United States crime statistics

BJS

Incarceration Rates in the U.S. According to the BJS

The United States criminal justice system is frequently criticized for the enormity of its prison system. It is often said that a culture of incarceration in American law-enforcement undermines the prospects for rehabilitation and creates a substantial economic lag for the U.S. government. Data gathered from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) will be used to evaluate the American prison system with a focus on offenders who have been transitioned to inmate status.

According Todd D. Minton (2011), the Bureau of Justice Statistics maintains records of those incarcerated nationwide, providing data on 'rated capacity of jails, percent of capacity occupied, and capacity added.' Additionally, surveys include data on the racial and gender orientation of individuals incarcerated. (Minton, p. 1) These data denote that with the latest available data emerging from midyear of 2010, 87.7% of all individuals incarcerated are male, whereas 12.3% were female. (Minton, p. 1). The 'rated capacity' for all jails in operation by midyear of 2010 was 866,782 beds, which is identified as an increase of 2% or 16,887 beds from midway through the prior year of 2009.

The BJS describes its methodology as a two-part approach to conducting annual midyear services across jails in the U.S. One part employs a qualitative questionnaire designed to produce information on changing needs and realties in jail and corrections facilities across time. Issues reported on in the questionnaire relate to jail capacity, prison crowding, staff workload, health concerns for both employees and inmates, substance abuse issues for both employees and inmates, rates of detainment for inmates and a host of other concerns impacting prison populations. The quantitative aspect of this annual midyear review centers on prison capacity and the percentage of this capacity in use. According to the BJS (2009), "for the 2006-2009 ASJ, the U.S. Census Bureau, as the collection agent, drew a sample of jail facilities (934) in 875 jurisdictions based on information from the 2005 Census of Jail Inmates. Local jail jurisdictions included counties (parishes in Louisiana) or municipal governments that administered one or more local jails. The 2009 ASJ sample included all jails with certainty that were operated jointly by two or more jurisdictions, or multi-jurisdictional jails." (p. 1)

In spite of the impression that reigns in discussions over prison overcrowding and the emphasis on incarceration in the United States administration of justice, recent patterns show incarceration rates are actually trending downward. According to a press release from Kara McCarthy (2011), "the U.S. local jail inmate population has declined for the second consecutive year, the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today. The jail population declined by 2.4% in the 12 months ending June 30, 2010." (McCarthy, p. 1)