Prisoner Cycle - Analysis of the Cyclical Variations of the Number of Inmates in the State and Federal Prisons of the United States, 1930 to 1982

• NCJ Number: 94100
• Author(s): W A Lunden
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 9 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

From 1932 to 1982, the United States prison population has fluctuated in a cyclical pattern, with a third cycle identified in the rapidly rising prison population which has gone from 95 per 100,000 population in 1972 to 163 per 100,000 in 1982.

Abstract

By mid-1982, New York, California, Texas, and Florida held more than 30 percent of all inmates. The first cycle covered 17 years, with a high of 138 inmates per 100,000 population in 1939 and a low of 100 in 1946. The second cycle lasted 22 years, with a high of 121 in 1961 and a decline to 94 in 1968. The rapid increase since 1972 has resulted from a marked change in the age composition of the population and changes in judicial procedures and the treatment of offenders. Since 1974, the rate of imprisonment for women increased to 100 per 100,000 population; however, women make up only 4 percent of the total prison population. Graphs and one reference are included.