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Data on state and federal prison facility characteristics are gathered primarily through the Census of State and Federal Correctional Facilities (CSFCF), a national census of adult correctional facilities operating under state or federal authority. Data on state prison capacity and the number of prisoners housed in private facilities and local jails is collected annually in the National Prisoner Statistics data collection series. The Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Facilities also collects data on facility environment and characteristics.
Summary Findings
Most recent data, by topic area –
Number of facilities – Source – Census of State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 2005
From June 30, 2000 to December 30, 2005 –
- The number of state and federal correctional facilities increased from 1,668 to 1,821— an increase of 9%.
- Private facilities accounted for nearly all of the increase during these five years (from 264 to 415).
- Federally operated facilities increased by 21% (from 84 to 102).
- State-operated facilities increased by 9% (from 1,584 to 1,719).
- The number of minimum security increased by 155 and maximum security facilities increase by 40.
Staffing - Source – Census of State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 2005
As of December 30, 2005 –
- An estimated 445,400 employees were working in state and federal correctional facilities.
- Male employees outnumbered female employees by a ratio of 2 to 1.
- Approximately two thirds of all employees worked in direct contact with inmates and were involved in their daily custody or monitoring.
For more information on staffing, see the Corrections>Expenditure and Employment page.
Capacity – Source - Prisoners in 2008
As of December 31, 2008 –
- The highest capacity reported by states in 2008 was 1,275,440 and the lowest capacity was 1,142,129.
- State prisons were operating between 97% and 108% of capacity, compared to between 100% and 115% in 2000.
- Thirteen states and the federal system operated at more than 100% of their highest capacity, and 19 states operated at between 90% and 99%. Use of private facilities and local jails – Source - Prison Inmates at Midyear 2008 - Statistical Tables
As of June 30, 2008 –
- There were 126,249 prisoners placed in private facilities. This accounts for 7.8% of all prisoners, up from 6.5% at yearend 2000.
- The number of federal prisoners in private facilities increased by 7.7%. Use of private facilities by state authorities increased by 6.5%.
- There were 80,854 prisoners (or 5.0% of the prison population) placed in local jails.
Other related facility topics –
Data Collections & Surveys | |
Publications & Products | |
Prisoners in 2010 (Revised)
Presents data on prisoners under the jurisdiction of federal and state correctional authorities on December 31, 2010, collected from the National Prisoner Statistics series. |
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Press Release | PDF (1.7M) | ASCII file (44K) | Spreadsheets (Zip format 40K)
Part of the Prisoners Series
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Prisoners in 2009 (Revised)
This annual report presents data on prisoners under jurisdiction of federal or state correctional authorities on December 31, 2009, collected from the National Prisoner Statistics series. |
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Press Release | PDF (722K) | ASCII file (46K) | Spreadsheets (Zip format 54K)
Part of the Prisoners Series
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Correctional Populations in the United States, 2010
Presents statistics on the number of offenders under the supervision of adult correctional authorities in the United States at yearend 2010. |
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Press Release | PDF (595K) | ASCII file (33K) | Spreadsheet (Zip format 26K)
Part of the Correctional Populations in the United States Series
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Prisoners at Yearend 2009 - Advance Counts
Presents data on prisoners under jurisdiction of federal or state correctional authorities on December 31, 2009, collected from the National Prisoner Statistics series |
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Press Release | PDF (149K) | ASCII file (12K) | Spreadsheets (Zip format 5K)
Part of the Prisoners Series
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Prisoners in 2008
Presents data on prisoners under jurisdiction of federal or state correctional authorities on December 31, 2008, collected from the National Prisoner Statistics series. |
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Press Release | Acrobat file (PDF 1.6M) | ASCII file (47K) | Zip format (Spreadsheet 51K)
Part of the Prisoners Series
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Census of State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 2005
Presents selected findings from the Census of State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 2005. The report includes data on characteristics of facilities by type, size, security level, rated and design capacities, court orders, and use of private contractors. |
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PDF (302K) | ASCII file (32K) | Spreadsheet (Zip format 22K)
Part of the Census of State and Federal Correctional Facilities Series
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Sexual Victimization in State and Federal Prisons Reported by Inmates, 2007
Presents data from the National Inmate Survey, 2007, conducted in 146 State and Federal prisons between April and August 2007, with a sample of 23,398 inmates. |
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Press Release | PDF (419K) | ASCII file (42K) | Spreadsheet (Zip format 39K)
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Suicide and Homicide in State Prisons and Local Jails
Describes historical trends in State prison and local jail inmate mortality rates based on inmate death records submitted by local jails (for 2000-2002) and State prisons (for 2001-2002). |
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Press Release | PDF (617K) | ASCII file (38K) | ZIP Format (Spreadsheet 60K) | To order paper version
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National Corrections Reporting Program, 2001 (CD-ROM)
This National Corrections Reporting Program dataset contains admissions, releases and parole outcomes of persons in the Nation's prisons and parole systems. |
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HTML | To order paper version
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Hepatitis Testing and Treatment in State Prisons
Presents facility policies related to hepatitis C testing and treatment and hepatitis B vaccinations, based on the 2000 Census of State and Federal Adult Correctional Facilities, which gathered data from 1,584 State institutions. |
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PDF (12K) | ASCII file (161K) | Spreadsheet (Zip format 12K) | Codebooks and Datasets | To order paper version
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Terms & Definitions | |
Federal prisons |
Prison facilities run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Prisoners housed in these
facilities are under the legal authority of the federal government. This definition
excludes the private facilities that are under exclusive contract with BOP. |
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Prisoners |
Prisoners are inmates confined in long-term facilities run by the state or federal
government or private agencies. They are typically felons who have received a sentence
of incarceration of 1 year or more. (Sentence length may vary by state because a few
states have one integrated prison system in which both prison and jail inmates are
confined in the same types of facilities.) |
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Private prisons |
Prison facilities run by private prison corporations whose services and beds are
contracted out by state governments or the Federal Bureau of Prisons. |
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State prisons |
Prison facilities run by state correctional authorities. Prisoners housed in these
facilities are under the legal authority of the state government and generally serving
a term of more than 1 year. |
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