BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics

clear image
Home  |  About Us  |  Contact Us  |  Help  |  A-Z Topic List
 
 
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
clear image
Home | Corrections | Total correctional population
Total correctional population
On This Page
About this Topic

The total correctional population consists of all offenders under the supervision of adult correctional systems, which includes offenders supervised in the community under the authority of probation or parole agencies and those held in the custody of state or federal prisons or local jails. Several different data collections are used to estimate the total correctional population including the National Prisoner Statistics Program, Annual Survey of Jails, Census of Jail Inmates, and Annual Probation Survey and Annual Parole Survey (listed under data sources). The basic count of the correctional population is updated annually in the Correctional Populations in the United States series.

Back to Top
Data Collections & Surveys

Back to Top
Publications & Products


Jail Inmates in 2015 Presents information on the change in the number of jail inmates between 2000 and 2015 by sex, race, Hispanic origin, and conviction status. This report also provides estimates of year-to-year changes from 2000 to 2015 in the average daily population, rated capacity of local jails, and percent of capacity occupied.
  Press Release | Summary (PDF 163K) | PDF (582K) | ASCII file (24K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Spreadsheet 22K)

Correctional Populations in the United States, 2015 Presents statistics on persons supervised by adult correctional systems in the United States at yearend 2015, including persons supervised in the community on probation or parole and those incarcerated in state or federal prison or local jail.
  Press Release | PDF (787K) | ASCII file (43K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 23K)
Part of the Correctional Populations in the United States Series

Prisoners in 2015 Presents final counts of prisoners under the jurisdiction of state and federal correctional authorities at yearend 2015.
  Press Release | Summary (PDF 193K) | PDF (1.1M) | ASCII file (85K) | Comma-delimited format (Zip format 41K)
Part of the Prisoners Series

Probation and Parole in the United States, 2015 Presents data on adult offenders under community supervision while on probation or parole in 2015.
  Summary (PDF 187K) | PDF (668K) | ASCII file (41K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 30K)
Part of the Probation and Parole Populations Series

Correctional Populations in the United States, 2014 Presents statistics on persons supervised by adult correctional systems in the United States at yearend 2014, including offenders supervised in the community on probation or parole and those incarcerated in state or federal prison or local jail.
  PDF (641K) | ASCII file (26K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 48K)
Part of the Correctional Populations in the United States Series

Prisoners in 2014 Presents final counts of prisoners under the jurisdiction of state and federal correctional authorities on December 31, 2014, collected by the National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) program.
  Press Release | Summary (PDF 235KB) | PDF (1.3M) | ASCII file (76KB) | CSV (Comma Separated Values) (Zip format 40KB)
Part of the Prisoners Series

Correctional Populations in the United States, 2013 Presents statistics on offenders supervised by adult correctional systems in the United States at yearend 2013, including offenders supervised in the community on probation or parole and those incarcerated in prison or local jail.
  Press Release | PDF (385K) | ASCII file (23K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 36K)
Part of the Correctional Populations in the United States Series

Correctional Populations in the United States, 2013 U.S. CORRECTIONAL POPULATION DECLINED BY LESS THAN 1 PERCENT FOR THE SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR
  Press Release
Part of the Correctional Populations in the United States Series

Prisoners in 2013 Presents final counts of prisoners under the jurisdiction of state and federal correctional authorities on December 31, 2013, collected by the National Prisoner Statistics Program.
  Press Release | PDF (2.1M) | ASCII file (80K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 54K)
Part of the Prisoners Series

Prisoners in 2012: Trends in Admissions and Releases, 1991-2012 (Revised) Presents final counts on prisoners under the jurisdiction of state and federal correctional authorities on December 31, 2012, collected in the National Prisoner Statistics Program.
  Press Release | PDF (2M) | ASCII file (44K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 36K)
Part of the Prisoners Series

Back to Top
Terms & Definitions

Community corrections The supervision of criminal offenders in the resident population, as opposed to confining offenders in secure correctional facilities. The two main types of community corrections supervision are probation and parole. Community corrections is also referred to as community supervision.
 
Custody To have custody of a prisoner, a state or the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) must physically hold that person in one of its facilities. A locality, state, or the BOP may hold inmates over whom a different government maintains jurisdiction.
 
Custody count The number of offenders in custody. To have custody of a prisoner, a state or the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) must physically hold that person in one of its facilities. A locality, state, or the BOP may have custody of a prisoner over whom a different government maintains jurisdiction.
 
Design capacity The number of inmates that planners or architects intended for the facility.
 
Federal prisons Prison facilities run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Prisoners housed in these facilities are under the legal authority of the federal government. This excludes private facilities under exclusive contract with BOP.
 
Back to Top
Related Links

Back to Top