Correctional Populations in the United States, 2011

• NCJ Number: 239972
• Author(s): Lauren E. Glaze; Erika Parks
• Date Published: November 2012
• Length: 10 pages
• Publication Series: BJS Bulletins
• Agencies: BJS
• Publication Type: Statistics

Annotation

This study presents summary data on the number of offenders under the supervision of the adult correctional systems in the United States at yearend 2011.

Abstract

Presents summary data on the number of offenders under the supervision of the adult correctional systems in the United States at yearend 2011. Persons supervised by the adult correctional systems include those in the community under the authority of probation or parole agencies that supervise adults and those in the custody of state or federal prisons or local jails. The report provides statistics on the size and change in the total correctional population, by correctional status, during 2011. It presents a comparison between the rate of offenders under correctional supervision at yearend 2011 and 2000 and between the rates of offenders supervised in the community and those incarcerated at yearend 2011. The report also examines the impact of the changes in the community supervision and incarcerated populations during 2011 on the change observed in the total correctional population. Appendix tables provide additional information on prison populations, including prisoners under military jurisdiction and those in the custody of correctional authorities in the U.S. territories and commonwealths.

• Adult correctional authorities supervised about 6,977,700 offenders at yearend 2011, a decrease of 1.4% during the year.
• The decline of 98,900 offenders during 2011 marked the third consecutive year of decrease in the correctional population, which includes probationers, parolees, local jail inmates, and prisoners in the custody of state and federal facilities.
• About 2.9% of adults in the U.S. (or 1 in every 34 adults) were under some form of correctional supervision at yearend 2011, a rate comparable to 1998 (1 in every 34).
• At yearend 2011, about 1 in every 50 adults in the U.S. was supervised in the community on probation or parole while about 1 in every 107 adults was incarcerated in prison or jail.
• The community supervision population (including probationers and parolees, down 1.5%) and the incarcerated population (including local jail inmates and federal and state prisoners, down 1.3%) decreased at about the same rate in 2011.
• The majority (83%) of the decline in the correctional population during the year was attributed to the decrease in the probation population (down 81,800 offenders).