NCJ Number
146851
Journal
Corrections Compendium Volume: 17 Issue: 11 Dated: (November 1992) Pages: 7- 15
Editor(s)
S P Davis
Date Published
1992
Length
9 pages
Annotation
Statistics are presented showing the incidence of escapes, riots, and other disturbances in U.S. and Canadian prisons for 1991.
Abstract
In 1991, in the 49 U.S. prison systems reporting, while the inmate population increased by more than 76,000, the number of escapes decreased by 1,451--to 5,793 from 7,244 in 1990. The escape rate per prison population has continuously declined, from 1.93 percent in 1984 to 0.78 percent in 1991. In the Canadian systems reporting, the escape rate was 2.07 percent in 1991. From 1990 to 1991, the escapee return rate in the U.S. decreased from 86 percent to 78 percent, and in Canada, increased from 86 percent to 88 percent. Specific instances of escapes and the resultant deaths and injuries are summarized. Since Compendium documentation first began in 1984, annual U.S. prison homicides have been halved. In 1991, for the first time, there were no fatal assaults by inmates upon staff. However, from 1989 to 1991, there was a distinct increase in inmate and staff assaults by inmates. The number of inmate suicides increased slightly in the U.S., from 101 in 1990 to 112 in 1991. There were more than 150 riots or disturbances in U.S. systems in 1991, 47 in Texas alone. Descriptions of some of these incidents, including damage estimates, are provided.