Prisoners in 1994

August 1995, NCJ-151654

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin

(Note: This file does not contain data tables or figures. The full text with tables is available from the Bureau of Justice Statistics Clearinghouse, 800-732-3277; use the title and NCJ number to order.)

By Allen J. Beck, Ph.D.

and Darrell K. Gilliard

BJS Statisticians

The total number of prisoners under the jurisdiction of Federal or State correctional authorities was 1,053,738 at yearend 1994. During the year the States and the District of Columbia added 78,847 prisoners; the Federal system, 5,447. Although the 1994 growth rate (8.6%) nearly equaled the average annual percent increase since 1980, the total increase of 83,294 was the second largest yearly increase on record.

Highlights

Prisoners Population housed per 100,000 as a percent resident of highest

Number of inmates population capacity

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Year Federal State Federal State Federal State

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1980 24,363 305,458 9 130 -- --

1985 40,223 462,284 14 187 123% 105%

1990 65,526 708,393 20 272 151 115

1991 71,608 754,011 22 287 146 116

1992 80,259 802,241 26 305 137 118

1993 89,587 880,857 29 330 136 118

1994 95,034 958,704 30 356 125 117

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--Not available.

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* California (125,605) and Texas (118,195) together held more than 1 in every 5 inmates in the Nation. Seventeen States, each holding fewer than 5,000 inmates, together held 4% of all prisoners.

* At yearend 1994, State prisons were operating at between 17% and 29% above capacity, while the Federal system was operating at 25% over capacity.

* Since 1980 the Nation's prison population more than doubled on a per capita basis. On December 31, 1994, the number of sentenced prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents was 387-up from 139 in 1980.

* States with the highest incarceration rates were Texas (636), Louisiana (530), and Oklahoma (508). North Dakota (78) had the lowest rate, followed by Minnesota (100), West Virginia (106), and Maine (118).

* In 1993 (the latest available data), the incarceration rate of blacks was 7 times that of whites. At yearend there were 1,471 black inmates per 100,000 black U.S. residents compared to 207 white inmates per 100,000 white residents.

• The percentage of State prisoners serving a drug sentence increased almost 3-fold from 1980 to 1993 (6% to 22%). The percentage of Federal prisoners serving a drug sentence more than doubled, from 25% in 1980 to 60% in 1993.
• In recent years, although the number of drug offenders in the Nation's prisons grew dramatically (55,500 from 1990 to 1993), the number of violent offenders grew the most (up 82,100).

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Table 1. Changes in the State and Federal prison populations, 1980-94

Annual increase

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Year Number Percent
of inmates Number change
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1980 329,821 -- --
1981 369,930 40,109 12.2%
1982 413,806 43,876 11.9
1983 436,855 23,049 5.6
1984 462,002 25,147 5.8
1985 502,507 40,505 8.8
1986 544,972 42,465 8.5
1987 585,084 40,112 7.4
1988 627,600 42,516 7.3
1989 712,364 84,764 13.5
1990 773,919 61,555 8.6
1991 825,619 51,700 6.7
1992 882,500 56,881 6.9
1993* 970,444 64,992 7.4
1994 1,053,738 83,294 8.6
Annual
average 50,069 8.7%

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Note: All counts are for December 31 of each year and may reflect revisions

of previously reported numbers.

--Not applicable.

*Includes the jurisdiction populations of Massachusetts and Texas for the first time. For comparisons the final 1993 count (947,492), which excludes the noncustody population in Texas and Massachusetts, may be used.

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State and Federal prisons housed two-thirds of all persons incarcerated in the United States--the other third were in local jails.

The 1994 growth rate of 8.6% was greater than the percentage increase recorded during 1993 (7.4%). The 1994 increase translates into a nationwide need to confine an additional 1,602 inmates each week.

Prisoners with a sentence of more than 1 year (referred to as "sentenced prisoners") accounted for 96% of the total prison population at the end of 1994, growing by 8.6 % during the year. The remaining prisoners had sentences of a year or less or were unsentenced (for example, those awaiting trial in States with combined prison-jail systems).

The number of sentenced Federal prisoners increased less than that of sentenced State prisoners during 1994 (7.3% versus 8.7%). The rate of increase slowed to about half the 1993 growth rate.

During 1994 prison populations increased in 16 States by at least 10%. Texas reported the largest increase (28.5%), followed by Georgia (20.3%), Nevada (16.0%), Virginia (14.6%), and Wisconsin (14.1%). Three States and the District of Columbia experienced less than 2% growth. The District had the smallest percentage growth (.9%), followed by Oklahoma (1.4%), South Carolina (1.6%), and Massachusetts (1.6%).

Fifty-six percent of the increase during 1994 was accounted for by Texas (26,182), California (5,654), Georgia (5,642), the Federal system (5,447), and Florida (4,091). These jurisdictions incarcerate over 40% of the Nation's prison population.

* At yearend 1980, 1 in every 453 U.S. residents were incarcerated; by yearend 1993, that figure grew to 1 in every 189.

* From 1980 to 1993, the total number of persons held in the custody of State, Federal, and local jail jurisdictions grew by about 863,000 persons. Sixty-two percent of the growth can be attributed to the growth in number of State prisoners (533,000).

• Between 1980 and 1993, the Federal prison population grew at faster rate (an average of 9.9% per year) than the combined State populations (8.2%) and the Nation's local jail populations (7.3%). Despite the higher growth rate, only 5.9% of all inmates were held in Federal prisons in 1993, up from 4.7% in 1980.
• * On December 31, 1993, almost 4.9 million persons were under some form of correctional supervision, including 2.8 million adults on probation and 671,000 on parole. The percentage distribution of the total corrections population was--

Confinement 28.0%

Federal prisons 1.7

State prisons 17.0

Local jails 9.3

Community supervision 72.0%

Parole 13.7

Probation 58.3

* Between 1980 and 1993, the number of persons under correctional supervision increased by more than 3 million. About 19% of this increase occurred because of the growth in the State and Federal prison populations.

* * *

Rates of incarceration increase

On December 31, 1994, the number of sentenced prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents was 387. Of the 14 States with rates greater than the rate for the Nation, 11 were in the South, 2 were in the West, and 1 was in the Midwest. Four States, North Dakota (78), Minnesota (100), West Virginia (106), and Maine (118) had rates that were less than a third of the national rate.

The District of Columbia, a wholly urban jurisdiction, held 1,583 sentenced prisoners per 100,000 residents at yearend 1994. Since 1980 the number of sentenced inmates per 100,000 residents has risen from 139 to 387. During this period, per capita incarceration rates rose the most in the South (from 188 to 451) and West (from 105 to 333). The rate in the Northeast rose from 87 to 285, and the rate in the Midwest from 109 to 297. The number of sentenced Federal prisoners per 100,000 residents increased from 9 to 30 over the same period.

Prison populations in Southern States grew the fastest

During 1994 the average growth in the number of sentenced State and Federal prisoners was equal to a demand for 1,542 additional bed spaces per week, about 179 more than the average weekly growth in 1993.

Regionally, during 1994 the percentage increase in the number of sentenced prisoners was highest in the Southern States, a gain of 13.1%. The number of sentenced prisoners grew by 6.2% in the West, 5.8% in the Midwest, and 4.1% in the Northeast. In 29 States the percentage change in the number of sentenced prisoners during 1994 was higher than that of 1993.

Among these jurisdictions, 16 had increases of at least 10%. They were led by Texas (28.3%), Georgia (20.1%), Virginia (14.9%), New Hampshire (13.9%), and Idaho (13.7%). In five States (Delaware, Maine, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Massachusetts) and the District of Columbia the number of sentenced prisoners increased by less than 2%. In two States--Alaska and Connecticut--the number of sentenced prisoners declined during 1994. Since 1989 net gains in the number of sentenced prisoners have averaged about 1,162 prisoners per week--a gain of about 1,036 State prisoners and 125 Federal prisoners per week over the period. The largest net gains occurred in the South (500 inmates per week), followed by the West (213 inmates per week), the Midwest (180 inmates per week), and the Northeast (144 inmates per week). Texas accounted for 34% of the total growth in the 16 Southern States and the District of Columbia. California accounted for two-thirds of the growth in the 13 Western States.

In 1994 the 10 States with the largest prison populations held 55% of the total prison population nationwide, with California, Texas, and New York accounting for nearly 30%. Texas had the highest incarceration rate, with 636 sentenced prisoners per 100,000 residents, followed by Louisiana (530) and Oklahoma (508).

During 1994 the prison population in Texas grew the fastest, increasing 28.5%. Over the past 5 years the State prison population of New Hampshire grew the fastest, increasing 73.3%. At yearend 1994 North Dakota had the lowest rate of incarceration (78 sentenced prisoners per 100,000 residents), followed by Minnesota (100), West Virginia (106), and Maine (118).

Seventeen States, each holding fewer than 5,000 inmates, together held 4% of all prisoners in 1994.

The number of sentenced inmates has increased in every State since 1989. Alaska (up 1.4% since 1989) and Maine (up 2.2%) had the smallest percentage increases. Four other States had increases of less than 20% in the last 5 years. Kansas had a 5-year rate of growth of 13.5%, followed by Nebraska (13.7%), New Mexico (17.9%), and Wyoming (18.6%).

Female prisoner population grew at a faster pace The number of female inmates (64,403) increased at a faster rate during 1994 (10.6%) than the number of male inmates (989,335 at 8.5%).

At the end of 1994 women accounted for 6.1% of all prisoners nationwide. Relative to the number of women in the resident population in the States in 1994, Oklahoma (with 96 female inmates per 100,000 female residents) and Texas (with 94) led the Nation. North Dakota (5 per 100,000) and Maine (9) had the lowest female incarceration rates. In 1994, 28 States, the District of Columbia, and the Federal system had more than 500 female inmates. Among these jurisdictions, 14 had increases of at least 10%, led by the Texas increase of 27.2% (from 6,949 in 1993 to 8,839 in 1994).

Six States held fewer than 100 female inmates at yearend 1994. Women represented less than 4% of all prisoners in North Dakota, Montana, and Vermont. In 1994, 7.5% of inmates in the Federal system were female--higher than all State systems except for Oklahoma (9.7%), Hawaii (7.7%), and Texas (7.5%).

Local jails held almost 49,000 prisoners because of State prison crowding At the end of 1994, 23 jurisdictions reported a total of 48,949 State prisoners held in local jails or otherfacilities because of crowding in State facilities. Texas accounted for 42% of the prisoners sentenced to prison but incarcerated locally. Eight States--Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Mississippi, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Idaho--held more than 10% of their prison population in local jails. Overall, because of prison crowding, 4.6% of the State prisoners were confined in local jails, down from 5.2% in 1993.

Prison capacity estimates are difficult to compare The extent of crowding in the Nation's prisons is difficult to determine because of the absence of uniform measures for defining capacity. The 52 reporting jurisdictions apply a wide variety of capacity measures to reflect both available space to house inmates and the ability to staff and operate an institution. To estimate the capacity of the Nation's prisons, jurisdictions were asked to supply three measures for yearend 1994: rated, operational, and design capacities. These measures were defined as follows:

Rated capacity is the number of beds or inmates assigned by a rating official to institutions within the jurisdiction.

Operational capacity is the number of inmates that can be accommodated based on a facility's staff, existing programs, and services.

Design capacity is the number of inmates that planners or architects intended for the facility.

Of the 52 reporting jurisdictions, 38 supplied rated capacities, 43 provided operational capacities, and 37 submitted design capacity. As a result, estimates of total capacity and measures of the relationship to population are based on the highest and lowest capacity figures provided. (Twenty-five jurisdictions reported 1 capacity measure or gave the same figure for each capacity measure they reported.)

Most jurisdictions are operating above capacity Prisons generally require reserve capacity to operate efficiently. Dormitories and cells need to be maintained and repaired periodically, special housing is needed for protective custody and disciplinary cases, and space may be needed to cope with emergencies. At the end of 1994, 13 States and the District of Columbia reported that they were operating at or below 99% of their highest capacity. Forty-one States, the District of Columbia and the Federal prison system reported operating at 100% or more of their lowest capacity. By yearend, the Federal system was estimated to be operating at 25% over capacity.

State prisons were estimated to be operating at 117% of their highest capacity and 129% of their lowest capacity.

Changing demographic characteristics

The demographic characteristics of the Nation's prison population are changing. Since 1980 the number of female inmates in the Nation's prisons has increased at a faster rate (up an average 12.0% per year) than the number of male inmates (up an average 8.5% per year.) Despite their faster population growth, females comprised only 6% of all sentenced prisoners at yearend 1994. In 1994 the male incarceration rate, 746 per 100,000 male residents, was more than 16 times higher than the female incarceration rate--45 per 100,000 female residents. Increasing percentages of State and Federal inmates are from racial or ethnic minority groups. Between 1980 and 1993, the latest available data, the percent of sentenced inmates who were black rose from 46.5% to 50.8%. Relative to the number of residents in the U.S. population, blacks at yearend 1993 were 7 times more likely than whites to have been incarcerated in a State or Federal prison. An estimated 1,471 blacks per 100,000 black residents and 207 whites per 100,000 white residents were incarcerated in the Nation's prisons on December 31, 1993.

The number of prisoners with sentences of more than a year rose 616,292 between 1980 and 1993 (up 195%). The number of white males grew 163%, the number of black males 217%, the number of white females 327%, and the number of black females 343%.

The growth in the number of black male prisoners (304,800) accounted for nearly half of the total increase during the 13-year period.

Hispanics, who may be of any race, are the fastest growing minority group--increasing from 7.7% of all State and Federal inmates in 1980 to 14.3% in 1993. During this period, the Hispanic incarceration rate more than tripled--from 163 sentenced prisoners per 100,000 Hispanic residents in 1980 to 529 per 100,000 Hispanic residents in 1993. At yearend 1993 nearly 139,000 Hispanics were in State or Federal prisons.

The total number of Hispanic inmates may actually be somewhat larger. Because of variations in record keeping, some States are unable to report data on Hispanic origin; other States report estimates only; and others report only partial counts. Data from past surveys of State inmates, which are based on inmate self-identification during personal interviews, produce higher estimates of the number of Hispanic inmates.

On December 31, 1993, nearly two-thirds of all sentenced prison inmates were black, Asian, Native American, or Hispanic. Growth linked to increasing numbers of inmates in prison for violent and drug offenses

The distribution of the four major offense categories--violent, property, drug, and public-order offenses--changed dramatically in the Nation's prison population between 1980 and 1993. As a percentage of all State and Federal inmates, violent offenders fell from 57% in 1980 to 45% in 1993, property offenders fell from 30% to 22%, drug offenders rose from 8% to 26%, and public-order offenders rose from 5% to 7%.

The rise in the number of drug offenders was the greatest among Federal inmates. Prisoners sentenced for drug law violations were the single largest group of Federal inmates (60%) in 1993, up from 25% in 1980. The increase in drug offenders accounted for nearly three-quarters of the total growth in Federal inmates.

The percentage of inmates in State prison for a drug crime also rose significantly, from 6% in 1980 to 22% in 1993. Nearly 10 times as many inmates were serving time in State prisons for drug offenses in 1993 (186,000) as in 1980 (19,000).

In absolute numbers, however, the growth in State inmates was greatest among violent offenders. Between 1980 and 1993, the number of violent offenders grew by 221,200, while the number of drug offenders grew by 167,000. As a percentage of the total growth in sentenced State inmates during the period, violent offenders accounted for 42% of the total growth, drug offenders 31%, property offenders 19%, and public-order offenders 7%.

Average sentence length and time served for State inmates relatively unchanged

Data on prison admissions and releases collected annually in the National Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP) suggest that growth in the State prison populations has not been the result of longer sentences. (Each year participating States provide information on sentencing and time served for persons entering or leaving prison. In 1993, 38 States and the District of Columbia submitted data, accounting for nearly 93% of all admissions and 85% of all releases nationwide during the year.) Between 1985 and 1992, years in which comparable data are available, the average (mean) maximum sentences of prisoners actually declined from 78 months to 67 months.

The median sentence length (the 50th percentile) of prisoners admitted from court remained constant at 48 months. Moreover, despite the increasing use of mandatory minimums and sentencing enhancements during the period, the percent of inmates who received a maximum sentence of 10 years or longer actually declined (from 19.7% in 1985 to 17.7% in 1992).

The NCRP data also reveal no significant changes in the time served by offenders released from State prison during the period. In 1992 State prisoners released for the first time on their current offense (that is, first releases) served an average of 22 months in prison and 5 months in jail. (Time served in jail is the amount of time an inmate spends in jail prior to entering State prison and is credited towards time served on the total sentence.) The amount of time served in prison was slightly lower in 1985 (20 months), higher in 1986 (24 months), and about the same since 1987 (22 months).

These data reflect the time served by prisoners actually released. Some prisoners will never be released but will die in prison. Some prisoners with very long sentences do not show up among released prisoners for many years. As a result, measures of time served based on released prisoners tend to understate the actual time to be served by persons entering prison.

Changing Federal sentencing linked to population growth

The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 introduced "truth in sentencing" to the Federal justice system. The Act created a commission that specified sentencing guidelines, which went into effect in late 1987. The guidelines took into account the gravity of the crime and the offender's criminal record. Under the guidelines offenders convicted of Federal offenses are expected to serve a minimum of 85% of the actual sentence.

After 1986 the average Federal sentence to prison for violent crimes decreased, while overall time served increased. The result is a rapidly growing Federal prison population. After 1986 the average time served by persons released from Federal prison rose from 15 months to 24 months (a 60% increase). For violent offenses, the time served by first releases increased from 50 months to 56 months and for drug offenses, time served increased from 22 months to 33 months.

The sentencing reforms also increased the likelihood of incarceration for convicted Federal offenders.

Between 1980 and 1992 the number of defend-ants convicted in U.S. district courts rose from 29,943 to 51,936, and the percentage sent to prison increased from 46% to 75%. As a result, the number of offenders sent to Federal prisons rose from 13,766 to 33,622--an increase of 144%. ("Federal Criminal Case Processing, 1980-90," September 1992, NCJ-136945; "Federal Criminal Case Processing, 1982-91, With Preliminary Data for 1992," November 1993, NCJ-144526.)

Rise in State prison population the result of increasing number of arrests and higher probabilities of incarceration

Underlying the growth in the State prison population has been an increase in the number of arrests from nearly 8.3 million adult arrests in 1980 to 11.6 million in 1993. Although the total grew by nearly 41%, for some offenses the percent increase was substantially greater: simple assault (139%), drug abuse violations (116%), aggravated assault (86%). Compounding the impact of more adult arrests for selected serious offenses, the rate of sending offenders to prison rose between 1980 and 1992 (the latest year for which data are available). Except for murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, the number of admissions to State prison per 1,000 arrests for serious crimes rose significantly. The likelihood of incarceration upon arrest increased 5-fold for drug violations, increased 4-fold for weapons offenses, and doubled for larceny/theft, motor vehicle theft, and sexual assault other than rape.

As a result of the compounding nature of these factors, the number of admissions to State prisons from court rose from 131,215 sentenced prisoners in 1980 to 318,069 in 1993, an increase of 142%.

Methodology

National Prisoner Statistics

This Bulletin is based on an advance count of prisoners conducted for the National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) program immediately after the end of each calendar year. A detailed, final count containing any revisions to the jurisdictions' advance count will be published later.

Most States provide jurisdiction counts, that is, the number of inmates under their jurisdiction on December 31, regardless of the location of their inmates. These counts exclude inmates housed for other jurisdictions, such as other State's inmates and pretrial detainees, that are housed in a jurisdiction's facilities.

Some States provide custody counts, that is, the number of inmates housed in State facilities regardless of jurisdiction. (See Jurisdiction notes.) These counts exclude inmates housed outside of each State's prison facilities, such as inmates housed in local jails. Custody counts are used to calculate the total number of inmates in prisons and jails.

Estimation procedures

The offense distributions of State prisoners at yearend were estimated for 1980, 1985, and 1990-93. To obtain estimates of the custody populations by offense, data from inmate surveys conducted in 1979, 1986, and 1991, were combined with counts by offense of annual admissions and releases. The surveys provided the basis for estimating the offense distributions of the other years.

The offense distributions were estimating using forward and backward stock-flow procedures as outlined in Correction Populations in the United States, 1992 (January 1995, NCJ-146413). Data from the 1979 survey were used for forward estimates for 1980; data from the 1986 survey (conducted in March 1986) were used for 1985 estimates, 1990 forward estimates, and 1980 backward estimates; and data from the 1991 survey for 1991 estimates and 1992-93 forward estimates.

To obtain flow populations for each year, the offense distributions of admissions and releases were drawn from annual reports of the National Prisoner Statistics (1980-82) program and the National Corrections Reporting Program (1983-92). Data from the 1992 NCRP were used to estimate flows for 1993.

The offense distributions of Federal inmates are for prisoners of any sentence length on September 30 in 1980 and 1985. Data for 1990-93 are taken from the BJS Federal justice database.

Jurisdiction notes

Federal--The rated capacity of Federal facilities on December 31, 1994, was 68,221 inmates. This does not include contract bed spaces. The number of contract bed spaces at the end of the year was 9,534.

Alabama--The capacity of the community programs is not included in the capacity figures reported. Population counts include 1,547 inmates housed in local jails as of December 31, 1994, because of overcrowding.

Alaska--Prisons and jails form one integrated system. All NPS data include jail and prison populations. Alaska's capacity is established by the Cleary final settlement agreement with the State court and the Community Residential Centers program.

Arizona--Population counts are based on custody data. Population counts exclude 118 inmates housed in local jails becauseof crowding in the State facilities.

Arkansas--Population counts include 565 inmates housed in local jails as of December 31, 1994, because of overcrowding.

California--Population counts are based on custody data.

Colorado--Population counts for m sentence" include an undetermined number of "Inmates with a maximum sentence of 1 year or less." Design and operational capacities do not include the Bent County Correctional Facility, owned and operated by the county of Bent (Las Animas, Colorado) and Minnesota Prairie Correctional Facility (Appleton, Minnesota) which are contracted. The Bent County facility holds 320 prisoners and the Minnesota facility holds 405 prisoners for the State of Colorado.

Population counts include 815 inmates housed in local jails because of crowding in State facilities.

Connecticut--Prisons and jails form one integrated system. All NPS data include prison and jail populations.

Delaware--Prisons and jails form one integrated system. All NPS data include jail and prison populations. Capacity counts include the halfway houses under the Department of Corrections.

District of Columbia--Prisons and jails form one integrated system. All NPS data includes jail and prison populations.

Florida--Population counts are based on custody data.

Georgia--Population counts are based on custody data.

Inmates housed in local jails are not considered part of the prison population until they are admitted. Most inmates are awaiting transfer into the prison system. An undetermined number were held because of crowding.

Hawaii--Prisons and jails form one integrated system. All NPS data include jail and prison populations. Population counts for "Inmates with over 1 year maximum sentence" include parole and probation violators. These inmates were previously counted as "Unsentenced inmates."

Idaho--Population counts include 312 inmates housed in local jails because of crowding of State facilities.

Illinois--Population counts are based on custody data. Population counts for "Inmates with over 1 year maximum sentence" include an undetermined number of "Inmates with a maximum sentence of 1 year." Capacity figures include 875 inmates on electronic detention.

Indiana--Prison population counts include 903 inmates who were housed in local jails as of December 31, 1994, because of crowding of State facilities. Another floor was opened in a facility to accommodate a larger number of inmates; as a result, capacity was increased and some crowding was reduced.

Iowa--Population counts are based on custody data.

Kansas--Population counts for "Inmates with over 1 year maximum sentence" include a small undetermined number of inmates with a sentence of less than 1 year (among those sentenced under the Kansas Sentencing Guidelines Act of 1993).

Kentucky--Population counts include 632 inmates who were housed in local jails as of December 31, 1994, because of crowding of State facilities.

Louisiana--The rated and operational capacities do not include contractual work release facilities. The rated capacity of the contractual work release facilities is 348 inmates. The operational capacity of the contractual work release facilities is 343 inmates.

Population counts include 8,064 inmates housed in local jails because of crowding of State facilities.

Maine--Maine has a number of inmates serving concurrent sentences some of which are 1 year or more and some 1 year or less. These inmates are not included in the prison population counts.

Maryland--Population totals are actual manual counts; however, the breakdowns for sentence length are estimates.

Massachusetts--Population counts are based on jurisdictional data for the first time. For this report custody counts for December 31, 1993, were updated to jurisdictional counts. Population counts exclude the 963 inmates housed in local jails because of crowding of State facilities. Population totals are actual counts, however, the male/female breakdown is an estimate believed to be within 0.05% of the actual counts. Population counts include 336 inmates without sentence information.

Michigan--Population counts are based on custody data.

Minnesota--Population counts include 85 inmates housed in local jails as of December 31, 1994, because of crowding of State facilities.

Mississippi--Population counts are as of December 30, 1994. Population counts include 1,569 inmates housed in local jail as of December 30, 1994, because of crowding.

New Jersey--"Design" capacity does not include persons held in halfway houses (686) and persons held under the county assistance program (846).

North Carolina--While population totals are actual counts, the breakdowns for sentence length are estimates. Because of crowding 248 male inmates were housed in local jails; another 937 male inmates were housed in private prisons out of State on a contractual basis. The total of 1,185 male inmates are included in the population counts.

Oklahoma--Population counts for "Inmates with over 1 year maximum sentence" may include a small undetermined number of "Inmates with a sentence of 1 year." Population counts exclude 375 inmates housed in local jails because of overcrowding.

Oregon--An undetermined number of inmates for which sentence length is unknown is included in the count for "Inmates with a sentence of 1 year or less."

Pennsylvania--The design capacity figure increased because several sections in different facilities opened. This State now treats the rated, operational, and design capacity the same.

Rhode Island--Prisons and jails form one integrated system. All NPS data include prison and jail populations.

South Carolina--Population counts include 359 inmates who were housed in local jails as of December 31, 1994, because of crowding of State facilities.

Tennessee--Population counts for "Inmates with over 1 year maximum sentence" include an undetermined number of inmates with a sentence of 1 year. These counts are based on the Department of Corrections' population report from December 29, 1994. Population counts include 1,829 inmates housed in local jails because of overcrowding and exclude an undetermined number offelons sentenced to serve their time in local jails. (The State pays to house these felons, but the local court maintains jurisdiction.) These counts are based on a jail report from December 16, 1994.

Texas--Population counts for December 31, 1994, include 20,720 inmates housed in local jails because of crowding. In Texas the minimum sentence for any offender sentenced to a State prison is 2 years.

Utah--Population counts include 169 inmates housed in local jails because of crowding of State facilities.

Vermont--Prisons and jails form an integrated system. All NPS data include prison and jail populations. Some county and municipal authorities operate local "lockups." NPS data include the inmates in local "lockups". Population counts for sentenced inmates include 305 who were on long-term furlough. The rated capacity figures decreased due to the closing of one facility for renovations.

Virginia--Virginia uses a base capacity method to determine the rated, operational, and design capacity figures. Under this method of determining capacity, only the bunks that touch the floor are counted; top bunks are not counted. Population counts include 4,508 inmates who were housed in local jails because of crowding of State facilities.

West Virginia--Population counts are based oncustody data. Population counts exclude 383 male and 15 female inmates housed in county or regional jails because of crowding of State facilities.

Washington--Offenders sentenced to 1 year or less and unsentenced offenders reside in county jails. Capacities reported exclude state work release and pre-release facilities which housed 918 inmates on December 31, 1994. These facilities' capacity of 1,102 inmates are not specifically reserved for State prison inmates. These facilities are for prison inmates, parolees, probationers, and offenders serving partial confinement sentences.