Jails

THE NATION'S JAILS HOLD RECORD 490,442 INMATES

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 5 P.M. EDT                             BJS 
SUNDAY, APRIL 30, 1995                               202-307-0784

         THE NATION'S JAILS HOLD RECORD 490,442 INMATES

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The nation's local jails held a record
490,442 men and women as of last June 30, the Department of Justice
announced today.  During the 12 months preceding June 30, 1994, the...

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 5 P.M. EDT           BJS
SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 1996            202/633-3047


         Almost 1.6 milllion men and women
        in the Nation's Prisons and Jails

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- There were almost 1.6 million
men and women in the nation's jails and prisons
last year, an increase of 66,843 in state prisons
and 5,216 in federal prisons from 1994, the
Department of...

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M. EST          BJS
SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 1997             202/633-3047

    NATION'S JAIL AND PRISON INCARCERATION RATE
         ALMOST DOUBLED DURING LAST DECADE

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The incarceration rate in
the nation's federal and state prisons and local
jails almost doubled during the last decade, the
Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics
(BJS) announced today.  However, this growth
recently slowed...

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M. EDT     BJS
SUNDAY APRIL 26, 1998           202/307-0784
         
  HIGH LEVELS OF ALCOHOL AND DRUG DEPENDENCE
      COMMON AMONG NATION'S JAIL INMATES

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- There are high
levels of drug and alcohol dependence among
the nation's jail inmates,  according to a
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) survey of
men and women in local jails between October
1995...

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M. EDT          BJS
SUNDAY, JUNE 13, 1999                202/307-0784

         MORE THAN 500,000 DRUNK DRIVERS 
       ON PROBATION OR INCARCERATED IN 1997

     WASHINGTON, D.C.   An estimated 513,200
people were under correctional supervision as a
consequence of driving while intoxicated by
alcohol (DWI) in 1997 up from 270,100 in 1986, the
Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics
(BJS) announced today...

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M. EDT              BJS
SUNDAY, JULY 11, 1999                     202/307-0784 
                
         
MORE THAN A QUARTER MILLION PRISON AND JAIL INMATES
ARE IDENTIFIED AS MENTALLY ILL

   WASHINGTON, D.C.   An estimated 283,800 mentally
ill offenders were held in the nation's state and
federal prisons and local jails at midyear 1998,
according to a special report released today by the
Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics...

Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 1998

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M. EST            BJS
SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 1999                 202/307-0784   

INCARCERATION RATE MORE THAN DOUBLES IN DOZEN YEARS

     WASHINGTON, D.C.--At midyear 1998, one in
every 150 U.S. residents was incarcerated, with an
estimated 1,802,496 men and women held in the
country's prisons and jails, the Justice
Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics...

                                   
ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M. EDT                     BJS
WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2000                         202/307-0784 
                
         

MOST JAILS THAT TEST FOR DRUGS FIND AT LEAST ONE INMATE WHO TESTS POSITIVE


     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- An estimated 10 percent of the
inmates tested for drugs in local jails during June 1998
tested positive for one or more illegal drugs, the Justice
Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics announced today. 
More than...

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M. EDT                  BJS                 
WEDNESDAY,  APRIL 19, 2000                   202/307-0784                            

NATION'S PRISON AND JAIL POPULATION REACHES 1,860,520
       COULD REACH TWO MILLION BY LATE 2001

     WASHINGTON, D.C.   The nation's prisons and jails held
1,860,520 inmates at midyear 1999, the Justice Department's
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today.  That
was an increase of  58,333 from a year earlier, or 1,122
more inmates each...

HALF OF LOCAL JAIL INMATES WERE ON PROBATION, PAROLE, OR PRE-TRAIL RELEASE AT ARREST

WASHINGTON, D.C. - More than half of the nation's 665,475 local jail inmates as of June 30, 2002, were on probation, parole or pre-trial release at the time...

STATE PRISON HOMICIDE RATES DOWN 93 PERCENT JAIL SUICIDE RATES 64 PERCENT LOWER THAN IN EARLY 1980s

WASHINGTON - The suicide rate in local jails fell from 129 per 100,000 inmates in 1983 to 47 per 100,000 in 2002, the...

STUDY FINDS MORE THAN HALF OF ALL PRISON AND JAIL INMATES HAVE MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS

WASHINGTON - More than half of all prison and jail inmates, including 56 percent of state prisoners, 45 percent of federal prisoners and 64 percent...

SLOWER GROWTH IN THE NATION’S PRISON AND JAIL POPULATIONS

WASHINGTON -- The growth in the number of prisoners under state or federal jurisdiction slowed during the first six months of 2007, the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reported today. The...

FOUR IN 10 INDIAN COUNTRY JAIL INMATES WERE HELD FOR A VIOLENT OFFENSE

WASHINGTON - At midyear 2007, an estimated 4 in 10 inmates in Indian country jails were confined for a violent offense, the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)...

GROWTH IN PRISON AND JAIL POPULATIONS SLOWING:

16 States Report Declines in the Number of Prisoners

WASHINGTON - As of June 30, 2008, state and federal correctional authorities had jurisdiction or legal authority over 1,610,584 prisoners. Additionally, 785,556 inmates were held in...