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Just the Stats

Juveniles Incarcerated in U.S. Adult Jails and Prisons, 2002–2021

Zhen Zeng, PhD; E. Ann Carson, PhD; and
Rich Kluckow, DSW, BJS Statisticians

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JUNE 2023,  NCJ 306140

Juveniles (persons age 17 or younger) arrested or convicted for a criminal offense may be housed in juvenile residential facilities or in adult jails and prisons, depending on state statute, judicial discretion, and federal law. This report details trends for juveniles who are held in adult facilities.

Key Findings

  • The number of juveniles incarcerated in all U.S. adult prisons or jails declined from a peak of 10,420 in 2008 to a low of 2,250 in 2021 (figure 1).
  • In 2021, local jails had custody of 1,960 juveniles while state and federal adult prisons held 290.
  • The percent of the total jail population who were juveniles declined from 0.9% in 2002 to 0.3% in 2021 (figure 2).
  • The percent of the total prison population who were juveniles declined from 0.2% in 2002 to 0.02% in 2021.
  • In 2021, 87% of juveniles in adult correctional facilities were held in local jails and 13% were held in prisons, compared to 66% in local jails and 34% in prisons in 2002, the earliest year for which comparable data are available for both populations (table 1).

Figure 1. Reported number of juveniles held in the custody of adult jails or prisons, 2002–2021

Reported number of juveniles held in the custody of adult jails or prisons, 2002–2021

*Prior to 2017, state departments of corrections reported juveniles in their publicly operated facilities only; privately operated facilities were included in state data starting in 2017. The Federal Bureau of Prisons did not report juvenile counts in custody in 2002–2004, 2007, 2008, and 2010. See more details in Measures of Incarcerated Juveniles.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program, 2002–2021; Annual Survey of Jails, 2002–2004, 2006–2018, and 2020–2021; and Census of Jails, 2005 and 2019.

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Figure 2. Juveniles as a percent of the incarcerated populations of adult jails and prisons, 2002–2021

Juveniles as a percent of the incarcerated populations of adult jails and prisons, 2002–2021

*Prior to 2017, state departments of corrections reported juveniles in their publicly operated facilities only; privately operated facilities were included in state data starting in 2017. The Federal Bureau of Prisons did not report juvenile counts in custody in 2002–2004, 2007, 2008, and 2010. See more details in Measures of Incarcerated Juveniles.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program, 2002–2021; Annual Survey of Jails, 2002–2004, 2006–2018, and 2020–2021; and Census of Jails, 2005 and 2019.

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Table 1. Juveniles in the custody of adult jails and prisons in the United States, 2002–2021
 


Total


Juveniles in adult jails


                    Juveniles in adult prisons


 


Total


Male


Female

Jail
total


Male


Female

Prison
total


Federala


Stateb


Male


Female

2002

9,010

8,470

540

5,970

5,540

430

3,040

/

3,040

2,930

110

2003

9,610

8,980

630

6,870

6,350

520

2,740

/

2,740

2,630

110

2004

9,560

8,870

690

7,080

6,500

580

2,480

/

2,480

2,370

110

2005

9,180

8,480

700

6,760

6,150

610

2,420

210

2,210

2,330

90

2006

8,660

8,100

560

6,100

5,650

450

2,560

190

2,360

2,450

110

2007

9,120

8,500

620

6,840

6,310

530

2,280

/

2,280

2,190

90

2008

10,420

9,840

590

7,700

7,210

500

2,720

/

2,720

2,630

90

2009

10,110

9,480

630

7,220

6,690

530

2,890

140

2,740

2,790

100

2010

8,560

7,990

560

6,260

5,770

480

2,300

/

2,300

2,220

80

2011

7,860

7,340

520

5,920

5,470

450

1,940

150

1,790

1,870

70

2012

6,860

6,360

500

5,430

4,980

450

1,430

110

1,330

1,380

50

2013

5,780

5,370

400

4,500

4,140

350

1,280

90

1,190

1,230

50

2014

5,280

4,920

370

4,180

3,850

340

1,100

70

1,040

1,070

30

2015c

4,700

4,330

360

3,640

3,310

330

1,060

60

990

1,020

30

2016c

4,820

4,390

420

3,810

3,420

390

1,010

50

960

970

30

2017

4,500

4,180

310

3,560

3,290

270

940

40

890

890

40

2018

3,960

3,610

350

3,220

2,900

320

740

40

700

710

30

2019

3,530

3,290

250

2,880

2,660

230

650

30

630

630

20

2020

2,630

2,480

150

2,280

2,140

140

350

10

340

340

10

2021

2,250

2,080

160

1,960

1,800

150

290

20

270

280

10

Note: Includes persons age 17 or younger. All data are adjusted for nonresponse and rounded to the nearest 10. Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. Results may differ from previous reports due to updates from jail and prison respondents.
/Did not report.
aThe Federal Bureau of Prisons reported counts of juveniles held in adult contract facilities to BJS in 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2011–2021.
bPrior to 2017, BJS requested state departments of corrections to report juvenile counts in public facilities only. Starting in 2017, BJS requested juvenile data in both publicly or privately operated correctional facilities.
cIn 2015 and 2016, the Annual Survey of Jails (ASJ) collected jail population data at midyear and yearend but only collected demographic data on the yearend population. Because jails typically hold fewer inmates at yearend than at midyear, the 2015 and 2016 data reported here were adjusted for seasonal variation and represent estimated midyear counts.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program, 2002–2021; Annual Survey of Jails, 2002–2004, 2006–2018, and 2020–2021; and Census of Jails, 2005 and 2019.

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Measures of Incarcerated Juveniles

Data for this report come from local jail authorities, prisons through state departments of corrections (DOCs), and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Local jail data are based on the jail inmate population confined on the last weekday in June, unless otherwise specified. Prison data are based on persons in the custody of state or federal correctional facilities as of December 31. From 2000 to 2016, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) asked DOCs and the BOP to report the number of persons age 17 or younger in the custody of their publicly operated adult correctional facilities. Starting in 2017, BJS asked DOCs and the BOP to also include persons age 17 or younger housed in privately operated adult correctional facilities contracted to DOCs and the BOP. Historically, the BOP has only held persons age 17 or younger in adult contract facilities, and these counts were reported to BJS in 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2011 to 2021. BOP data were not submitted to BJS for 2002 to 2004, 2007, 2008, and 2010. More information can be found on the BJS website about the National Prisoner Statistics program, Annual Survey of Jails, and Census of Jails.

Appendix table 1. Standard errors for jail data in table 1: Juveniles in the custody of adult jails and prisons in the United States, 2002–2021

 

Jail total 

Male

Female

2002

186

177

27

2003

379

342

57

2004

188

170

33

2005

~

~

~

2006

148

140

22

2007

166

145

36

2008

170

155

29

2009

195

175

37

2010

226

204

47

2011

175

158

36

2012

245

224

34

2013

207

184

47

2014

168

152

30

2015

121

107

30

2016

154

121

54

2017

128

120

20

2018

131

121

25

2019

~

~

~

2020

93

91

9

2021

69

65

17

~Not applicable. Data represent a complete enumeration based on the Census of Jails.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Annual Survey of Jails, 2002–2004, 2006–2018, and 2020–2021; and Census of Jails, 2005 and 2019.

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Appendix Table 2. Estimates for figure 2: Juveniles as a percent of the incarcerated populations of adult jails and prisons, 2002–2021
 

Total incarcerated

Jails

Prisons

 

Juveniles

 

Juveniles

 

Juvenilesa


 		Total 
population


Number


Percent

Total 
population


Number


Percent

Total 
population


Number


Percent

2002

2,105,620

9,010

   0.43%

665,480

5,970

  0.90%

1,440,140

3,040

  0.21%

20032,159,900

9,610

0.44

691,300

6,870

0.99

1,468,600

2,740

0.19

2004

2,211,090

9,560

0.43

713,990

7,080

0.99

1,497,100

2,480

0.17

2005

2,286,710

9,180

0.40

760,800

6,760

0.89

1,525,910

2,420

0.16

2006

2,334,490

8,660

0.37

765,820

6,100

0.80

1,568,670

2,560

0.16

2007

2,377,420

9,120

0.38

780,580

6,840

0.88

1,596,840

2,280

0.14

2008

2,393,810

10,420

0.44

785,530

7,700

0.98

1,608,280

2,720

0.17

2009

2,382,920

10,110

0.42

767,430

7,220

0.94

1,615,490

2,890

0.18

2010

2,362,530

8,560

0.36

748,730

6,260

0.84

1,613,800

2,300

0.14

2011

2,334,570

7,860

0.34

735,600

5,920

0.80

1,598,970

1,940

0.12

2012

2,314,920

6,860

0.30

744,520

5,430

0.73

1,570,400

1,430

0.09

2013

2,308,160

5,780

0.25

731,210

4,500

0.62

1,576,950

1,280

0.08

2014

2,306,910

5,280

0.23

744,590

4,180

0.56

1,562,320

1,100

0.07

2015b

2,254,010

4,700

0.21

727,410

3,640

0.50

1,526,600

1,060

0.07

2016b

2,248,800

4,820

0.21

740,670

3,810

0.51

1,508,130

1,010

0.07

2017

2,234,350

4,500

0.20

745,160

3,560

0.48

1,489,190

940

0.06

2018

2,202,830

3,960

0.18

738,440

3,220

0.44

1,464,390

740

0.05

2019

2,164,640

3,530

0.16

734,470

2,880

0.39

1,430,170

650

0.05

2020

1,770,300

2,630

0.15

549,140

2,280

0.42

1,221,160

350

0.03

2021

1,840,660

2,250

0.12

636,340

1,960

0.31

1,204,320

290

0.02

Note: Data are adjusted for nonresponse and rounded to the nearest 10. Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. Results may differ from previous reports due to updates from jail and prison respondents.
aThe Federal Bureau of Prisons reported counts of juveniles held in adult contract facilities to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) in 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2011–2021. Prior to 2017, BJS requested state departments of corrections to report juvenile counts in public facilities only. Starting in 2017, BJS requested juvenile data in both publicly or privately operated correctional facilities.
bIn 2015 and 2016, the Annual Survey of Jails (ASJ) collected jail population data at midyear and yearend but only collected demographic data on the yearend population. Because jails typically hold fewer inmates at yearend than at midyear, the 2015 and 2016 data reported here were adjusted for seasonal variation and represent estimated midyear counts.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program, 2002–2021; Annual Survey of Jails, 2002–2004, 2006–2018, and 2020–2021; and Census of Jails, 2005 and 2019.

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The Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U.S. Department of Justice is the principal federal agency responsible for measuring crime, criminal victimization, criminal offenders, victims of crime, correlates of crime, and the operation of criminal and civil justice systems at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels. BJS collects, analyzes, and disseminates reliable statistics on crime and justice systems in the United States, supports improvements to state and local criminal justice information systems, and participates with national and international organizations to develop and recommend national standards for justice statistics. Alexis R. Piquero, PhD, is the director.


This report was written by Zhen Zeng, PhD; E. Ann Carson, PhD; and Rich Kluckow, DSW. Danielle Kaeble verified the report.

Brigit Baron and Maureen Stuart edited the report. Tina Dorsey produced the PDF.
Priscilla Fauntleroy produced the web version of this report.

June 2023, NCJ 306140

Date Created: May 4, 2023