U.S. Prison Population Increases by Nearly 3 percent
WASHINGTON — U.S. prison and jail populations increased by 2.8 percent to almost 2.25 million inmates in 2006, according to a Department of Justice report.
The number of prisoners held under state or federal jurisdiction rose by 42,942 to more than 1.5 million prisoners. State and federal prisoners accounted for about 70 percent of the increase, which, at more than 62,000 inmates, represents the largest population increase since midyear 2000, according to the report compiled by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Two-thirds of correctional system inmates (1.4 million) were in custody in state or federal prisons. The federal prison system was operating at 34 percent above capacity. State prison systems were operating between 1 percent below and 14 percent above capacity.
The remaining one-third of inmates (766,000) was held in local jails. At the end of 2005, local jail facilities were operating at approximately 94 percent of capacity.
In 2006, the number of state and federal prisoners housed in private facilities increased by 10.1 percent to 111,975 prisoners, representing 7.2 percent of all inmates.
The federal system and 42 states reported increases in prison populations in 2006. Idaho witnessed the largest percentage increase (13.7 percent), followed by Alaska (9.4 percent) and Vermont (8.3 percent).
Eight states reported a decline in prison population. Missouri saw the greatest percentage decrease (2.9 percent), followed by Louisiana and Maine (both 1.8 percent).
The federal prison population rose by 3.6 percent to 191,080 inmates. At midyear 2006, the federal system had jurisdiction over more prisoners than any U.S. state, including California (175,115 inmates) and Texas (172,889 inmates).
The increase in state prison populations was driven by differential rates of admission and release. Between 2000 and 2005, state prison admissions rose 17.2 percent, while releases increased by 15.5 percent, according to the report.
Local jails witnessed the smallest annual increase in inmates (2.5 percent) since 2001. However, the number of prisoners held in local jails still awaiting court action increased. In 2000, 52 percent of prisoners were awaiting court action. At midyear 2006, that figure jumped to 62 percent.