National Economic, Social, and Environmental Data Bank
ITEM ID     : JS CRIMES SURVINM
DATE        : May 22, 1995

AGENCY      : USDOJ, BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS
PROGRAM     : REPORTS ON CRIME, PRISONS, AND LAW ENFORCEMENT IN THE U.S.
TITLE       : Survey of State Prison Inmates, 1991

Source key      : JS 
Program key     : JS CRIMES 
Data type       : TEXT 
End year        : 1995
Date of record  : 19950203

U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics

Survey of State Prison Inmates, 1991

By
Allen Beck
Darrell Gilliard
Lawrence Greenfeld
Caroline Harlow
Thomas Hester
Louis Jankowski
Tracy Snell
James Stephan
BJS Statisticians
Danielle Morton
BJS Statistical Assistant

March 1993, NCJ-136949

Full text with tables available from:
BJS Justice Statistics Clearinghouse
1-800-732-3277
Box 6000
Rockville, MD 10850

Acknowledgments

A team of Bureau of Justice Statistics analysts wrote this report.  Team
members were Darrell Gilliard, Lawrence Greenfeld, Thomas Hester, Louis
Jankowski, Danielle Morton, Tracy Snell, and James Stephan, guided by
Allen Beck and Caroline Wolf Harlow. Corrections statistics are prepared
under the general direction of Lawrence Greenfeld.  Thomas Hester edited
this report.  Yvonne Boston and Marilyn Marbrook, chief of the
publications unit, produced it.

Allen Beck and Caroline Wolf Harlow developed the survey questionnaire and
monitored data collection.  Marita Perez and Linda Ball of the Demographic
Surveys Division, the Bureau of the Census, collected and processed the
data under the supervision of Gertrude Odom and Lawrence McGinn.
Christopher Alaura, Mildred Strange, Dave Pysh, and Carolyn Jenkins of the
Demographic Surveys Division furnished programming support under the
supervision of David Watt and Stephen Phillips.

March 1993, NCJ-136949

The Bureau of Justice Statistics is a component of the Office of Justice
Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the
National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention, and the Office for Victims of Crime.

Foreword

The 1991 Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities is a prime
source of information about persons held in prisons across the Nation.
Through lengthy interviews and detailed questions with a representative
sample of State inmates, the survey complements the statistical series
that rely on official agency data.  The survey data provide a profile of
who is in prison and how they got there.  The 1991 survey, together with
similar surveys conducted in 1974, 1979, and 1986, represents the largest
single database on the Nation's prisoners and is an invaluable resource
for evaluating the effectiveness of current incarceration policies and
practices.

This report presents statistical information in a format that can be
easily understood by a nontechnical audience.  We hope the readers of this
report and forthcoming special studies derived from the 1991 survey will
find these data useful and informative.

This survey was made possible only through the cooperation and assistance
of many committed professionals.  We are grateful to officials in the
departments of correction in the 45 States selected in the survey; to the
wardens, superintendents, records managers, and correctional officers in
the 277 facilities that provided resources and assistance in conducting
the interviews; and to the U.S. Bureau of the Census staff who conducted
the interviews and processed the data.  We also acknowledge with pride the
work of members of the BJS corrections unit who, as a team, designed the
survey, monitored data collection, and analyzed the results.

Lawrence A. Greenfeld
Acting Director

Allen J. Beck, Ph.D.
Deputy Associate Director

Contents

Fourth nationally representative survey of State prison inmates:

Unique information collected, usefulness and importance of that
information, survey procedures, reliability of inmate interviews

Profile of the State prison inmate population, 1991 and 1986:

Sex, race, Hispanic origin, age, marital status, education, work before
entering prison, income, and veteran status

Offenses for which inmates were in prison, 1991 and 1986:

Comparisons of offenses of male and female inmates, and of white, black,
and Hispanic inmates

Sentences that inmates were serving, time that they had served and
expected to serve life in prison or death sentences, sentence
enhancements, sentence length and time served according to offense

Alien inmates:

Countries of origin, age, sex, marital status, and education of inmates
who were not U.S. citizens,  their drug use and offenses for which they
were in prison

Family background:

Inmates' childhood families, whether the parents had used drugs or
alcohol, incarceration of family members, physical and sexual abuse

Fathers and mothers in prison:

Inmate parents with children under age 18, caregivers for inmates'
children, women who entered prison pregnant, women's program participation

Prior and current offenses of inmates:

Criminal history and its statistical relationship to sex, race, and
Hispanic origin; revoked probations or paroles for a previous sentence


Victims of violent inmates:

Characteristics of victims and offenders, number of victims per inmate,
injuries sustained by victims, weapons used in violent crimes

Inmate weapon possession and use:

Types of weapons, crimes committed with guns, sources of guns

Gang membership before entering prison:

Characteristics of criminal gangs, gang activities, characteristics of
inmates who were gang members

Drug use and treatment:

Types of drugs used at the time of the offense in 1991 and 1986, offenses
committed to get money for drugs, race and sex comparisons among drug
users, crack and cocaine use, drug treatment before and after imprisonment

Tests for the virus that causes AIDS; past use of hypodermic needles:

Self-reported HIV-positive rates, intravenous drug use

Drinking and participation in programs to reduce alcohol abuse:

Use of alcohol at the time of the offense, amount of alcohol drunk,
characteristics of drinking inmates

Inmate participation in prison programs:

Types of prison activities, education or vocational programs, work
assignments, hours spent working, pay

Security level of inmate housing:

Relation between security level inmate record of violent offenses,
regional variations

Explanatory notes:

Discussion of the sample and standard errors, definitions and other
information for a more detailed presentation of findings

The Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities informs the Nation
on a wide array of criminal justice issues

For the first time in a national survey, inmates responded to questions
about owning and using guns, gang membership, HIV testing, and entering
prison pregnant

In the summer of 1991, 13,986 inmates answered questions in face-to-face
interviews.  The prisoners, a scientific sample for the Nation,
represented more than 711,000 adults held in State correctional
facilities.  In a session lasting from several minutes to more than an
hour, each inmate described his or her criminal history, family and
employment background, and any involvement with drugs and alcohol.  Each
inmate also reported on participation in correctional programs and past
education.  Inmates convicted of a violent crime were asked about their
victim.

After the last such survey in 1986, the prison population had grown  58%,
more than 261,000 additional prisoners.  In 1991 the incarceration rate
-- the number sentenced to more than a year in State facilities for each
100,000 residents in the general population -- was about 287 per 100,000;
5 years earlier, the rate was 207 prisoners per 100,000 residents.

Simultaneous with the State inmate survey, a Federal prison survey
interviewed 8,500 inmates

Together the Federal and State studies provide the most comprehensive
information on the Nation's prisoners ever obtained.  Used alone or
analyzed together with the three previous surveys of State prison inmates
conducted in 1974, 1979, and 1986, these 1991 data serve many purposes.


As national data they provide a benchmark against which States may compare
their prison populations, perhaps to judge the results of particular
policies.  State prison authorities may also use the surveys as a source
for a uniform set of measures and descriptors.

The potential benefits of national data will touch a large number of
crucial topics.  Persons seeking to understand the factors that contribute
to or prevent crime have in these data a readily available wealth of
background and empirical evidence that can bear close scrutiny.  When
considered with other survey findings or population studies, the data
garnered by the surveys of inmates will enable scholars, policymakers, and
practitioners to test many assertions and conclusions.

The following are examples of issues that can be examined using data from
the 1991 survey:

*Relationships among demographic and criminal justice characteristics of
State inmates

*Responses by the criminal justice system to young offenders and the later
patterns of offending

*Prison sentences and time served as related to turnover of prison
population

*Identifying patterns of offending for high-risk offenders in prison

*Generational or cohort aspects of criminal careers, types of crimes
committed, and the responses of the criminal justice system

*Violent crime events understood in terms of time, place, persons
involved, and outcome

*Family history as a factor in criminal history of serious offenders in
State prison

*Gang membership as an aggravating element in crime

*Roles of drug and alcohol use in crime and in the criminal histories of
offenders

*Statistical descriptions of firearm possession, handgun use in a crime,
and sources of handguns, for both violent and nonviolent inmates.

Experienced personnel of the Bureau of the Census conducted the
confidential interviews.

Working on behalf of the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), trained
Bureau of the Census interviewers conducted the interviews in 277 prisons
nationwide.  At each institution, inmates were chosen systematically from
the day's roster, with a specific "take rate" or selection probability
being applied.  Many of the interviewers who conducted the 1991 interviews
had also staffed the previous surveys, and many had participated in the
1989 survey of local jail inmates.

The interviewers met the prisoners alone, often in rooms out of the sight,
as well as beyond the hearing, of correctional officers and other inmates.
The inmates received written and verbal guarantees that the information
they reported would be kept confidential.  They were told that they would
be neither compelled to participate nor rewarded for participating.  If
inmates could not speak English, they could bring other inmates to
translate or could request an interviewer who spoke their language.
Altogether, 94% of the selected inmates were interviewed.

Information gained through interviews with prisoners is generally reliable

Personal interviewing of prisoners is the most efficient means -- and for
some information, the only means -- to gather certain data with a national
scope.  Independent researchers, studying how truthfully prison inmates
respond to survey questions, have found that the responses generally agree
with data from official records.  Also, findings aggregated from the
inmate surveys do not differ appreciably from information reported by
correctional authorities, and information from separate surveys fit
coherent and consistent patterns.

Just as is true of respondents to other surveys, inmates may sometimes
have forgotten or confused details like dates and sequences of events.
Heavy drug or alcohol use and limited educational or intellectual
attainment may have distorted some answers in a long questionnaire.

The survey findings represent the reports of a sample of State prison
inmates only and should not be generalized to the entire offender
population.  Inmates in State prisons account for about 17% of the total
adult correctional population.  These inmates have usually committed the
most serious offenses or have the most extensive criminal records.

The State prison population increased 58% in 5 years but remained mostly
male, minority, and young

*In June 1991 State prisons held more than 711,000 inmates.  In the 5
years from 1986 to 1991, the number of prisoners grew by over 58%.

Prison population

                 1991         1986
                 ----         ----
Facilities      1,239         903
Inmates       711,643     450,416

Women were 5% of the inmates in 1991, up from 4% in 1986.

Sex

                1991         1986
                ----         ----
Male            95%           96%
Female           5             4

Sixty-five percent of prison inmates belonged to racial or ethnic
minorities in 1991, up from 60% in 1986.

Race or Hispanic origin

            1991         1986
            ----         ----
White*      35%          40%
Black*      46           45
Other*       2            3
Hispanic    17           13

*Non-Hispanic inmates

Sixty-eight percent of inmates were under age 35 in 1991, down from 73%
in 1986.

Age

                   1991           1986
                   ----        ----
17 or younger       1%           1%
18-24              21           27
25-34              46           46
35-44              23           19
45-54               7            5
55-64               2            2
65 or older         1            1

Marital status of prison inmates remained the same from 1986 to 1991;
about a fifth were married and over half had never married.

Marital status

                  1991        1986
                  ----        ----
Married           18%          20%
Widowed            2            2
Divorced          19           18
Separated          6            6
Never married     55           54

About 34% of inmates in 1991 and 29% in 1986 had completed high school.
Among dropouts in the 1991 survey, 37% -- about a quarter of all prisoners
-- had gotten a general equivalency degree (GED).  Altogether, 59% of
inmates had a high school diploma or its equivalent.

Education

                       1991      1986
                       ----      ----
8th grade or less       19%       21%
Some high school        46        51
High school graduate    22        18
Some college or more    12        11

Two-thirds of inmates were employed during the month before they were
arrested for their current offense; over half were employed full time.

Work before arrest

                       1991       1986
                       ----       ----
Employed                67%       69%

    Full  time          55        57
     Part  time         12        12

Not employed            33%       31%

     Looking for work   16        18
     Not looking        16        13

Before their admission to prison, an estimated 38% of women and 13% of men
were receiving support from Social Security, welfare, or charity.

Income

Annual income,
for inmates free
at least a year          1991            1986
                         ----            ----
No income                  3%              2%
Less than $3,000          19              25
$3,000-$4,999             10              12
$5,000-$9,999             21              22
$10,000-$14,999           17              16
$15,000-$24,999           16              13
$25,000 or more           15              11

The percentage of veterans among prison inmates declined from 20% in 1986
to 16% in 1991.

Veteran status
                         1991             1986
                         ----             ----
Veterans                   16%            20%

     Vietnamera             3              5
     Other                 14             15

Nonveterans                84%            80%

Inmates sentenced for a drug offense accounted for 44% of the increase in
the prison population from 1986 to 1991

Violent crimes accounted for the largest percentage of the inmates' most
serious current offense in both 1991 and 1986



Figure 1


Among the inmates in 1991 --
*fewer than half were sentenced for a violent crime
*a fourth were sentenced for a property crime

*about a fifth were sentenced for a drug crime.

Violent inmates

*The percentage of prisoners serving time for violent crimes fell from 55%
in 1986 to 47% in 1991, but the number increased from 245,600 to 328,000
in 1991.  This was a 34%-increase in the number of violent inmates.

Inmates convicted of homicide

*12% of inmates in 1991 and 14% in 1986 were serving a sentence for
homicide (murder or manslaughter).

*The number of inmates convicted of homicide rose from 65,000 to 87,500,
a 35%-increase.

Inmates convicted of robbery

*Of the individual offense categories, robbery had the largest percentage
decrease, from 21% of all inmates in 1986 to 15% in 1991.

Inmates serving time for a property offense

Property offenders were 25% of all inmates in 1991, a decrease from 31%
in 1986.

*Most of this decline resulted from a decreased percentage of inmates
sentenced for burglary.

*Nevertheless, the estimate of inmates in State prison for burglary in
1991 (87,500) exceeded the estimated 74,400 of 5 years earlier.

Sentenced drug offenders

*The percentage of inmates in prison for a drug crime rose from 9% in 1986
to 21% in 1991.

*Over 3 times as many inmates were serving a prison sentence for a drug
charge in 1991 (150,300) as in 1986 (38,500).

In 1991 women in prison were more likely than men to be serving a sentence
for drug offenses

                    Women               Men
Current       ---------------      ------------
offense         1991     1986       1991     1986
-------------------------------------------------
Violent          32%      41%       47%       55%
Property         29       41        25        31
Drug             33       12        21         8
Public-order      6        5         7         5

   Number
   of inmates   38,462   19,761   665,719   430,151


Figure 2


(Figure 3)


*Women were about equally likely to be in prison for a violent, a
property, or a drug offense.

*12,600 women were serving a sentence for drug offenses in 1991, a
432%-increase from about 2,400 female inmates serving time for drugs in
1986.

*137,700 male drug offenders in 1991 represented a 281%-increase from the
36,100 in prison in 1986.

*In 1991 women in prison were more likely than men to be serving time
for--
homicide (15% versus 12%)
larceny (11% versus 5%)
fraud (10% versus 2%)
drugs (33% versus 21%).

*Men were more likely than women to be in prison for --
robbery (15% versus 8%)
assault (8% versus 6%)
burglary (13% versus 5%

In 1991 black and Hispanic inmates were more likely than white inmates to
be serving a sentence for a drug offense

*From 1986 to 1991, the number of black inmates serving a sentence for
drugs increased 447%, the number of convicted Hispanic drug offenders went
up 324%, and the number of whites in prison for drugs grew 115%.

*In 1991, among inmates serving time for a drug offense--

-- 77% of whites, 75% of Hispanics, and 85% of blacks had been sentenced
in the past to probation or incarceration

-- 16% of whites, 15% of Hispanics, and 28% of blacks had served time for
a prior violent offense.

In 1986 and 1991 about half the white inmates were serving time for
violent crimes

*The percentage of white inmates serving a sentence for --
-- sexual assault rose, from 11% in 1986 to 15% in 1991
-- robbery declined, from 15% to 10%
-- homicide remained 14%
-- assault remained 7%.

The percentages of black and Hispanic inmates in prison for violent
offenses declined between 1986 and 1991

*The percentage of black inmates serving a sentence for --
--homicide declined, from 15% to 12%
--robbery declined, from 26% to 19%.

*The percentage of Hispanic inmates serving a sentence for --
*homicide declined, from 15% to 11%
--robbery declined, from 19% to 13%.

The current offense of white, black, and Hispanic inmates was more likely
to be a drug offense in 1991 than in 1986

                                     Percent of inmates


---------------------------------------------------------------------
Most serious White              Black          Other race      Hispanic

offense      -------------------------------------------------------
             1991     1986     1991     1986      1991  1986     1991
1986
Violent       49%      50%      47%      59%      54%    62%      39%
 52%
Property      30       36       22       29       28     29       21
 26
Drug          12        8       25        7       10      6       33
 16
Public-order   8        6        5        4        8      3        8
  5

Number      248,705  177,181  321,217  202,872  16,627  11,381  117,632
56,505


Figure 4

See the Explanatory notes for definitions of racial and Hispanic-origin
categories.

Almost 1 in 3 inmates received collateral penalties; about 1 in 11 were
sentenced to life in prison or to death

Fines, restitution, court costs, and participation in drug programs formed
part of some sentences

*11% of all inmates were required to pay a fine.

*10% were required to pay restitution to the victim.

*12% were required to pay court costs.

*6% were required to participate in drug treatment, and 5%, in drug
testing.

The type of collateral penalty was linked closely with the type of
conviction offense:

*About 1 in 8 inmates convicted of rape or sexual assault were ordered to
enroll in a sex offender treatment program.

*About 1 in 5 inmates convicted of a drug offense and 1 in 10 convicted
of larceny were required to participate in drug treatment or testing.

*26% of those convicted of driving while intoxicated and 18% convicted of
drug trafficking received a fine.

*29% of inmates convicted of fraud and 18% of those convicted of burglary
or larceny were required to pay restitution to their victims.

9% of inmates were sentenced to life in prison or to death

The percentage of inmates sentenced to life or to death was unchanged from
1986.  In 1979, 11% of all inmates had a sentence to life in prison or to
death.

The 1986 and 1991 offense distributions of inmates sentenced to life or
to death were almost the same:

Offense           1991        1986
-----------------------------------

Total             100%        100%
Homicide           67          69
Sexual assault      8           7
Robbery             8           8
Kidnaping           4           4
Assault             3           1
Drug trafficking    3           3
Other offenses      7           8


Figure 5

Black, white, and Hispanic inmates were about equally likely to be serving
a sentence to life or to death

                                  Percent of inmates
Maximum                    -----------------------------
sentence                   White      Black     Hispanic

   Total                   100.0%     100.0%      100.0%
Term of years               90.4       91.0        92.1
Life                         6.9        7.1         6.7
Life plus additional years   1.5        1.0          .4
Life without parole           .7         .7          .4
Death                         .5         .3          .4


Figure 6

Inmates with a life sentence generally had an extensive criminal record

*More than half had served time in a correctional facility for a prior
offense; a fifth of all inmates with a life sentence had been incarcerated
as a juvenile.

*Two-thirds had a prior sentence to probation or incarceration; a third
had three or more prior sentences.

*30% had a past sentence for a violent offense.

Of the estimated 60,000 inmates with a life sentence --
-- most were men (96%);
-- half were age 35 or older;
-- 46% were black, 37% white, 2% other races, and 14% Hispanic.

Almost 75,000 inmates were serving a sentence for murder

Of this estimated number --
44% had received a sentence to a term of years,
    averaging 32 years
41% had received a life sentence
11% had receive a life sentence plus years
 3% had been sentenced to death.

(Figure 7)

Half of all inmates had a maximum sentence of 9 years or less and expected
to serve just over 3 years in prison
The distribution of prison sentence lengths in 1991 was similar to that
in 1986

                                                                    1991

Maximum                     1986         -----------------------------
sentence                   total       Total   White   Black   Hispanic
---------------------------------------------------------

    Total                   100%        100%    100%    100%    100%

1-24 months                  10%         10%      8%      9%     14%
25-60                        25          24      23      24      29
61-120                       25          23      22      22      25
121 or more                  30          34      37      36      24
Life/death                    9           9      10       9       8


                                                  Figure 9

*A slightly larger percentage of inmates in 1991 than in 1986 had received
a maximum sentence of more than 10 years.

*Sentences for black inmates and white inmates differed little in the
aggregate  about a third of each group had a sentence of 5 years or less
and nearly half had a sentence of more than 10 years.

* In general, sentences received by Hispanic inmates were shorter than
those of black or white inmates, reflecting primarily a larger percentage
of drug offenders and a smaller percentage of violent offenders among
Hispanic inmates.

* Black and white inmates received similar sentences for similar types of
offenses:

                           Median sentence
                           ----------------------
Offense                White              Black
--------------------------------------

    Violent            204 months      192 months
    Property            72                 72
    Drug                72                 60
    Public-order        60                 54


Figure 10

90% of inmates knew the date or year when they expected to be released

Inmates reported time in prison since their admission -- including jail
credits and any previous prison time served on their current sentence --
and when they expected to leave prison.  From this information two
estimates of time served can be calculated:  time served since admission
and total time expected to be served.

In other data series time served is reported for inmates leaving prison.
Estimates of time served based on inmates leaving prison will differ
because--
--   a higher proportion were sentenced for less serious offenses
--   estimates exclude jail credits and prior time served on the
current sentence
--   some inmates are never released.

*2% of the inmates did not expect to be released, and 8% could not
estimate a release date.

*Half of inmates had served 17 months or less at the time of their
interview.  Inmates convicted of a violent offense had served a median of
31 months; those convicted of a property offense, 12 months; of a drug
offense, 11 months; and a public-order offense, 9 months.

*Half of inmates expected to serve a total of 37 months or less before
their release.  Overall, the mean total time expected to be served was 5.5
years.

About 4% of State prison inmates were not U.S. citizens

About 31,300 inmates were aliens

*About 1 in 23 inmates were not U.S. citizens.  These aliens were from at
least 49 countries in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and
Asia.


(Figure 11)


*Mexicans accounted for about half of the aliens--

Country                Percent of alien in-
of origin              mates in State prisons
--------------------------------------

Mexico                             47%
Cuba                               10
Dominican Republic                  9
Colombia                            4
Jamaica                             4
El Salvador                         4
Guatemala                           2
Trinidad and Tobago                 2
United Kingdom                      1
Vietnam                             1
Others                             16

Young, Hispanic men predominated

*Nearly all aliens were male, more than four-fifths were of Hispanic
origin, and about half were age 25 to 34.

*About a third of aliens were married, nearly two-thirds had not completed
high school, and nearly four-fifths had a job at the time of their current
offense.

*Approximately 1 in 10 aliens were non-Hispanic black inmates.  About 1
in 25 were non-Hispanic white inmates, and about 1 in  25, Asian-Pacific
Islanders.

About three-fifths of alien inmates had ever used drugs

*About two-fifths of alien inmates used drugs during the month prior to
arrest for their current offense, and about a fifth were under the
influence of drugs at the time of the offense.

Percent of alien inmates using drugs --

                                 In the month be-               At the time
                                 fore the offense               of the offense
                                 --------------------------------------

       Any drug                      38%                            22%
Cocaine/crack                        25                             12
Marijuana                            19                              6
Heroin/other opiates                 10                              6
Amphetamines/
    methamphetamines                  2                             <1
Hallucinogens                         2                              1
Barbiturates                          1                             <1


                                               Figure 12

*About 14,000 aliens were incarcerated for drug offenses, including 7,900
for trafficking and 6,100 for possession.

*87% of an estimated 1,400 aliens from Colombia and 67% of an estimated
2,700 aliens from the Dominican Republic were incarcerated for a drug
offense.

Most alien inmates were serving time for drugs (45%) or violence (34%)

*Approximately 10,800 aliens were incarcerated for violent crimes,
including homicide, robbery, assault, and sexual assault.


(Figure 13)


Most inmates did not live with both parents while growing up, over 25% had
parents who abused drugs or alcohol, and 31% had a brother with a jail or
prison record


(Figure 14)


*Most of the time while growing up, 43% of the inmates lived in a
single-parent household:  39% with their mother and 4% with their father.

*53% of black inmates grew up in single-parent households, compared to 33%
of white inmates and 40% of Hispanic inmates.

*An estimated 14% of the inmates had lived in households with neither
parent.

*About 17% of the inmates had lived in a foster home, agency, or other
institution at some time.
More than a quarter of inmates reported that their parents or guardians
had abused alcohol or drugs

*26% of inmates reported that their parents or guardians had abused
alcohol; 4%, that they had abused drugs.

*Among all inmates, those who had lived with both parents were least
likely to report parental/guardian substance abuse (23%).  Thirty-seven
percent of inmates who lived with their father reported substance abuse
in the home, compared to 27% of those who lived with their mother and 34%
of those who had other living arrangements.

*36% of white inmates and 19% of black inmates reported parental alcohol
abuse.
* 6% of white inmates and 3% of black inmates reported their parents using
drugs.

More than 4 in 10 female inmates reported they had been physically or
sexually abused

*A third of female inmates reported being sexually abused and a third,
physically abused, before they entered prison.

*31% of women in prison had been abused before age 18, and 24% after age
18.

*Female inmates (43%) were at least 3 times more likely than male inmates
(12%) to have sustained physical or sexual abuse in their past.

Inmates who had an immediate family member who was ever incarcerated --

                                 Percent of inmates
-------------------------------------
                 All         White         Black         Hispanic
 -----------------------------------

At least one
family member     37%          33%           42%            35%

     Father        6            8             5              5
    Mother         2            2             2              1
    Brother       31           26            35             29
    Sister         4            4             5              4
    Other          1            1            <1              1


                                              Figure 15

37% of inmates had an immediate family member who had served time

*At least 7% of prisoners said a parent had served a jail or prison
sentence.

*31% said their brother had been incarcerated.

*4% said their sister had been incarcerated.

*Black inmates (42%) were more likely than white (33%) or Hispanic (35%)
inmates to report an immediate family member ever being in jail or prison.

Male and female inmates were parents to more than 826,000 children under
age 18


(Figure 16)


(Figure 17)


Female inmates were more likely than male inmates to have minor children

*42% of the women and 32% of the men had 2 or more children under age 18.

*Male inmates had more than 770,000 children under age 18.  Female inmates
had over 56,000 minor children.

Before entering prison, women were more likely than men to have lived with
their children

*Approximately 7 in 10 female inmates with children under age 18 lived
with them prior to being incarcerated, compared to about 5 in 10 male
inmates.

Most inmates' children were living with their other parent or grand
parents

*About 90% of the male inmates with children reported that the children
currently lived with the children's mother, and 10% said that the children
lived with their grandparents.  Three percent of male inmates with minor
children reported them to be living with other relatives or friends.

* A fourth of female inmates reported having minor children who were
living with their father, while more than half said that the children were
being cared for by their grandparents.  About 24% said that their children
now lived with other relatives or friends.

*10% of the women and 2% of the men said that their children were in a
foster home, children's agency, or institution.

*8% of male inmates and 11% of female inmates had only children over age
18 at the time of the survey.

6% of women entered prison pregnant

*An estimated 2,341 of the nearly 39,000 female inmates were pregnant when
they entered prison.  Eighty-six percent of these women received a
gynecological exam related to their pregnancy.  The majority of these
women (70%) also reported having some form of prenatal care.

*92% of the women inmates had their last gynecological exam in 1990 or
1991.

* Excluding alcohol and drug treatment, nearly a fourth of the women in
prison had received individual or group counseling since their admission.
About 5,200 women were receiving counseling at the time of the survey.

* 14% of the female inmates participated in classes dealing with parenting
and childrearing.

*About 13% of the women were involved with life skills programs and 33%
with religious activities.

94% of inmates had been convicted of a violent crime or had a previous
sentence to probation or incarceration


(Figure 18)


Most nonviolent first-time offenders were serving a sentence for a drug
offense

Six percent of prisoners were nonviolent offenders with no prior sentence
to probation or incarceration.  Of these, 42% were in prison for drug
trafficking, 19% for drug possession, and 12% for burglary.

The percentage of nonviolent recidivists -- inmates whose current and past
sentences were for property, drug, or public-order offenses only -- rose
from 28% of all inmates in 1986 to 32% in 1991.  Drug offenders in prison
accounted for much of this increase:  18% of nonviolent recidivists were
drug offenders in 1986, compared to 38% in 1991.

Over 60% of inmates in 1991 had been incarcerated in the past
Among prison inmates previously incarcerated, most (91%) had been in jail
or prison for an offense within the 5 years before their current offense.
About 3%  of the previously incarcerated inmates had remained out of jail
or prison for at least 10 years before being arrested for their current
offense.  About 5% had been incarcerated only as a juvenile in the past.

About 38% of all inmates had not been incarcerated before:
-- 19% were sentenced for the first time.
-- 19% had received only sentences to probation.

Inmate surveys provide a unique source of criminal history information

Prisoners reported in detail past sentences to probation or incarceration
that they had served as juveniles or adults.  The survey's wealth of new
information on current and prior sentences, when combined with its other
data, provides a striking portrait of who is in prison.  This depiction,
with its essential element of criminal history, gives an empirical base
to examine issues like appropriate punishment and assessment of risk to
society.

This survey alone permits detailed research with nationally representative
data.  Official records are often incomplete, are not easily compared
across jurisdictions, and lack crucial personal data.

Few inmates had been sentenced for only minor offenses in the past

One percent of all inmates had been sentenced to probation or
incarceration in the past for only minor offenses, including drunkenness,
vagrancy, loitering, disorderly conduct, or minor traffic offenses.

In total, 19% of inmates had current and past nonviolent offenses and
had--
-- a record of only minor offenses or
-- no prior sentences to incarceration, or
-- no incarceration for at least 10 years before the current offense.

        Characteristic of                           Percent of
        prior sentences                               all inmates
        -----------------                           -----------

              Total                                        100%

              First sentence                                19%

              Prior sentence                                81%

                  To probation/incarceration                81
                      Minor offenses only                    1
                      As a juvenile only                     8

                  To probation only                         19
                      As a juvenile only                     5

                  To incarceration                          61
                      As a juvenile only                     3


                      Number of inmates                  697,853

Among inmates, 28% of women and 19% of men, 23% of Hispanics, 20% of
whites, and 17% of blacks were serving their first sentence


(Figure 19)


4 in 5 inmates sentenced for the first time were in prison for drug
trafficking or a violent offense
*Violent offenders made up 65% of inmates with no prior record and 42% of
prisoners with a prior sentence to probation, prison, or jail.

*Almost a quarter of inmates without a prior record were serving time for
homicide.  Over a fifth were in prison for a drug offense.

More than half the inmates who had served time in the past for a violent
offense were serving a current sentence for violence

*1 in 5 violent recidivists were in prison for robbery.

*28% of recidivists and 10% of prisoners with no prior offense were in
prison for a property offense.

*57% of recidivists who had not served time for a violent offense were
currently in prison for a property or a drug crime.  One in four
recidivists with no prior violent offense were serving a sentence for a
drug offense, and 1 in 6 for burglary.


                                   Percent of inmates
                                   ------------------
Prior sentence            1991          1986
-------------------------------------------------

Probation
    None                   33%            34%
    Juvenile only          15             18
    Adult only             34             28
    Both                   18             20

Incarceration
    None                   40%            37%
    Juvenile only           4              7
    Adult only             40             38
    Both                   16             19

Probation or incarceration
     None                  20%            18%
    Juvenile only           8             11
    Adult only             41             36
    Both                   31             36


                                           Figure 21

80% of inmates had earlier been sentenced  to probation or incarceration

*About two-thirds of inmates had been on probation and three-fifths had
been incarcerated previously.

*About 4 in 10 prison inmates had been convicted before as a juvenile and
7 in 10 as an adult.

*Similar percentages of inmates in 1991 and 1986 had served past sentences
to probation or incarceration.

(Figure 22)

88% of the inmates on probation or parole before entering prison were
arrested for a new offense

Among the 44% of inmates who were on parole or probation before admission
to prison--

(Figure 23)

Why the previous probation or parole was formally revoked

The inmate was arrested for
or convicted of a new offense                          74%

and/or

the inmate had failed to--

    pass a drug test                                    5%
    report for drug testing or treatment                3
    report for alcohol treatment                        1

    report to counseling                                1
    report to probation or parole officer              18
    obtain permission to leave jurisdiction             6

   secure or keep employment                            1
   pay fines, restitution, or other obligations         4
   break contacts with known offenders                  1
   meet other requirements of the
   supervised release to the community                 10

Of all inmates entering prison --

--53% had no existing criminal justice status when they were arrested for
their current offense.

--39% were under supervision in the community while on probation or
parole, which was formally revoked.

--5% were on probation or parole and were sentenced for a new offense but
reported no formal revocation.

--3% returned from escape or were in another status.

Parole revocations

Among inmates who entered prison after parole was formally revoked--

32% had been in prison for a violent offense.

32% had their supervision revoked after an arrest or conviction for a new
violent offense.

Half had served 18 months or less in prison before their release and had
been on parole 8 months or less.

Probation revocations

Among those entering prison after official revocation of probation --
18% had been on probation for a violent offense.

30% were currently serving time in prison for a violent offense.

Half had been on probation 5 months or less before their admission to
prison.

On average, inmates who received a new sentence after revocation of parole
or probation had a shorter sentence than other inmates

                               Median sentence
             --------------------------------------------------
                                On probation or parole
                                before return to prison
                                -------------------------------
                                    Revocation of
             No              ----------------------------------
             criminal                                  Parole
Most         justice sta-    Probation    Parole       without
serious      tus at time     with new     with new     new
offense      of offense      sentence     sentence     sentence
----------------------------------------------------------------

  All        120 months      72 months   108 months    60 months

Violent      216            125          216          120
Property      72             60           84           60
Drugs         72             60           60           36
Public-order  60             54           48           30

The median sentence of those returned to prison after formal revocation
of parole and without a new sentence was 60 months, half the 120-month
median sentence of persons having no criminal justice status at the time
of their offense.

Violent inmates were most likely to have victimized one person who was
male, adult, and of the same race as the inmate

23% of violent inmates had victimized
more than one person

                       Percent of violent inmates
                   -----------------------------------
Violent                                                     3 or more
offenses                   1 victim           2 victims       victims
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

   All                      77%                 13%               10%
Homicide                    85                  10                 5
Sexual assault              81                  12                 7
Robbery                     65                  18                17
Assault                     79                  13                 8


Figure 24

*More than a third of all robbers reported victimizing two or more persons
in the crime that led to their current sentence.

*Overall, the 328,000 violent inmates had more than 610,000 victims.  An
estimated 299,000 victims of violence were robbed (49%); 112,000 were
killed in a homicide (18%); 94,500, assaulted (15%); and 90,000, raped or
sexually assaulted (14%).

Among violent inmates, 62% of the men and 70% of the women had victimized
men

                             Percent of
                             violent inmates
      Sex                    ----------------
      of victim(s)            Male   Female
---------------------------------------------

      Male                     50%     61%
      Female                   39      31
      Mixed                    12       9


Figure 25

*Among violent male inmates who victimized a female, 46% raped or sexually
assaulted her, 22% robbed her, and 17% killed her.

*Among women in prison who victimized a male, 58% killed their victim, 18%
robbed him, and 18% assaulted him.

1 in 5 violent inmates had victimized a minor

                       Percent of violent inmates
                       whose current age was
                   ------------------------------------
   Age             Under                       Age 45
   of victim(s)    age 25    25-34    35-44    or older
-------------------------------------------------------

      Minor          12%      14%      20%        33%
      Adult          85       83       77         65
      Mixed           3        2        3          2


Figure 26

*Inmates age 45 or older and serving time for a violent crime were more
than twice as likely as violent inmates under age 25 to have victimized
a minor.

*Among inmates who had committed a violent offense against a minor, 79%
had raped or sexually assaulted their victim.

89% of white and 53% of black violent inmates had victimized someone of
their own race

   Race/His-                Percent of violent inmates
   panic origin        ---------------------------------------
   of victim(s)        White      Black     Other     Hispanic
   -----------------------------------------------------------

    White                89%       33%        50%        33%
    Black                 3        53         11         10
    Other                 2         2         20          3
    Hispanic              4         6          9         49
    Mixed                 2         5         10          5


Figure 27

*Black (47%) and Hispanic (51%) violent inmates were at least 4 times more
likely than white (11%) violent inmates to have victimized someone of a
different race or ethnic group.

*Among violent inmates who had victimized someone of a different race or
ethnic group, 47% had committed robbery and 20%, homicide.

(Figure 28)

32% of inmates sentenced for a violent offense had victimized a relative,
intimate, or person whom they knew well

(Figure 29)

Among violent inmates, women (36%) were more likely than men (16%) to have
victimized a relative or intimate

                                Percent of
      Relationship              violent inmates
      of inmates              -------------------
      to their victims            Male           Female
--------------------------------------------------------

      Close                          16%         36%
        Intimate                      7          20
        Relative                     10          16

     Known                           33%         29%
       Well known                    15          14
       Acquaintance                  12          11
       By sight only                  7           4

     Stranger                        51%         35%


Figure 30

*Among inmates sentenced for a violent offense, women (48%) were nearly
twice as likely as men (26%) to have committed a homicide.  Nearly half
of these women had murdered a relative or intimate.

*21% of violent male prisoners had committed a rape or other sexual
assault; 38% of the sex offenders had assaulted a relative or intimate.

*More than 80% of both men and women in prison for robbery had victimized
a stranger or a person known by sight only.

*Among inmates in prison for assault, 44% of the men, compared to 30% of
the women, had victimized a stranger.

White inmates were about twice as likely as black and Hispanic inmates to
have victimized a relative or intimate

    Relationship        Percent of violent inmates
    of inmates to     --------------------------------
    their victims     White   Black   Other   Hispanic
------------------------------------------------------

    Close              26%     11%     24%       12%
    Known              35      33      28        29
    Stranger           39      56      48        59


Figure 31

Nearly a quarter of white inmates in prison for homicide had killed a
relative or intimate

      Among inmates, by race or ethnicity and offense,
      percent who victimized a relative or intimate

                    Race or ethnicity of inmate
                  ---------------------------------
   Offense        White    Black   Other   Hispanic
---------------------------------------------------

     Homicide      23%      12%     26%      13%
   Sexual assault  46       26      44       31
   Robbery          1        1       3        1
   Assault         22       17      20       12


Figure 32

*Among those who had committed rape or other sexual assault, black (26%)
inmates were less likely than white (46%) inmates to have victimized a
relative or intimate.

35% of violent inmates who committed their offense at age 45 or older had
victimized a relative or intimate

         Among inmates, by inmate's age and offense,
        percent who victimized a relative or intimate

                      Age of inmate at time of offense
                      ----------------------------------
                      24 or                     45
      Offense         younger   25-34   35-44   or older
--------------------------------------------------------

      All offenses       9%     18%     32%       35%
      Homicide           10     19      33        31
      Sexual assault     28     35      54        46
      Robbery             1      2       2         4
      Assault             8     25      25        32


Figure 33

*Overall, inmates age 45 or older at the time of their offense were about
4 times as likely as those under age 25 to have victimized a relative or
intimate.

*In contrast, the younger the inmate at the time of the offense, the
greater the likelihood of victimizing a stranger. More than 60% of violent
inmates under age 25 when they committed their offense victimized a
stranger, compared to fewer than 50% of those age 25 to 34, 35% of those
age 35 to 44, and 23% age 45 or older.

Two-thirds of violent inmates had killed, raped, or injured their victims

                               Percent of violent inmates
                       ------------------------------------------
Type of injury         All         Sexual
to the victim          offenses    assault    Robbery    Assault
----------------------------------------------------------------

Any injury              66.8%       100.0%     16.8%      71.6%

Death                   27.7           .2        .5         .9
Rape/sexual assault     21.1        100.0        .4        1.1
Knife or bullet wound    8.2          1.0       5.0       35.4
Broken bones and other
 internal injuries       3.4          1.1       2.8       11.9
Knocked unconscious      2.2           .6       2.4        7.3
Minor bruises and cuts   8.6          8.3       8.0       21.8
Other                    2.4          4.0       2.0        4.9

Except for offenses in which victims died, more than one type of injury
could be reported.


Figure 34

*28% of the violent inmates said they had killed their victims; 21% had
raped or sexually assaulted them; 11% had inflicted major injuries, such
as knife or bullet wounds, broken bones, and other internal injuries, or
had knocked them out; and 5% had caused only minor injuries, such as
bruises, cuts, scratches or a black eye.
*Among inmates convicted of rape, 80% reported no specific injuries in
addition to raping or sexually assaulting their victims.  Fewer than 5%
reported they had wounded or inflicted any other major injury on their
rape victims.
*More than half of all inmates in prison for assault had sexually
assaulted or inflicted a major injury on their victims.

*Of all types of violent inmates, robbers were the least likely to have
injured their victims.  About 1 in 6 robbers had injured their victims,
and 1 in 10 had inflicted a major injury.

The type of injury varied by sex, race, and age of inmate

*Overall, female violent inmates (76%) were some-what more likely than
male inmates (66%) to have injured their victims.  Among violent --

Female inmates                        Male inmates
--------------                        ------------

50%  had killed their victims              28%
 5%  had sexually assaulted them           22%
13%  had inflicted a major injury          11%

*Among violent inmates, a higher percentage of whites (76%) than blacks
(60%) or Hispanics (63%) injured their victims. These differences largely
reflect the higher percentage of white inmates (33%) who raped or sexually
assaulted their victims compared to black (14%) or Hispanic inmates (16%).


*Inmates age 45 or older when they committed the offense were about 3
times as likely as those under age 25 to have sexually assaulted their
victims.

Where the offense took place differed by type of crime--

*48% of the robbers in prison committed the robbery in a commercial
establishment; 32%, in a public place, such as a park, street, parking
lot, or school.

*44% of the inmates convicted of rape or sexual assault committed the
crime in the victim's home; 32%, in the inmate's home.

*34% of the inmates convicted of homicide killed their victims in the
victim's home; 29%, in a public place.

*35% of the inmates convicted of assault attacked their victims in a
public place; 24%, in the victim's home.


(Figure 35)

46% of violent inmates carried or used a weapon when they committed the
offense Inmates armed with a gun differed little from those with a knife
in how they used their weapon


(Figure 36)


An estimated 2,100 inmates, representing fewer than 1% of all violent
inmates, were armed with a military-type weapon, such as an Uzi, AK-47,
AR-15, or M-16.

Weapon use was strongly related to the inmate's age when the offense
occurred.  Weapons were carried or used by _
_   52% of inmates age 24 or younger
_   44% of those age 25 to 34
_   39%, age 35 to 44
_   33%, age 45 or older.

Weapon use did not vary significantly between the sexes or among racial
and ethnic groups.  Among violent inmates, the same percentage (46%) of
men and women carried a weapon.  White inmates (43%) were about as likely
as black inmates (47%) and Hispanic inmates (48%) to have been armed.

About two-thirds of all armed violent inmates carried guns.  Of these, 56%
actually fired their gun when they committed the offense.

More than half of the inmates who committed murder, robbery, or assault
carried a weapon

                        Percent of violent inmates
                     -------------------------------
Current              Any                      Other
offense              weapon   Gun    Knife    weapon
----------------------------------------------------

Murder                64%     45%      14%      5%
Negligent
 manslaughter         47      32       12       3
Rape                  17       5       10       2
Other sexual assault   6       2        3       1
Robbery               51      36       10       5
Assault               57      33       16       8


Figure 37

Inmates armed with a gun differed little from those with a knife in how
they used their weapon

                            Percent of violent armed inmates
How weapon                  --------------------------------
was used                    Gun     Knife    Other weapon
------------------------------------------------------------

To kill the victim           14%      15%        11%
To injure the victim         11       18         23
To scare the victim          54       51         43

For protection               30       29         27
To get away                  12       14         15
Other reasons                 6        5          6

Not used                      8        9         11


Figure 38

Most inmates who carried a weapon while committing the crime used it

*More than 90% of the violent inmates who carried
a weapon actually used it to commit the offense.

*Among inmates who had a weapon at the time
of the offense --

    52% used it to scare the victim
    14%, to injure the victim
    14%, to kill the victim.

* 29% of the violent inmates who carried a weapon used it for
self-protection; 13% used it to get away after committing the crime.

61% of violent inmates said that they or their victims were drinking or
using drugs at the time of the crime

                    Percent of inmates reporting
                    that they or their victims were
                    under the influence of alcohol
                    or drugs at time of the offense
                    -------------------------------

Violent                                 Inmate
offense             Inmate    Victim    or victim
-------------------------------------------------

  All                    50%       30%        61%
Homicide              52        46         70
Sexual assault        42        19         47
Robbery               52        19         61
Assault               50        42         68


Figure 39

*30% of the violent inmates said their victims were under the influence
of alcohol or drugs.

*Homicide and assault were the crimes for which the largest percentage of
inmates reported drug or alcohol use by the victim or themselves at the
time of the offense.

1 in 6 inmates committed their offense armed with a gun, and half of them
fired it

                                          Percent of inmates


------------------------------------------------------
                                       Owned or         Armed when  Fired
                                       possessed        committing  during
                       Ever owned      in month         current     current
Type of firearm        or possessed    before arrest    offense     offense
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Any firearm             43%              4%            16%         8%

Handgun                    34              18             13          6
Rifle or shotgun           29              12              3          2
Military-type               8               3             <1         <1
Other                       7              <1             <1          0


Figure 40

Handguns were the most commonly owned and used firearm

*More than 40% of all inmates reported they had owned or possessed a
firearm at some time in their lives.  While 34% of the inmates owned a
handgun, 29% owned a rifle or shotgun, and 8% a military-type weapon.
Sixteen percent of all inmates admitted to using or having a gun while
committing their current offense -- 13% a handgun, 3% a rifle or shotgun,
and 1% a military-type weapon.

36% of inmates convicted of homicide, robbery, or assault were armed with
a gun

--   42% of the inmates who committed a homicide were armed with a gun,
while 36% fired the gun.

-- 34% of the robbers were armed, while 6%
fired the gun.

-- 31% of the inmates who committed an assault were armed, while 25% fired
the gun.

Inmates who had committed sexual assault, property, drug, or public-order
offenses (excluding weapons violations) were the least likely to be armed
(less than 5%) or to fire a gun (1% or less).

More than a fifth of the inmates reported ever having or using a gun while
committing a crime

When asked about using guns in the past, 23% of the inmates said they had
committed at least one crime with a firearm --  19% had used a handgun,
5% a shotgun or rifle, and 1% a military-type weapon.  Half of the inmates
who had ever possessed a firearm, had used a firearm to commit a crime.
Male inmates (23%) were more likely than female inmates (12%) to have used
or possessed a gun in a crime.
Relatively fewer Hispanic inmates (18%) than white (22%) or black (25%)
inmates said they had a gun while committing a crime.

10% of inmates had stolen at least one gun, and 11% had sold or traded
stolen guns


(Figure 41)


6% of inmates belonged to a gang before entering prison

Criminal gangs, as this report defines them, are groups that commit
illegal acts and have 5 or 6 of these characteristics

*Formal membership with a required initiation or rules for members

*A recognized leader or certain members whom others follow

* Common clothing (such as jackets, caps, scarves or bandannas), or group
colors, symbols, tattoos, or special language

*A group name

* Members from the same neighborhood, street, or school

*Turf or territory where the group is known and where group activities
usually take place

About 6% of inmates belonged to groups that engaged in illegal activities
and that had five or six gang characteristics.  (See the above box.)
Another 6% engaged in illegal activities with groups that had three or
four gang characteristics.  Seventy percent of inmates did not participate
in illegal activities while with groups of friends having one or more gang
characteristics.

Number of gang              Number        Percent of
characteristics             in group      all inmates
-----------------------------------------------------

    5-6                     44,400           6%
    3-4                     39,200           6
    2                       39,600           6
    1                       87,000          12
    0                      165,000          23

    Not in a group
    that committed
    illegal acts           330,400          47%


Figure 42

Comparing gang members to inmates whose group of friends had no gang
characteristics other than committing offenses together

Of gang members--
-----------------

92% reported that their gang fought other groups

69% indicated they manufactured, imported, or sold drugs as a group

63% reported stealing motor vehicles or their parts with other gang
members

58% had broken into homes or other buildings as a gang activity

Of non-gang inmates --
----------------------

26% said their group of friends fought others

37% said their group of friends committed drug offenses together

24% said they and their friends helped one another to steal motor vehicles
or parts

29% said they had broken into buildings while with a group of friends

Half of the gang members in prison reported their gangs' having 60 or more
members

                           Number of members
  Number of gang          ------------------
  characteristics         Median      Mean
-----------------         ------      -----

       5-6                  60         143
       3-4                  20          82
       2                    10          24
       1                     6          12


Figure 43

Among inmates who were gang members --

*On average, they had joined a gang at age 14.

*Half belonged for 36 months or more and belonged at the time they were
arrested for their current offense.

*32% were still members.

*19% reported other members' being involved in their current offense.

*91% had served at least one previous sentence either in an institution
or on probation, and 73% had served or were serving time for a violent
offense.

49% or more of the gang members committed robberies, stole cars and auto
parts, shoplifted, and sold drugs while in a group

                            Percent of inmates who while in a group


----------------------------------------------------------------------
              Des-
Number        troyed
of gang       or                   Stole    Sold
charac-       damaged Fought Shop- motor    stolen Broke
teris-  Used  prop-   other  lift- vehicles prop-  in and  Sold
tics    drugs erty    groups ed    or parts erty   entered drugs Robbed
Other
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
------
5-6     81%   58%     92%    50%   63%      68%    58%     69%   49%
12%
3-4     76    46      80     44    49       53     47      58    38
8
1-2     79    36      50     40    37       47     41      48    23
5
0       82    22      26     32    24       32     29      37    13
3


Figure 44

Compared to 1986, inmates reported increased use of cocaine
or crack and decreased use of marijuana

Half of all inmates in 1991 had used cocaine in some form

Thirty-two percent had used cocaine or crack on a regular basis, compared
to 22% in 1986.

    Percent of inmates who reported--
                    Ever used       Used regularly
                    ---------       --------------
                    1991   1986     1991   1986
                    ----   ----     ----   ----

     Any drug        79%    80%      62%     3%
   Marijuana         74     76       52     55
   Cocaine/crack     50     44       32     22
   Heroin/opiates    25     26       15     18


Figure 45

About a quarter of the inmates in 1991 said they had used cocaine or crack
in the month before the offense, compared to a fifth of inmates in 1986.
About 14% committed their offense under the influence of cocaine or crack
in 1991, up from 10%.

The percentage of inmates using marijuana in the month before the offense
decreased from 46% in 1986 to 32% in 1991.  Eleven percent of inmates were
under the influence of marijuana at the time of the offense in 1991,
compared to 18% in 1986.

About 80% of inmates in both 1986 and 1991 reported ever using a drug, and
62% reported regular use of a drug at some time in their lives.

Inmates in 1991 were less likely than those in 1986 to have used drugs in
the month before or at the time of the offense

                    Percent of inmates using drugs
                    -------------------------------------
                    In the month be-      At the time
                    fore the offense      of the offense
                    ----------------      --------------
Type of drug        1991   1986           1991   1986
--------------------------------------------------------

  Any drug          50%     56%            31%    36%
Marijuana           32       46            11     18
Cocaine/crack       25       20            14     10
Heroin/opiates*     10       11             6      7
Barbiturates*        4        9             1      4
Stimulants*          8       10             3      4
Hallucinogens*       4        7             2      3


Figure 46


(Figure 47)


About the same proportion of inmates in 1986 and 1991 reported using
heroin or other opiates.  In the month before the offense for which they
were sentenced, about 1 in 10 had used heroin or other opiates, and about
1 in 16 had committed the offense under the influence of these drugs.

Marijuana was still the most commonly used drug

Inmates in 1991 were more likely to have used marijuana than any other
drug.  More than half reported using marijuana on a regular basis, and a
third had used marijuana in the month before the offense.  One in five
inmates reported using marijuana daily in the month before their offense.

About 14% of inmates committed their offense under the influence of
cocaine or crack
Sixteen percent of inmates were daily users of cocaine or crack in the
month before their offense --

*12% were using cocaine and 7% were using crack.

Inmates were twice as likely to report using cocaine as to report using
crack --

*For the month before the offense, 20% reported cocaine use and 10%
reported crack use.

*At the time of the offense, 10% were under the influence of cocaine and
5% were under the influence of crack.

31% of inmates committed their offense under the influence of drugs, and
17% committed their offense to get money for drugs

Drug use was common among inmates serving time for burglary, robbery, or
drug offenses

Among inmates serving a sentence for burglary or robbery, about 6 in 10
inmates had used drugs in the month before the arrest for the current
offense, and about 4 in 10 were under the influence at the time of the
offense.

Overall, violent and public-order offenders were less likely than property
offenders to have used drugs in the month before their offense and to have
committed their current offense under the influence of drugs.  For violent
offenders using drugs in the month before their offense, only inmates
convicted of robbery had about the same percentage of drug use as property
offenders.  Among inmates in prison for violent offenses other than
robbery, those sentenced for sexual assault (20%), assault (23%), or
homicide (28%) were less likely than property offenders (35%) to have
committed their offense under the influence.

Money for drugs motivated more than a quarter of the inmates sentenced for
robbery, burglary, or larceny

Drug users were more likely to have committed crimes that could get them
money

                         Percent of inmates who
                                  Committed offense
                   Used drugs         --------------------
                   in the month     Under the      To get
Current            before the         influence    money
offense            offense        of drugs          for drugs
------------------------------------------------------
 All  inmates         50%                    31%        17%

Violent offenses   46%            28%        12%
Homicide           43             28          5
Sexual assault     31             20          2
Robbery            59             38         27
Assault            42             23          6

Property offenses  54%            35%        26%
Burglary           59             40         30
Larceny            54             38         31

Drug offenses      60%            37%        22%
Possession         61             38         16
Trafficking        59             36         25

Public-order
 offenses          35%            18%         5%


Figure 48

Twenty-seven percent of inmates in prison for robbery and 30% of those
serving time for burglary reported committing their offense to get money
for drugs.  About 25% of inmates in prison for drug trafficking reported
money for drugs as a motive.

Inmates' drug use  varied according to prisoner characteristics

                          Percent of inmates who
                   -----------------------------------
                  Used drugs        Committed offense--
                  in the month     Under the        To get
Charac-           before the         influence      money
teristic                 offense       of drugs      for drugs
-----------------------------------------------------
All  inmates      50%           31%         17%

Sex
  Male            50%           31%         16%
  Female          54%           36%         24%

Race/Hispanic
origin
  White                  49%           32%         15%
  Black           49                        29                     17
  Hispanic        54            34          20

Age
  17 or younger          51%           22%          9%
  18-24           52            31          16
  25-29           55            34          18
  30-34           56            37          21
  35-44           48            30          17
  45-54           28            15          10
  55 or older      9             6           3


 Figure 49

Compared to men in prison, women had used drugs and had committed crimes
to buy drugs relatively more often

Female inmates were more likely than male inmates to have used drugs in
the month before the offense (54% versus 50%) and to have been under the
influence at the time of the offense (36% versus 31%).

Nearly 1 in 4 women in prison reported committing their crimes to obtain
money for drugs compared to about 1 in 6 men.

By most measures, Hispanic inmates had higher rates of drug use than
non-Hispanic inmates

Hispanic inmates were more likely than other inmates to have used drugs
in the month prior to the offense (54% compared to 49%).  While Hispanic
(34%) and white (32%) inmates were almost equally likely to have been
under the influence at the time of the offense, black inmates were less
likely (29%).

Twenty percent of Hispanic inmates reported getting money for drugs as a
reason for committing their crimes, compared to 15% of white inmates and
17% of black inmates.

Female inmates were more likely than male inmates--and black inmates more
likely than white inmates--to have used crack


(Figures 50 and 51)


A third of all inmates had participated in a drug treatment program after
entering prison

Among inmates ever treated for drug dependency, most who had used drugs
within a month before the offense had been treated since admission

Almost half of the inmates who had used a drug during the month before
their current offense had participated in drug treatment after receiving
their current sentence.  This treatment ranged from intensive in-patient
programs, through individual or group counseling with a professional, to
self-help groups or drug awareness training.  One in five inmates who had
used drugs in the month before their offense were in a treatment program
at the time of the interview.

Among inmates who had used drugs during the month before their offense,
31% had been in a treatment program before entering prison, 25% had been
in such a program once or twice, and 6%, three or more times.  A 10th of
these inmates were in a treatment program during the month they committed
their offense.

36% of all inmates received their most recent treatment for drugs in jail
or prison

Over 5 in 10 inmates who had ever used drugs had received treatment for
drug addiction;  for over 4 in 10 of these inmates, the most recent
treatment was while they were incarcerated.

Professionals had provided individual drug counseling to 5% of inmates who
used drugs in the month before their offense and had led drug treatment
groups for 27%

Group counseling, conducted by professionals or by peers in a self-help
program, was the most frequent type of drug treatment program in prison.

After admission, 22% of all inmates had participated in group counseling
and 8% had been in self-help counseling groups.  Of the inmates who used
drugs in the month before their offense, after entering prison 32% had
been in group counseling and 12%, in self-help groups.  (For program
categories see entry for figure 53 in Explanatory Notes at the end of this
document.)

In-patient drug treatment programs had treated 7% of all inmates and 11%
of the recent drug users.

                     Percent of inmates who
                     -----------------------------
                               Used drugs
                           -----------------------
Drug treat-                Ever in   In the month
ment program         All   the past  before offense
---------------------------------------------------
Participated
  Ever               43%     55%         62%

  After admission    33%     41%         48%

  Before admission   21%     26%         31%
    Times
      1              12      16          18
      2               5       6           7
      3-5             3       4           5
      6 or more       1       1           1

Participated in the
month before the
current admission    7%        8%         10%

Most recent
participation was
while incarcerated   36%     45%         51%

Participating at the
time of the survey   13%     17%         20%

Categories of participation before and after
admission include inmates who participated
during both periods.


 Figure 52


(Figure 53)


2.2% of inmates who reported the results of the test for the virus that
causes AIDS said they were HIV-positive

51.2% of all inmates had ever been tested for the human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV) and reported the results

             Percent of inmates
             tested for HIV and
             reporting the results
             ---------------------
                          HIV-
Inmates      Total        positive
--------------------------------
All           51.2%        2.2%
  Male        50.3         2.1
  Female      66.8         3.3

  White       52.6%        1.1%
  Black       52.1         2.6
  Other       50.5          .9
  Hispanic    46.0         3.7

Male
  White        51.7%       1.0%
  Black        51.2        2.5
  Hispanic     45.2        3.5

Female
  White        68.2%       1.9%
  Black        67.3        3.5
  Hispanic     62.7        6.8


 Figure 54

Among all inmates --
51.2% reported HIV-test results
32.2  had never been tested
 9.0  did not know if they had been tested
 7.5  had been tested but did not know the results
  .1  refused to report whether they had been
      tested or refused to report the test results.

Of those inmates who were ever tested for the presence of HIV and who
reported the results--

* Women (3.3%) were more likely than men (2.1%) to test HIV-positive.

 * 3.7% of Hispanic inmates and 2.6% of black inmates tested HIV-positive,
compared to 1.1% of white inmates.

* Hispanic men (3.5%) were more likely than white men (1.0%) to test
HIV-positive.  HIV-positive tests accounted for 2.5% of the black men who
had ever tested and who reported the outcome.

* Hispanic women (6.8%) had higher HIV-positive rates than white women
(1.9%).  Black women had a positive rate of 3.5%.

Of all prison inmates, 55.9% said they had been tested after the most
recent admission.

Drug users and needle users had higher positive rates than other inmates

* For inmates reporting test results, 2.5% of drug users, compared to 0.8%
of other inmates, reported that they tested HIV-positive.

* The percentage of HIV-positive was higher among inmates who --
used drugs in the month before their offense (2.8%)
used needles to inject drugs intravenously (4.9%),
shared needles with other drug users (7.1%).

A quarter of inmates had used a needle to inject drugs

                            Percent of inmates who
                            --------------------------
                                          Used drugs
                                  Ever    in the month
                                  used    before the
                            All   drugs   offense
------------------------------------------------------
Ever injected
a drug for
nonmedical purposes         25%    31%        40%
  Type of drug
    Heroin/other opiate     17     22         28
    Cocaine                 16     21         28
    Crank
     (methamphetamine)       6      8         11
    Other                    4      5          7

Ever shared a needle        12%    15%        20%


Figure 55

* 40% of inmates who used drugs in the month before their offense had in
the past used a needle to inject drugs.

* 1 in 6 inmates used a needle to inject heroin or other opiates, and 1
in 6, to inject cocaine.

* More than 10% of all inmates and 20% of users in the month before their
offense had shared a needle.


32% of inmates committed their offense under the influence of alcohol

Inmates sentenced for violent or property offenses were the most likely
to have been under the influence of both drugs and alcohol at the time of
the offense

                      Percent of inmates under the influence of--
                      -------------------------------------------
Current offense       Alcohol only       Drugs only        Both
----------------------------------------------------------------
  All offenses        18%                17%               14%

Violent offenses      21%                12%               16%
  Homicide            25                 10                17
  Sexual assault      22                  5                14
  Robbery             15                 19                18
  Assault             27                  8                14

Property offenses     18%                21%               14%

Drug offenses          8%                26%               10%

Public-order
  offenses            31%                10%                9%

    DWI               70                  3                 8
    Other
     public-order     20                 11                10

                                                    Figure 56

* Slightly more than two-fifths of inmates convicted of homicide or
assault committed their current offense under the influence of alcohol or
of alcohol with drugs.

* About a third of inmates convicted of robbery or a property offense were
under the influence of alcohol at the time of their current offense.
Inmates serving a sentence for a drug offense (18%) were the least likely
to be using alcohol at the time of their offense.

Relatively fewer inmates in 1991 than in 1986 committed their current
offense under the influence of alcohol or drugs

Under the influence         Percent of inmates
at the time of         ------------------
the offense                   1991            1986
-----------------------------------------

  Total                   49%      54%
Alcohol only              18       18
Drugs only                17       17
Both alcohol and drugs    14       18

                                 Figure 57

* 49% of inmates were under the influence in 1991; 54% in 1986.  Most of
this decline resulted from a decreased percentage using both alcohol and
drugs.

Drinking inmates had consumed an average of nearly 9 ounces of ethanol
before their offense

* The pattern of drinking--the amount drunk and the amount of time spent
drinking--did not differ widely among the major offender groups.

        Average amount of ethanol
       drunk before current offense
        ----------------------------
  Total             8.7 ozs.
Violent             9.1
Property            9.4
Drugs               6.4
Public-order        7.8

* 9 ounces of ethanol is equivalent to about three six-packs of beer or
2 quarts of wine.

* About half the inmates under the influence at the time of the offense
had been drinking 6 hours or more.

* Daily drinking for all inmates during the year before the current
offense was more likely among--
--male (29%) than female (19%)
--white (34%) than black (25%) or Hispanic (25%)
--divorced (31%) or never married (29%) than married (25%) inmates.

About half of daily drinkers had ever participated in an alcohol-abuse
program

* 38% of all drinkers had participated in an alcohol-abuse program in
their lifetimes, including--
48% of the daily drinkers
35% of those who drank at least once a week
25% of those who drank less than once a week.

* 35% of the daily drinkers had participated in more than one alcohol
program, compared to 28% of the weekly drinkers and 24% of those who drank
less frequently than every week.

* Since their admission to prison, about 18% of all drinkers had joined
alcohol-related groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Al-Anon.


(Figure 58)


Nearly all inmates had participated in work, education, or other programs
since their admission to prison

Participation in prison activities and programs involved three-fourths or
more of all inmates, regardless of sex, race, Hispanic origin, or offense

                Percent of inmates who--
                ---------------------------------------------
                Had participated          Were currently
                in a program or           participating in a
                activity after admission  program or activity
-------------------------------------------------------------
  All inmates

Men                    91%                     80%
Women                  93                      84

White                  91%                     81%
Black                  91                      80
Other race             94                      81
Hispanic               89                      76

Violent                93%                     82%
Property               90                      78
Drugs                  90                      79
Public-order           85                      77


Figure 59

Nearly half of all inmates had received academic education, and about a
third, vocational training since entering prison

Type and
level of training        Men        Women
-----------------------------------------
Academic
  Basic <9th grade        5%         5%
  High school            26         24
  College                12         12
  Other                   2          3

Vocational               31%        31%


Figure 60

Bible clubs and other religious activities attracted the most inmate
participation

                        Percent of inmates
                        who had participated
        Activity        after admission

        Religious               32%
        Self-improvement        20
        Counseling              17
        Pre-release              8
        Arts and crafts          7
        Outside community        3
        Ethnic or racial         2

* Self-help programs--such as for parenting, job searching, and problem
resolution--(20%) and individual or group counseling other than alcohol-
or drug-related programs (17%) were the next most popular programs.

* About 2% of the inmates reported joining an ethnic or racial
organization such as the NAACP, the African American Black Culture Group,
the Hispanic Committee, Aztlan, or Lakota.

About 7 in 10 inmates had work assignments

                              Percent of inmates
                              ------------------
Work assignments                      69%

General janitorial                    13
Food preparation                      13
Maintenance, repair, or construction   9
Grounds and road maintenance           8
Library, barbershop, office,
  or other service                     8
Goods production                       4
Farming, forestry, or ranching         4
Laundry                                3
Hospital or medical                    1
Other                                 12

No work assignment                    31%

Inmates could report more than one work assignment.

* About 10% of all inmates were assigned jobs outside the prison grounds,
including 3% who performed grounds or road maintenance.

* Prisoners were assigned to work assignments an average of 32 hours per
week, including 67% who were occupied between 20 and 44 hours.

Hours per               Percent of inmates
week             with work assignments
-------------------------------------
>7 hours               6%
7-19                   8
20-34                 19
35-44                 27
45-84                  9

Not assigned a job    31%

About 68% of all inmates with work assignments were paid money, including
77% of those with production jobs

                            Percent
               ---------------------------------

                         Of working inmates paid
                         -----------------------       Average
Type           Of all              Nonmonetary         pay per
of work        inmates   Money     compensation        hour
--------------------------------------------------------------
All              69%       68%        43%              $ .56

Goods
production        4%       77%        49%              $ .84
Other work        65%      67%        43%              $ .54
  On-site         57       66         44                 .38
  Off-site         8       72         38                1.81


 Figure 61

* The average wage was $0.56 per hour.

* About 43% of inmates with work assignments received compensation other
than money, such as good-time credit and extra privileges.

Maximum security housing held 26% of all inmates; medium security, 49%;
and minimum security, 23%

Inmates in maximum security were nearly twice as likely as those in
minimum security to be serving a sentence for a violent offense

                    Percent of inmates,
                    for each housing security level
                    -------------------------------
                    Maximum     Medium     Minimum
                    -------------------------------
Current offense

Violent                62%        45%         34%
Property               19         25          31
Drugs                  14         22          29
Public-order            5          8           7

Prior sentences

No prior sentences     20%        20%         18%
Nonviolent current      5          7           9
Violent current        15         13           9

Recidivists            80%        80%         82%
  Nonviolent only      21         32          43
  Prior violent only   10         14          12
  Current violent only 23         19          15
  Current and prior
     violent           26         16          12


 Figure 62


(Figure 63)


Minimum-security housing was more likely than maximum security to be
holding inmates sentenced for a drug offense.

The security classification of inmates' housing had little association
with whether or not inmates had a prior record; however, whether or not
inmates had been convicted of a violent offense was linked to the current
housing arrangements.

* About 4 in 5 inmates in maximum, medium, or minimum security facilities
had prior sentences to probation or incarceration.

* Maximum-security housing was more likely than other housing to hold
prisoners with a history of sentences for violent offenses:  74% in
maximum security had a

current or prior sentence for a violent offense, compared to 62% in medium
security and 48% in minimum security.

State prisons in the South accounted for 39% of inmates; in the West, 22%;
the Midwest, 21%; and the Northeast, 18%

                     Percent of inmates within region:
                     Northeast   Midwest   South   West
                     ----------------------------------
Current offense
Violent                 48%         51%     46%     42%
Property                16          27      27      26
Drugs                   30          16      20      23
Public-order             6          6        7      10

Prior sentences
No priors               23%        20%      20%     14%
  Nonviolent current    10          6        6       5
  Violent current       13         14       14       9

Recidivists             77%        80%      80%     86%
  Nonviolent only       27         29       33      36
  Prior violent only    13         11       12      15
  Current violent only  16         22       19      18
  Current and prior
    violent             22         17       16      17


Figure 64

Inmates in the Northeast were more likely than Midwestern inmates to be
serving time for a drug offense.

* Inmates in the Northeast were the most likely to have had no prior
convictions, while those in Western States were the most likely to be
recidivists.


Explanatory notes

Methodology

The 1991 Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities was conducted
for the Bureau of Justice Statistics by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.
Through personal interviews during June, July, and August 1991, data were
collected on individual characteristics of prison inmates, current
offenses and sentences, characteristics of victims, criminal histories,
family background, gun possession and use, prior drug and alcohol use and
treatment, educational programs and other services provided while in
prison, and other personal characteristics.  Similar surveys of State
prison inmates were conducted in 1974, 1979, and 1986.

Sample design

The sample for the 1991 survey was selected from a universe of 1,239 State
prisons that were enumerated in the 1990 Census of State and Federal Adult
Correctional Facilities or had been opened after completion of the census.
The sample design was a stratified two-stage selection.

In the first stage correctional facilities were separated into two
sampling frames: one for prisons with male inmates and one for prisons
with female inmates.  Prisons holding both sexes were included on both
lists.  Within each frame, prisons were
stratified into eight strata defined by census region (Northeast, Midwest,
South, and West) and facility type (confinement and community-based).  All
prisons with 1,950 or more men were selected from the male frame; and all
prisons with 380 or more women were selected from the female frame.  The
remaining prisons in the male frame were grouped into equal size strata
of approximately 2,600 males and then stratified by security level
(maximum, medium, minimum, and unclassified).  The remaining prisons in
the female frame were also grouped into strata of approximately 574
females.  A systematic sample of prisons was then selected within strata
on each frame with probabilities proportional to the size of each prison.
Overall, a total of 277 prisons were selected.

In the second stage interviewers visited each selected facility and
systematically selected a sample of male and female inmates using
predetermined procedures.  As a result, approximately 1 of every 52 male
inmates and 1 of every 11 female inmates were selected.  A total of 13,986
interviews were completed, yielding an overall response rate of 93.7%.

Based on the completed interviews, estimates for the entire population
were developed using weighting factors derived from the original
probability of selection in the sample.  These factors were adjusted for
variable rates of nonresponse across strata and inmate characteristics.
Further adjustments were made to control the survey estimates to midyear
1991 custody counts projected from data obtained in the National Prisoner
Statistics series (NPS-1).

Accuracy of the estimates

The accuracy of the estimates presented in this report depends on two
types of error: sampling and nonsampling.  Sampling error is the variation
that may occur by chance because a sample rather than a complete
enumeration of the population was conducted.  Nonsampling error can be
attributed to many sources, such as nonresponse, differences in the
interpretation of questions among inmates, recall difficulties, and
processing errors.  In any survey the full extent of the nonsampling error
is never known.  The sampling error, as measured by an estimated standard
error, varies by the size of the estimate and the size  of the base
population.  Estimates of the standard errors have been calculated for the
1991 survey.  (See appendix table.)  These estimates may be used to
construct confidence intervals around percentages in this report.  For
example, the 95-percent confidence interval around the percentage of
inmates who were in prison for a drug offense is approximately 21.4% plus
or minus 1.96 times 0.5% (or 20.4% to 22.4%).

These standard errors may also be used to test the significance of the
difference between two sample statistics by pooling the standard errors
of the two sample estimates.  For example, the standard error of the
difference between black and white inmates in the percent in prison for
drug offenses would be 1.1% (or the square root of the sum of the squared
standard errors for each group).  The 95-percent confidence interval
around the difference would be 1.96 times 1.1% (or 2.2%).  Since the
difference of 12.9% (24.9% minus 12.0%) is greater than 2.2%, the
difference would be considered statistically significant.

All comparisons discussed in this report were statistically significant
at the 95-percent confidence level.  To test the significance of
comparisons not mentioned in the report, use percentages in text or tables
and, when available, base numbers in the explanatory notes.  The standard
errors reported below should be used only for tests on all inmates.
Comparisons of male and female inmates require different standard errors.

Appendix table.  Standard errors of the estimated percentages,
State prison inmates, 1991

                                    Estimated percentages


Base of the  ---------------------------------------------------------
estimate     98 or 2   95 or 5   90 or 10   80 or 20   70 or 30   50
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1,000        4.9       7.7       10.6       14.1       16.2       17.7
5,000        2.2       3.4        4.7        6.3        7.2        7.9
10,000       1.6       2.4        3.4        4.5        5.1        5.6
25,000       1.0       1.5        2.1        2.8        3.2        3.5
50,000       0.7       1.1        1.5        2.0        2.3        2.5
100,000      0.5       0.8        1.1        1.4        1.6        1.8
200,000      0.4       0.5        0.8        1.0        1.1        1.2
400,000      0.2       0.4        0.5        0.7        0.8        0.9
600,000      0.2       0.3        0.4        0.6        0.7        0.7
711,643      0.2       0.3        0.4        0.5        0.6        0.7


Definitions

Drugs

The categories for drugs used without a prescription include the
following:


Marijuana:  marijuana and hashish

Cocaine/crack

Heroin/opiates:  heroin, opiates, and methadone

Barbiturates:    barbiturates and Quaaludes or downers

Stimulants:      amphetamines and methamphetamines

Hallucinogens:   LSD, PCP, and other hallucinogens

Other drugs not categorized above included those such as designer drugs.
About 3.5% of the inmates reported ever using these drugs.

Offenses

Figure 1 groups the offenses that inmates reported in 5 summary categories
and 20 specific offense types.  Most tables present the four summary
categories--violent offenses, property offenses, drug offenses, and
public-order offenses--but where more detail is needed, the summary
categories with eight specific offenses are presented.

In the reduced list of offenses, homicide includes murder and
manslaughter.

Also in the reduced list, sexual assault includes rape and sexual assault.
Sexual assault contains assaults against women, children, and men.

Public-order offenses include escape from custody, weapons offenses,
driving while intoxicated, morals and decency, and commercialized vice.

Usually other violent, other property, other drug, and other public-order
offense categories are not presented separately, because they account for
a small proportion of the overall categories.

Other violent includes extortion, hit-and-run driving, and criminal
endangerment.

Other property includes destruction of property, trespassing, and
possession of burglary tools.

Other drug includes forged prescriptions, possession of drug
paraphernalia, and unspecified drug violations.

Other public-order includes driving while intoxicated, escape from
custody, regulatory violations, and commercialized vice.

Most serious offense.  Inmates who were sentenced for more than one
offense are categorized by the offense for which they received the longest
sentence.

Current offense.  This was the most serious offense for which the inmate
was serving a sentence.

Prior offenses.  The offenses for which an inmate was sentenced before the
current offense.

Race and Hispanic origin

The three categories presented for race--white, black, and other--include
only inmates describing themselves as non-Hispanic.  Inmates with Asian,
Native American, or Pacific Islander heritage were categorized as other
because their small number would not permit a more detailed listing.
Inmates who indicated that they were Hispanic included persons of all
races.

Where statistics for Hispanic inmates are reported with statistics for
white or black inmates, the categories do not overlap.  Hispanic inmates
are compared to non-Hispanic white and black inmates.

Black or white inmates.  These inmates identified the race to which they
belonged and reported having no Hispanic background.

Hispanic inmates.  These inmates, of any race, reported having a Hispanic
background.

Sentences and time in prison

Collateral penalty.  This is an additional obligation that a court places
on a incarcerated defendant.  Such penalties include fines, restitution
to a victim, and participation in a treatment program.

Maximum sentence.  Inmates sentenced to a span of time, as in 5-to-15
years, are categorized by the maximum amount of time that they could
serve.

Time served.  The estimate of the time served is calculated from the day
of admission for the current sentence to the day of the interview,
excluding any time the inmate was released.  Inmates also reported the
date when they expected to be released.  When the reported date of release
lacked the specific day or month, the 15th day or June was assigned.

Types of inmates

First-time inmates.  Before their current conviction, these persons had
never been sentenced to probation or incarceration, as a juvenile or
adult.

Nonviolent inmates.  This category includes all inmates who were not
serving time for any violent offense.

Recidivists.  These inmates had been convicted in the past as a juvenile
or an adult and had served a previous sentence to probation or
incarceration.

Violent inmates.  These inmates were serving time for a violent offense.
In discussions of recidivism, violent inmates were those who had ever been
convicted of a violent offense.

Notes by page

In many tables the detail may not add to the total or to a subtotal
because of rounding.

The weighted totals of inmates reporting valid data in 1991 are--
711,643 for sex, race, Hispanic origin,and age
703,735 for marital status
710,546 for veteran status
706,173 for education
706,945 for work before arrest, and 521,765 for income.

Figure 1 presents the total number of inmates, by offense.

Figure 2 presents the total number of women and men for summary categories
of offenses.  Standard errors on variables distributed between male and
female inmates cannot be calculated using the appendix table.

Figure 3.  Male inmates were more likely to be serving a sentence for a
violent offense than for other offenses.

Most serious      Percent of inmates
offense           Male      Female

Violent           47%      32%
Property          25        29
Drug              21        33
Public-order       7         6

Figure 4 presents the total number of inmates by race and Hispanic origin,
distributed among the summary categories of offenses.

Figure 5.  In 1991 an estimated 62,904 inmates had a sentence to life in
prison or to death.

Figure 6.  An estimated 246,636 white inmates, 315,861 black inmates, and
115,590 Hispanic inmates provided valid data on sentence length.

                   Cumulative percent of inmates
             Violent    Property    Drug    Public-order
1 year
or less      1.0%        4.4%        4.5%    12.0%
2 years      3.7        16.8        15.8     30.1
4           11.7        37.5        40.3     51.1
6           21.6        55.1        59.3     69.9
8           27.6        63.1        67.0     74.9
10          37.4        74.4        77.7     83.0
15          50.7        84.5        86.1     90.5
20          60.5        90.0        92.0     93.1
More than
20 years   100.0       100.0       100.0    100.0

Number    323,064     171,446     146,803   46,590

A cumulative percentage is one that at each level includes the subtotal
from the lower or earlier categories.  In the graph for figure 9, for
example, a reader can see where the line for violent inmates crosses the
10-year mark and that about 37% of inmates sentenced for a violent crime
had a maximum sentence of 10 years or less.


Figure 8.

                    Number of inmates
                    reporting
Most                   sentence length
serious             ---------------
offense             Median    Mean
-------------------------------------
   Total            690,721   627,522

Violent offenses    323,064   265,932
  Murder             73,838   32,432
  Manslaughter       12,642   12,302
  Sexual assault     65,830   60,461
  Robbery           102,642   97,357
  Assault            56,313   54,247

Property offenses          171,446   169,822
  Burglary           86,237   84,948
  Larceny            33,265   33,242

Drug offenses       146,803   143,041
  Possession         51,925    50,315
  Trafficking        91,690    89,716

Public-order
offenses             46,590    45,994


               Number of inmates
               reporting time
Most serious   served to interview
offense        (median and mean)
------------------------------------
   Total             82,540

Violent offenses    318,366
  Murder             71,634
  Manslaughter       12,693
  Sexual assault     64,884
  Robbery           101,686
  Assault            55,664

Property offenses   169,052

  Burglary           84,759
  Larceny            33,118

Drug offenses       145,654
  Possession         51,731
  Trafficking        90,777

Public-order
offenses             46,727


                    Number of inmates
                    reporting
Most                time to release
serious             ---------------
offense             Median     Mean
-------------------------------------
  Total             608,836   606,357
Violent offenses    272,796   271,453
Murder               51,287    50,766
Manslaughter         11,184    11,184
Sexual assault       58,182    58,016
Robbery               2,587    92,397
Assault              49,975    49,691

Property offenses          156,731   155,994
  Burglary           78,249    77,983
  Larceny            30,477    30,300

Drug offenses       134,101   133,874
  Possession         47,138    47,138
  Trafficking        84,172    83,945

Public-order
offenses             42,899    42,738

Inmates reporting that they expected to be released on or before the year
2066 were included in the calculation of the mean time expected to be
served.

Figure 9.

            Number of inmates
            reporting sentence
            length
------------------------------
1986           443,726
1991           697,596
  White        247,516
  Black        317,881
  Hispanic     115,791

Figure 10.

                   Median sentence
                   ---------------
Offense            White     Black
-----------------------------------
Violent            120,422   149,003
Property            74,144    69,210
Drug                29,129    78,412
Public-order        20,021    16,584

Figure 11.  The percentages noted on the chart are rounded.

Mexico            47.1%
Caribbean         26.3
Central and
  South America   14.0
Other             12.6

   Number        31,287

Figure 12.

                   Number of alien inmates
                   reporting whether they
                   had used drugs in the
                   --------------------------
Drug               Month before   At the time
---------------------------------------------
Cocaine/crack         27,465        23,433
Marijuana             29,055        25,266
Heroin/other opiates  29,154         27,985
Amphetamines/
   methamphetamines   30,920         30,468
Hallucinogens         30,829         30,556
Barbiturates          30,932          30,750

Figure 13.

Most serious
offense           Percent of alien inmates
------------      ------------------------
Violent offenses        34.5%
Homicide                11.9
  Sexual assault         6.0
  Robbery                8.2
  Assault                6.8

Property offenses       13.0%
  Burglary               7.9
  Larceny/theft          2.3

Drug offenses           45.3%

  Possession            19.7
  Trafficking           25.3

Public-order offenses    6.5

  Number               31,287


Figure 14.

Persons lived with
most of the time

while growing up    Percent of inmates
----------------    ------------------
Both parents             43%
Mother only              39
Father only               4
Other relative           11
Foster home/agency        2
Other                     1

Number                 711,643

Figure 15.  The number of white inmates reporting whether or not family
members had been incarcerated was 250,337; black inmates, 321,038; and
Hispanic inmates, 117,594.

Figure 16.  67% of the women and 56% of the men had a child or children
under age 18.

                       Percent of inmates
Number of children     ------------------
under age 18           Male        Female
------------------     ------------------
None                   44.1%       33.5%
1                      24.2        24.8
2                      16.2        19.9
3                       8.5        12.1
4 or more               7.1         9.8

Figure 17.  94% of male and female inmates reported that the child(ren)
were with the other parent or a grandparent.

                       Percent of inmates
With whom              with minor children
children under         -------------------
age 18 lived           Male         Female
--------------         -------------------
Mother/father          89.7%        25.4%
Grandparents            9.9         50.6
Other relative/friend   3.3         24.0
Foster home/agency      2.1         10.3
Other                   2.1          6.0

Inmates could report more than one category of caregivers for their
children.

Figure 18.  An estimated 697,853 inmates reported valid data on
recidivism.

Figure 19.  Among inmates with valid information on current and prior
sentences, 28% of 38,117 women and 19% of 659,736 men, 22% of 116,280
Hispanics, 20% of 247,019 whites, and 17% of 318,025 blacks were serving
their first sentence.

Figure 20.  The number of inmates reporting current offense and that they
had no
prior offenses was 134,131; that they had been convicted of a violent
offense in the past, 209,315; and that they had not been convicted of a
violent offense in the past, 354,407.

Figure 21.

               Number of inmates reporting
               ---------------------------
                   1991      1986

Probation         703,187   446,988
Incarceration     707,055   439,980
Combined          699,059   436,770

Figure 22.  45% of prison inmates had 3 or more prior sentences to
probation or incarceration.

Number of
prior sentences
to probation or
incarceration    Percent of inmates
------------------------------------
None                 20 %
1                    19
2                    16
3-5                  26
6-10                 13
11 or more            6

  Number           699,059


The admission to prison of persons on probation or parole and the
percentage on probation or parole for a violent crime were based on
307,382 inmates; the arrest for violent crime was based on an estimated
315,589 inmates.

The description of revocation of parole was based on 163,686 inmates whose
supervision in the community was formally revoked.  The description of
revocation of probation was based on 103,713 inmates whose supervision in
the community was formally revoked.

Figure 23.

           Number of inmates for median sentence
                              Parole
           --------------------------------------------
           No                        With new   Without
           supervision   Probation   sentence   sentence

  All         370,553     72,425     129,238    33,977
Violent       213,709     25,833      45,853    10,670
Property       63,797     21,588      44,328    12,726
Drug           75,233     17,060      26,162     7,436
Public-order   16,007      7,653      12,631     2,902

Figures 24-27.

        Number of violent
        inmates reporting
        -----------------
Total          315,968
Homicide        86,639
Sexual assault  65,432
Robbery         97,504
Assault         55,331

Male           285,656
Female          11,441

Under 25        56,592
25-34          131,682
35-44           70,423
45 or older     38,295

White          110,757
Black          136,568
Other            7,876
Hispanic        39,598


Figure 29.  The chart percentages as presented are rounded.  Of the
estimated 311,180 violent inmates who reported how well they knew their
victim(s), 49.9% had committed their offense against a stranger.

Figure 30.  Among violent inmates, 299,380 men and 11,800 women reported
their relationship with their victim.

Figure 31.

Race and     Number of violent
Hispanic     inmates reporting
origin       relationship to victim
--------     ----------------------
White              117,049
Black              143,497
Other                8,232
Hispanic            42,403

Figure 32.

            Number of violent inmates
            reporting relationship to victim
            --------------------------------
            White   Black   Other   Hispanic

Homicide    33,154  37,354  1,903   12,109
Sexual
 assault    37,122  18,578  1,956    6,660
Robbery     24,065  57,722  1,877   13,378
Assault     17,539  25,655  2,190    8,933

Figure 33.

            Number of violent inmates reporting
            valid data for relationship
            -----------------------------------
            Under
            25         25 - 34    35 - 44    45 or older

  All       131,113    111,635    40,240     21,394
Homicide     38,123     28,137     9,757      6,664
Sexual
 assault     17,605     23,312    12,445      9,197
Robbery      48,277     37,251     7,705      1,943
Assault      22,375     19,162     8,616      2,895


Figure 34.

            Number of violent
            inmates reporting
Violent  valid data for
offense  victim injuries
---------------------------
All offenses    316,772
Sexual assault   65,355
Robbery          99,323
Assault          54,676

Among violent inmates who reported their offense and victim injury were
11,713 women and 295,370 men.

Figure 35.  42% of violent inmates committed their offense at home or in
their victim's home.

Where the inmate
committed the
most serious     Percent of
violent offense  violent inmates
---------------------------------
Victim's home          28%
Inmate's home          14
Commercial place       23
Public place           27
Elsewhere               8

  Number reporting   316,273

Figure 36.  There were 307,960 inmates who reported whether they carried
or used a weapon when they committed the violent offense for which they
were serving a
sentence.

Figure 37.

                Number of
                violent inmates
                reporting valid data
                --------------------
Murder            69,957
Manslaughter      12,379
Rape              24,029
Other sexual
 assault          40,395
Robbery           96,399
Assault           53,997

Figure 38.

               Number of
Weapon used    violent inmates
------------------------------
Gun              92,314
Knife            34,203
Other            14,229

Figure 39.

                      Number of reporting
                  ----------------------------
Violent          Violent
offense          inmates     Victims     Both
---------------------------------------------
  All           317,417      312,792    317,675
Homicide         86,154       83,323     86,210
Sexual assault   65,148       64,745     65,285
Robbery          99,861       99,110     99,861
Assault          55,188       54,608     55,253


Figure 40.

Firearm
possession                    Number of
and use                       reporting inmates
-----------------------------------------------
Ever owned                    708,540
Owned month before offense    711,094
Armed during offense          699,943
Fired gun during offense      700,050

Figure 41.  An estimated 243,757 inmates had possessed a handgun and
reported where they had most recently acquired the weapon.


Figure 42.  The total reporting characteristics of their groups of friends
was 705,517.


Figure 43.

             Number of inmates
             reporting size of gang
             ----------------------
             Median          Mean
             ----------------------

5-6          41,791         38,032
3-4          37,587         36,661
2            37,893         37,631
1            81,492         81,324

Figure 44.

Gang         Number of inmates
features     reporting group activities
---------------------------------------
5-6               44,397
3-4               39,169
1-2              126,611
0                164,539


Figure 45.  In 1991, 710,798 inmates reported whether they had ever used
drugs, and 710,444 reported whether they had used regularly.

Figure 46.  In 1991, 710,241 inmates reported whether they had used a drug
in the month before the offense, and 699,611 reported whether they were
under the influence at the time of the offense.

Figure 47.

                         Percent of inmates
                  ---------------------------------
Pattern of        Any    Mari-   Cocaine
drug use          drug   juana   or crack   Opiates
---------------------------------------------------
Ever              79%    74%     50%        25%
Regularly         62     52      32               15
In month before
the offense       50     32      25               10
At the time
of the offense    31     11      14                6

                  Number of inmates reporting
                  --------------------------------------
Pattern of        Any       Mari-     Cocaine
drug use          drug      juana     or crack   Opiates
--------------------------------------------------------

Ever              710,798   708,121   708,115   708,237
Regularly         710,444   706,685   707,989   708,237
In month before
the offense       710,241   705,896   707,793   708,179
At the time
of the offense    699,611   699,938   707,403   708,115


Figures 48 and 49.  Inmates who had used drugs in the month before the
offense included those who committed their offense under the influence of
drugs.  Inmates reporting that they committed their offense to get money
for drugs may have been in the other categories as well.

The number of inmates giving valid responses about--
           drug use in the month before the offense:  710,241
committing the offense under the influence of drugs:  699,611
      committing the offense to get money for drugs:  696,677

             Number of inmates
             reporting whether
             they had used drugs
             in the month before
Age group    the offense
--------------------------------
17 or younger    4,552
18-24          151,154
25-29          172,230
30-34          152,454
35-44          161,232
45-54           46,475
55 or older     22,144

Figure 50.

                 Number of inmates
                 reporting drugs used
                 in the month before
                 the offense

Crack/cocaine     71,055
Cocaine          107,724
Another drug     175,422
No drug          356,040

                 Percent of inmates who in the
                 month before the offense used
Most             -------------------------------
serious                  Powder    Other   No
offense          Crack   cocaine   drugs   drugs

Other violent    <1%     2%        2%      2%
Other property    8      6         7       8
Other drug        1      1         1      <1


Figure 52.  Reporting on whether they had participated in a drug treatment
program were an estimated 698,777 inmates--698,658 also reporting on use
of drugs ever in the past and 698,332 reporting on use of drugs in the
month before their offense.

Figure 53.

                        Percent of
                  ----------------------------
Type of                       Inmates who
drug program                  used drugs in
participation     All         the month before
since admission   inmates     the offense
----------------------------------------------
In-patient         7%            11%
Group             22             32
individual         3              5
Peer group         8             12
Drug education     4              7

Number of
inmates
reporting       698,777        698,332

Inmates reported on all types of drug program participation during their
current prison term.  Whenever an inmate listed more than one program
category, the interviewer asked if a mentioned program was conducted
separately from the previously reported programs.  Programs integral to
other drug treatment efforts were not counted for figure 53; programs
identified as separate were included.  For example, if a prisoner
participated as an in-patient and reported that drug education was a part
of the in-patient treatment, that drug education was not entered
separately.  Therefore, the 4% of inmates who had been educated about the
effects of drugs had not received that education as a part of any other
prison drug program.

Since admission, 59% of inmates who had ever used drugs and 52% of those
who had used drugs in the month before their offense had not participated
in any drug treatment program.


Figure 56.  The number of inmates who committed their offense under the
influence of alcohol was 127,096; under the influence of drugs only,
117,671; and under the influence of both drugs and alcohol, 97,690.

Inmates who had been drinking before their offense and who reported the
amount drunk:
Total (217,693), violent (116,302), property (52,757), drugs (26,341), and
public-order (19,966).

Figure 58.  Inmates sentenced for property or public-order offenses had
the highest rate of participation in alcohol-abuse programs.

            Percent of inmates who had ever
            participated in a prison-sponsored
Offense     alcohol abuse program
----------------------------------------------
Violent          34.8%
Property         40.4
Drug             28.0
Public-order     48.6

The percentages of participating inmates were based on 558,782 inmates who
reported ever drinking.  Inmates who reported never drinking (143,176) and
drinking inmates who had committed an offense not included in the summary
categories (9,685) were not included.

Figure 59.  The number of inmates reporting on their prison program
participation
as 711,643.

Figure 60.  Of the inmates reporting on their participation in prison
educational or vocational programs were 658,893 men and 37,458 women.

Inmates reporting on program participation could report more than one
program.

The percentages of inmates with work assignments and of hours worked were
based on 711,643 inmates responding.

Figure 61.  The percentage of all inmates was based on 711,643 inmates;
of those inmates who worked and were paid money, 471,308; and of inmates
who worked for nonmonetary compensation, 203,705.  The average pay per
hour was calculated from 293,492 inmates who reported a valid income.


Figures 62 and 64.

                Number of
                inmates reporting
Security        --------------------
level           Current      Prior
and region      offense     offenses
------------------------------------
Maximum         182,787     180,687
Medium          348,156     345,331
Minimum         161,584     160,247

Northeast       122,778     121,633
Midwest         148,953     146,991
South           274,769     272,948
West            157,681     156,043

Figure 63.  The higher the housing security level, the larger the
percentage of violent inmates.

                  Percent of inmates
Security level    ------------------
and type of       First-
current offense   time     Recidivist
--------------------------------------
Maximum
(180,687)
Violent           14.9%     59.4%
Nonviolent         4.5      21.2

Medium
(345,331)
Violent           13.2%     48.4%
Nonviolent         6.6      31.8

Minimum
(160,247)
Violent            9.3%     38.4%
Nonviolent         8.8      43.5