BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics

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Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
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Corrections
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Corrections refers to the supervision of persons arrested for, convicted of, or sentenced for criminal offenses. Correctional populations fall into two general categories: institutional corrections and community corrections. Corrections data, with a few exceptions, covers adult facilities and adult inmates. For data on youth in the juvenile system, see statistics provided by the Correctional Populations in the United States series.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics’ (BJS) Corrections Unit maintains over 30 data collections. Most are annual collections of administrative data from correctional administrators, ranging from basic population counts and offender demographic characteristics to facility capacity, programs, staff, and resources. These data collections include—

The NPS also collects counts on specific inmate populations from the Department of Defense (DoD) and U.S. territories. Some limited information on the number of juveniles held in adult facilities is also collected in the NPS and ASJ. Jails in Indian Country is a separate collection for data on counts and characteristics of persons held in tribal jails. BJS also tracks administrative data on other topics, such as HIV in correctional facilities; deaths in custody; sexual assault in correctional facilities; and capital punishment statutes, populations, and executions.

In addition to collecting administrative data, BJS maintains a number of recurring national surveys of prison inmates, jail inmates, probationers, and parolees. These surveys are typically conducted every 5 to 7 years and use a nationally representative sample of offenders. The surveys, such as the Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities and the Survey of Inmates in Local Jails, are broad in scope and collect a wide range of data on the personal and criminal histories of criminal offenders. Topics cover childhood experiences, family structure, educational background, prior criminal activity, substance abuse experiences, mental and physical health problems, and conditions of current confinement. Estimates derived from these surveys are national and, with rare exceptions, are not available at the state or facility level.

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Data Collections & Surveys

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Publications & Products


Prisoners in 2014 Presents final counts of prisoners under the jurisdiction of state and federal correctional authorities on December 31, 2014, collected by the National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) program.
  Press Release | Summary (PDF 235KB) | PDF (1.3M) | ASCII file (76KB) | CSV (Comma Separated Values) (Zip format 40KB)
Part of the Prisoners Series

Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000–2013 - Statistical Tables Present inmate death records from each of the nation's 50 state prison systems. Death records include information on decedent personal characteristics (age, race or Hispanic origin, and sex), decedent criminal background (legal status, offense type, and time served), and the death itself (date, time, location, and cause of death, as well as information on the autopsy and medical treatment provided
  Press Release | Summary (PDF 223KB) | PDF (2.3MB) | ASCII file (46KB) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 66KB)
Part of the Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons Series

Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2013 - Statistical Tables DEATHS IN LOCAL JAILS AND STATE PRISONS INCREASED FOR THE THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR
  Press Release

PREA Data Collection Activities, 2015 The Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA; P.L. 108-79) requires the Attorney General to submit to Congress, not later than June 30 of each year, a report on the activities of BJS for the preceding calendar year.
  PDF (348K) | ASCII file (17K)
Part of the PREA Publications Series

Medical Problems of State and Federal Prisoners and Jail Inmates, 2011–12 Presents the prevalence of medical problems among state and federal prisoners and jail inmates, highlighting differences in rates of chronic conditions and infectious diseases by demographic characteristic.
  Press Release | PDF (547K) | ASCII file (47K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 60K)

Correctional Populations in the United States, 2013 Presents statistics on offenders supervised by adult correctional systems in the United States at yearend 2013, including offenders supervised in the community on probation or parole and those incarcerated in prison or local jail.
  Press Release | PDF (385K) | ASCII file (23K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 36K)
Part of the Correctional Populations in the United States Series

Capital Punishment in the United States, 2013 - Statistical Tables Presents information on persons under sentence of death on December 31, 2013, and persons executed in 2014.
  PDF (1M) | ASCII file (34K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 54K)
Part of the Capital Punishment Series

Probation and Parole in the United States, 2013 Presents data on adult offenders under community supervision while on probation or parole in 2013.
  PDF (1.7M) | ASCII file (45K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 32K)
Part of the Probation and Parole Populations Series

Prisoners in 2013 Presents final counts of prisoners under the jurisdiction of state and federal correctional authorities on December 31, 2013, collected by the National Prisoner Statistics Program.
  Press Release | PDF (2.1M) | ASCII file (80K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 54K)
Part of the Prisoners Series

Jails in Indian Country, 2013 Presents findings from the 2013 Survey of Jails in Indian Country, an enumeration of 79 jails, confinement facilities, detention centers, and other correctional facilities operated by tribal authorities or the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
  PDF (847K) | ASCII file (42K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 32K)
Part of the Jails in Indian Country Series

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Terms & Definitions

Community corrections The supervision of criminal offenders in the resident population, as opposed to confining offenders in secure correctional facilities. The two main types of community corrections supervision are probation and parole. Community corrections is also referred to as community supervision.
 
Custody To have custody of a prisoner, a state or the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) must physically hold that person in one of its facilities. A locality, state, or the BOP may hold inmates over whom a different government maintains jurisdiction.
 
Custody count The number of offenders in custody. To have custody of a prisoner, a state or the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) must physically hold that person in one of its facilities. A locality, state, or the BOP may have custody of a prisoner over whom a different government maintains jurisdiction.
 
Design capacity The number of inmates that planners or architects intended for the facility.
 
Federal prisons Prison facilities run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Prisoners housed in these facilities are under the legal authority of the federal government. This excludes private facilities under exclusive contract with BOP.
 
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Related Links

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