NCJ Number
190343
Date Published
2001
Length
82 pages
Annotation
This document presents statistics on client characteristics, population movement, and custody for the State of Washington Department of Corrections.
Abstract
There has been a steady increase in the inmate population among all age categories over the last 5 years. The population of inmates under the authority of the Parole Board has decreased over the last 5 years. Offenders convicted of crimes against persons continue to make up the majority of the inmate population. The percentage of violent offenders consistently accounts for more than half of the offenders with Washington State sentences. The female offender population has averaged 7.2 percent of the total population over the last 5 years. The number of offenders under the age of 18 has averaged 115 in the past 5 years. The number of admissions was steady from 1998 through 2000, and then it increased again 2001. Female admissions have increased at a higher rate than male admissions over the last 5 years. There were large increases in total releases in Fiscal Year 1997 and then a drop in releases in FY 1998. This was mainly due to a high number of boarder releases in FY 1997, which fell in the Other release category. The average length of stay for all categories of admission was 22.5 months. While the overall inmate population has grown steadily over the last 5 years, the distribution by assigned custody has remained fairly constant. While the percentages of assigned custody among males has remained relatively constant over the last 5 years; it has fluctuated among females. The female population is much smaller, however, so slight changes in numbers affect the percentages more. Except for FY 1997, males have been assigned higher custody levels than females. Offenders initially assigned to higher custody levels declined for a few years then increased again in 2001.