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The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) maintains several data collections on prisoners and prison facilities using administrative records maintained by each state's department of corrections, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), and personal interviews with inmates in state and federal prisons (see Data Collections for a summary of these collections). State and federal prisoner populations differ from the jail inmate population in terms of conviction status, offense distribution, and average length of stay. The federal prisoner population is also unique from the state prisoner population, most notably in offense distribution. Similarly, prison facilities differ from local jail facilities in average size, treatment and programming resources, and crowding, among other characteristics. For more information, see Terms and Definitions.
Using information gathered from these data series, BJS regularly publishes reports and statistical tables of prison population counts, prisoner characteristics, state and federal prison facility characteristics, capital punishment, mortality in correctional institutions, and special topics, such as recidivism, substance abuse and treatment, mental health, education, and incarcerated parents.
Data Collections & Surveys |
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Publications & Products |
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Prisoners in 2019
This report is the 94th in a series that began in 1926. It provides counts of prisoners under the jurisdiction of state and federal correctional authorities in 2019 and includes findings on admissions, releases, and imprisonment rates. |
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Press Release (203K) | Summary (PDF 176K) | Full report (PDF 796K) | Data tables (Zip format 46K) | Jurisdiction notes (PDF 86K)
Part of the Prisoners Series
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Correctional Populations in the United States, 2017-2018
This report is the 23rd in a series that began in 1985. It provides statistics on populations supervised by adult correctional systems in the United States, including persons held in prisons or jails and those supervised in the community on probation or parole. |
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Full report (PDF 701K) | Data tables (Zip format 17K)
Part of the Correctional Populations in the United States Series
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Prisoners in 2018
This report is the 93rd in a series that began in 1926. It provides counts of prisoners under the jurisdiction of state and federal correctional authorities in 2018 and includes findings on admissions, releases, and imprisonment rates. |
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Press Release (221K) | Summary (PDF 579K) | Full report (PDF 2M) | Data tables (Zip format 48K) | Jurisdiction notes (PDF 166K)
Part of the Prisoners Series
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Data Collected Under the First Step Act, 2019
This is the first report as required under the First Step Act of 2018 (FSA, P.L. 115-391 ยง 610). It includes data on federal prisoners provided to BJS by the Federal Bureau of Prisons for calendar year 2018, which is prior to the enactment of the FSA. |
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Full report (PDF 583K) | Data tables (Zip format 12K)
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Methodology: Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016
Describes the survey methods used to carry out the Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016. |
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Full report (PDF 428K) | Data tables (Zip format 5K)
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Prisoners in 2017
Presents final counts of prisoners under the jurisdiction of state and federal correctional authorities at year-end 2017 and includes findings on admissions, releases, and imprisonment rates. |
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Press Release (213K) | Summary (PDF 207K) | Full report (PDF 596K) | Data Tables (Zip format 100K)
Part of the Prisoners Series
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Source and Use of Firearms Involved in Crimes: Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016
Presents statistics that describe firearm possession of state and federal prisoners who were serving a sentence in 2016. |
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Summary (PDF 222K) | Full report (PDF 431K) | Data tables (Zip format 7K)
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Time Served in State Prison, 2016
Presents findings on the time served by prisoners released from state prison in 2016. |
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Press Release (189K) | Full report (PDF 575K) | Data Tables (Zip format 7K)
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Correctional Populations in the United States, 2016
Presents statistics on persons supervised by U.S. adult correctional systems at year-end 2016, including persons supervised in the community on probation or parole and those incarcerated in state or federal prison or local jail. |
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Press Release (71K) | Full report (PDF 635K) | Data tables (Spreadsheet 14K)
Part of the Correctional Populations in the United States Series
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Prisoners in 2016
Presents final counts of prisoners under the jurisdiction of state and federal correctional authorities at yearend 2016, including admissions, releases, noncitizen inmates, and inmates age 17 or younger. |
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Press Release (74K) | Summary (PDF 205K) | Full report (PDF 1M) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 40K)
Part of the Prisoners Series
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Terms & Definitions |
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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. |
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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. |
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Design capacity |
The number of inmates that planners or architects intended for the facility. |
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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. |
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Imprisoned population |
The population of inmates confined in prison or other facilities under the
jurisdiction of the state or Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). |
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