NCJ Number
245397
Date Published
February 2014
Length
34 pages
Annotation
Based on a scan of popular magazines, newspapers, Web sites, and corrections-specific publications, this report presents a broad overview of selected current and anticipated trends in corrections.
Abstract
The scan of international developments begins with a review of Gallup's top world news discoveries for 2013, followed by consideration of global economic issues, world population statistics, the Global Peace Index, and prison populations and trends across the world. On the latter issue, the World Prison Brief provides information on "prison populations and prison population rates per 100,000 of the national population, on the use of imprisonment for women and juveniles, on the extent of pretrial imprisonment, and on prison overcrowding, as well as a record of the national ministries responsible for prisons, and contact details for prison administrations." The scan of demographic and social trends presents projections from the U.S. Census Bureau on short-term changes in the population of unauthorized immigrants to longer term shifts in the race and ethnic voting electorate. The scan of the workforce summarizes the current employment situation, with reports on disconnected low-income men, the long-term unemployed, public-sector employment, minimum wage trends, employment in corrections, and the relationship of education and employment for incarcerated adults. The scan of technology focuses on how technology is changing the social landscape and improving our ability to be connected. A scan of criminal justice trends found that in 2012 the number of violent crimes increased slightly, while property crimes continue to decrease. The scan of corrections populations and trends notes a decrease in the corrections population for the fourth consecutive year between 2009 and 2012. Information is also provided on the Federal Affordable Care Act and its implications for health care in corrections. Data tables and figures.