offenders in the Federal Criminal Justice System, 2000, 08/02. Describes the number of immigration offenders prosecuted in Federal court between 1985 and 2000. NCJ 191745

Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 1994, 6/02. Reports on the rearrest, reconviction, and reincarceration of former inmates who were tracked for 3 years after their release from prisons in 15 States in 1994. NCJ 193427.

Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 1983, 4/89. NCJ 116261

Firearm Use by Offenders, 11/01. Describes firearm use of State and Federal prison inmates including types of firearms used, characteristics of inmates using firearms, why and where inmates used their firearms, and where they obtained their firearms. NCJ 189369.

Injuries from Violent Crime, 1992-98, 6/01. Presents data from the redesigned National Crime Victimization Survey, examining injuries as a result of violent victimizations. NCJ 168633

Policing and Homicide, 1976-98: Justifiable Homicide of Felons by Police and Murder of Police by Felons, 03/01. Presents annual trends from 1976 to 1998 in two types of homicide: justifiable homicides of felons by police, and murders of police officers by felons. NCJ 180987

Violent Victimization and Race, 1993-98, 3/01. Presents incidence estimates and per capita rates of violent victimization of whites, blacks, American Indians and Asians in 1998, and includes victimization trends, 1993-98. NCJ 176354

Defense Counsel in Criminal Cases, 11/00. Examines issues of legal representation for defendants in Federal district court and large local jurisdictions, and inmates in local jails and Federal and State prison. NCJ 179023

Offenders Returning to Federal Prison, 1986-97, 9/00. Describes offenders returning to Federal prison within 3 years of release and their time served upon return. NCJ 182991

Incarcerated Parents and Their Children, 8/00. Presents data from the 1997 Surveys of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities concerning inmates with children under the age of 18, whether or not inmates lived with their children prior to admission, and the children's current care givers. NCJ 182335

Sexual Assault of Young Children as Reported to Law Enforcement: Victim, Incident, and Offender Characteristics 7/00. Presents findings from the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) regarding sexual assault, especially of young children. NCJ 182990

Drug Use, Testing, Treatment in Jails, 5/00. Describes the drug involvement of jail inmates and the level of drug use, testing, and treatment in jails. NCJ 179999.

Homicide Trends in the United States: 1998 Update, 3/00. Outlines the primary findings from the section of the BJS website about homicide patterns and trends since 1976 (www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/homtrnd.htm). NCJ 179767

Homicide Trends in the United States, 1/99. NCJ 173956

Profile of State Prisoners under Age 18, 1985-97, 2/00. Presents trend data from 1985 to 1997 on persons under 18 in State prison, focusing primarily on persons admitted to prison under the age of 18: their demographic characteristics, offenses, average sentence length, and expected time served. NCJ 176989

Women Offenders, 12/99. Examines offending by adult women and their handling by the criminal justice system. NCJ 175688

Mental Health and Treatment of Inmates and Probationers, 7/99. Presents survey data on offenders who were in prison or jail or on probation and who reported prior treatment for a mental or emotional problem. NCJ 174463

DWI Offenders under Correctional Supervision, 6/99. Provides data on offenders in jail, in prison, or on probation for driving while intoxicated. NCJ 172212

American Indians and Crime, 2/99. Reports the rates and characteristics of violent crimes experienced by American Indians and summarizes data on American Indians in the criminal justice system. NCJ 173386

Substance Abuse and Treatment, State and Federal Prisoners, 1997, 12/98. Presents data from the 1997 Survey of Inmates in Adult State and Federal Correctional Facilities concerning prisoners' use of alcohol and illegal drugs and the substance abuse treatment they received. NCJ 172871

Profile of Jail Inmates, 1996, 4/98. Presents data about local jail inmates: their demographic characteristics, offenses, conviction status, criminal histories, sentences, time served, drug and alcohol use and treatment, family background, physical and mental health care, and conditions of confinement. NCJ 164620

Alcohol and Crime, 4/98. Provides an overview of national information on the role of alcohol in violent victimization and its use among those convicted of crimes, including victim perceptions of alcohol use by offenders at the time of the crime. NCJ 168632

Substance Abuse and Treatment of Adults on Probation, 1995, 3/98. Presents data from the 1995 Survey of Adults on Probation concerning probationers' use of alcohol and illegal drugs and substance abuse treatment they received. NCJ 166611

Violence by Intimates, 3/98. Reports findings about violence between people who have an intimate relationship -- spouses, exspouses, boyfriends, girlfriends, and former boyfriends and girlfriends from statistical data maintained by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. NCJ 167237

Lifetime Likelihood of Going to State or Federal Prison, 3/97. Describes characteristics of persons admitted to prison for the first time, compares lifetime and one-day prevalence rates, considers changes in admission rates since 1991, and discusses the estimation techniques. NCJ 160092

Juvenile Delinquents in the Federal Criminal Justice System, 2/97. Describes juvenile offenders processed in the Federal criminal justice system, including the number of juveniles charged with acts of delinquency, the offenses for which they were charged, the proportion adjudicated delinquent, and the sanctions imposed. NCJ 163066

Sex Offenses and Offenders 2/97. Reports on more than two dozen statistical datasets maintained by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and on data from the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program of the FBI to provide a comprehensive overview of current knowledge about the incidence and prevalence of violent victimization by sexual assault, the response of the criminal justice system to such crimes, and the characteristics of those who commit sexual assault or rape. NCJ 163392

Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims 3/96. This study presents findings on violence against children from two sources: a 1991 nationally representative sample of State prison inmates serving time for violent crimes against children and law enforcement records of nearly 37,000 child murder victims between 1976 and 1994.
Executive Summary: NCJ 158625
Full report: NCJ 153258

Profile of Inmates in the United States and in England and Wales, 1991 10/94. Compares findings from the 1991 prison inmate survey in England and Wales with data from the BJS surveys of inmates in local jails and in State prisons and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons survey of Federal prisoners. NCJ 145863

Women in Prison 3/94. Examines demographic characteristics, current offenses, criminal histories, and the victims of violent female inmates from the 1991 BJS survey of State prison inmates. NCJ 145321

Performance Measures for the Criminal Justice System, 10/93 . This compendium of Discussion Papers represents the work of the BJS-Princeton University Study Group on Criminal Justice Performance Measures. NCJ 143505

Survey of State Prison Inmates, 1991 5/93. Presents data about State prison inmates: their background and families, recidivism, gang membership, drug and alcohol use, HIV/AIDS infection, gun use and possession, sentence, time served, and participation in prison programs. NCJ 136949

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Selected statistics

The files available here provide data and statistics that may not be published elsewhere or are provided in a format intended for further analysis rather than viewing. Many of the files are in .wk1 format that is easily useable with most spreadsheet software and some word processors.

  • The number of violent crime arrests of juveniles (under age 18) and adults (age 18 or older), 1970-2002, 06/04 Spreadsheet (11K)
  • Arrests by age group, number and rates for total offenses, index offenses, violent offenses, and property offenses, 1970-99, 10/00 Spreadsheet (41K)

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Also by BJS staff

Greenfeld, Lawrence A., and Maureen A. Henneberg, "Victim and Offender Self-Reports of Alcohol Involvement in Crime," (pdf file), Alcohol Research and Health, Journal of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Volume 25, Number 1, 2001

Greenfeld, Lawrence A. and Patrick A. Langan. "Characteristics of Middle-aged Prisoners," in Farrington, D.P. and J. Gunn, Reactions to Crime: The Public, the Police, Courts, and Prisons, (London: John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.), 1985.

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Related sites

BJS home page | Top of this page




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