U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Special Report

Celebrating

 35 years

OCTOBER 2015 NCJ 248648

HIGHLIGHTS

 This study is based on 94,678 offenders in federal prison 

at fiscal yearend 2012 who were sentenced on a new 

U.S. district court commitment and whose most serious 

offense (as classified by the Federal Bureau of Prisons) was a 

drug offense.

 Almost all (99.5%) drug offenders in federal prison were 

serving sentences for drug trafficking.

 Cocaine (powder or crack) was the primary drug type for 

more than half (54%) of drug offenders in federal prison. 

 Race of drug offenders varied greatly by drug type. Blacks 

were 88% of crack cocaine offenders, Hispanics or Latinos 

were 54% of powder cocaine offenders, and whites were 

48% of methamphetamine offenders.

 More than a third (35%) of drug offenders in federal 

prison at sentencing, had either no or minimal criminal 

history— lowest criminal history category. 

 Nearly a quarter (24%) of drug offenders in federal prison 

used a weapon in their most recent offense.

 The average prison sentence for federal drug offenders was 

more than 11 years. 

 Across all drug types, crack cocaine offenders were 

most likely to have extensive criminal histories (40%), 

used a weapon (32%), and received longer prison terms 

(170 months). 

Drug Offenders in Federal Prison: 

Estimates of Characteristics 

Based on Linked Data

Sam Taxy, Julie Samuels, and William Adams, Urban Institute

Publicly available BOP datasets do not include 

information about prisoners’ criminal history, offense 

details, and sentencing decisions, making it difficult 

to assess the criminal background of the offenders and the 

nature of their offenses. This report uses a new dataset that 

links the BOP population at fiscal yearend 2012 (i.e., stock 

population), with sentencing information from the U.S. 

Sentencing Commission (USSC) to describe the federal 

prison population in greater detail. The dataset includes the 

94,678 sentenced offenders in federal prison whose most 

serious offense was drug-related, who were serving time on 

a new U.S. district court commitment, and who had valid 

links to USSC data. Of these, almost all were drug trafficking 

offenders, while the remainder were sentenced for other 

drug offenses, primarily possession. 

The 94,678 drug offenders drug offenders included in the 

dataset are referred to as drug offenders throughout this 

report. The Methodology and the Dataset composition and 

definition of drug offender textbox provide more information 

about the linking methodology, file composition, 

exclusionary criteria, and link rates. The counts and 

percentages based on the BOP variables presented in this 

report may differ slightly from other published Bureau 

of Justice Statistics (BJS) or BOP reports because only an 

analysis of linked observations is reported here. 

This report examines drug offenders in terms of their 

demographics, basic offense characteristics, and sentence 

imposed. Although the USSC dataset contains information 

related to both offense characteristics (e.g., quantity of 

drugs) and the justice system response (e.g., whether an 

offender was convicted of an offense carrying a mandatory 

minimum penalty and whether that penalty was applied 

at sentencing), the focus here is on the offenders and basic 

offense characteristics. The data were disaggregated by the 

primary type of drug involved (drug type is a variable only 

available in the USSC datasets). Other BOP and USSC 

variables of interest—demographics, criminal history, 

weapon involvement in the instant offense (the most 

recent offense for which the individual was sentenced and 

incarcerated), and sentence length—were analyzed by 

drug type.
DRUG OFFENDERS IN FEDERAL PRISON: ESTIMATES OF CHARACTERISTICS BASED ON LINKED DATA | OCTOBER 2015 2

The number of federally sentenced prisoners in the Federal 

Bureau of Prisons (BOP) increased 84% between fiscal year 

(FY) 1998 and 2012, and the number of drug offenders in 

federal prison grew 63% during this time.1 At fiscal yearend 

2012, offenders whose most serious offense (as defined by 

the BOP) was a drug offense accounted for about half (52%) 

of the federally sentenced prison population (table 1). 

Previous analyses focusing on the growth of the prison 

population from FY 1998 to FY 2010 have shown that 42% 

of the growth in the federally sentenced population was 

due to an increase in the number of drug offenders, and the 

largest contributor to that growth was length of time served 

for drug offenses.2 Because drug offenders comprise about 

half of federal prison population and sentence length for 

this subpopulation is the greatest source of federal prison 

population growth, this report examines these offenders in 

greater detail.

1See Federal Criminal Case Processing Statistics on the BJS website at 

www.bjs.gov/fjsrc.

2Mallik-Kane, K., Parthasarathy, B., & Adams, W. (2012). Examining growth 

in the federal prison population, 1998–2010 (NCJ 239785). Washington, DC: 

Urban Institute.

Powder and crack cocaine offenders made up more than 

half of all BOP drug offenders

More than half (54%) of drug offenders in the federal prison 

system had a form of cocaine (powder or crack) as the 

primary drug type (table 2). Methamphetamine offenders 

(24%) accounted for the next largest share, followed by 

marijuana (12%) and heroin (6%) offenders. Offenders 

convicted of crimes involving other drugs (including LSD, 

some prescription drugs, and MDMA or ecstasy) made up 

3% of offenders. 

Table 1

Federally sentenced offenders in the Federal Bureau of 

Prisons with linked U.S. Sentencing Commission records, by 

primary offense category, fiscal yearend 2012

Most serious offensea Numberb Percentc

Total 181,964 100%

Violent offensed 8,704 4.8%

Property offense 10,749 5.9%

Fraudulent 9,119 5.0

Other 1,630 0.9

Drug offense 94,678 52.0%

Trafficking 94,421 51.9

Possession 247 0.1

Othere 10 --

Public order offense 8,733 4.8%

Regulatory 2,421 1.3

Other 6,312 3.5

Sex offense 10,099 5.6%

Weapon offense 27,969 15.4%

Immigration offense 21,032 11.6%

-- Less than 0.05%. 

aPrimary offense category is based on the most serious instant offense, as 

determined by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) based on length of sentence 

imposed. See Methodology and Dataset composition and definition of drug 

offender textbox.

bIncludes only new district court commitments in the BOP whose sentencing 

year was 1994 or later. Old law offenders, D.C. Superior Court commitments, state 

boarders, and other nondistrict court commitments are excluded.

cPercentages based on records not missing offense type. There were 

1,203 records missing offense type.

dExcludes sex offenses.

eIncludes investing illegal drug profits, operating a commercial carrier under the 

influence, and drug offenses that involve using the U.S. Postal Service.

Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from U.S. Sentencing 

Commission, fiscal years 1994–2012; and Federal Bureau of Prisons, SENTRY data 

base, fiscal yearend 2012.

Table 2

Federally sentenced drug offenders in the Federal Bureau of 

Prisons with linked U.S. Sentencing Commission records, by 

primary drug type, fiscal yearend 2012

Primary drug typea Numberb Percent

Total 93,000 100.0%

Powder cocaine 24,012 25.8%

Crack cocaine 26,409 28.4

Heroin 5,800 6.2

Marijuanac 11,533 12.4

Methamphetamined 21,999 23.7

Othere 3,247 3.5 aDataset includes only new district court commitments in the Federal Bureau of 

Prisons whose sentencing year was 1994 or later. Old law offenders, D.C. Superior 

Court commitments, state boarders, and other nondistrict court commitments 

are excluded.

bIncludes 1,678 drug offenders with missing primary drug types. Between 99.9% 

and 100% of drug offenders in each drug type have a most serious offense of 

drug trafficking. The remainder includes a total of 37 possession offenses and 

9 other drug offenses across all drug types.

cIncludes marijuana plants, hashish, and other marijuana derivatives.

dIncludes methamphetamine mixtures and precursors, such as ephedrine.

eIncludes all other drug types (pharmaceuticals such as oxycontin and MDMA or 

ecstasy).

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from U.S. Sentencing 

Commission, fiscal years 1994–2012; and Federal Bureau of Prisons, SENTRY data 

base, fiscal yearend 2012.
DRUG OFFENDERS IN FEDERAL PRISON: ESTIMATES OF CHARACTERISTICS BASED ON LINKED DATA | OCTOBER 2015 3

Three-quarters of BOP drug offenders were black or 

Hispanic

About three-quarters of drug offenders in federal prison 

were either non-Hispanic black or African American (39%) 

or Hispanic or Latino (37%); nearly a quarter (22%) were 

non-Hispanic white offenders (table 3). In addition, drug 

offenders in federal prison were overwhelmingly male 

(92%), about a quarter (24%) were noncitizens, and nearly 

80% were age 30 or older.

Race and citizenship varied greatly by drug type

The vast majority of crack cocaine offenders (88%) were 

non-Hispanic black or African American. By comparison, 

more than half (54%) of powder cocaine offenders were 

Hispanic or Latino and 13% were non-Hispanic white. 

In addition, more than half (59%) of marijuana offenders 

and almost half (48%) of heroin offenders were Hispanic or 

Latino. A large proportion of methamphetamine offenders 

were non-Hispanic white (48%) or Hispanic or Latino 

(45%).

Although most drug offenders were U.S. citizens, citizenship 

status varied across drug type subgroups. Almost all crack 

cocaine (97%) and other drug (89%) offenders were U.S. 

citizens. Aside from those, citizenship rates ranged from 71% 

for heroin offenders to 65% for marijuana offenders. 

Age and sex varied more subtly across drug types. The 

percentage of male drug offenders by type of drug ranged 

from 88% of methamphetamine to 96% of crack cocaine 

offenders. The percentage of persons age 30 or older ranged 

from 73% of other drug to 82% of powder cocaine offenders.

Table 3

Demographic characteristics of federally sentenced drug offenders in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, by drug type, fiscal 

yearend 2012

Characteristic Numbera All drug types Powder cocaine Crack cocaine Heroin Marijuanab Methamphetaminec Otherd

Total 94,678 100% 24,012 26,409 5,800 11,533 21,999 3,247

Sex

Male 87,560 92.5% 94.0% 95.7% 90.9% 93.6% 87.7% 88.0%

Female 7,118 7.5 6.0 4.3 9.1 6.4 12.3 12.0

Race/Hispanic origin

Whitee 20,664 21.8% 12.6% 4.2% 12.5% 24.0% 48.3% 50.9%

Black/African Americane 36,688 38.8 32.3 88.1 38.8 13.9 2.5 28.4

Hispanic/Latino 35,239 37.2 54.2 7.1 48.0 59.0 45.0 9.0

Asian/Pacific Islandere 1,456 1.5 0.5 0.3 0.7 1.7 3.0 10.8

American Indian/Alaska Nativee 631 0.7 0.4 0.3 0.1 1.5 1.2 0.8

Age

17 or younger 23 -- -- 0.0% 0.0% -- -- 0.0%

18–19 574 0.6% 0.4% 0.1 0.9 1.9% 0.6% 0.4

20–29 19,316 20.4 17.2 20.5 22.5 25.7 19.6 27.0

30–39 39,395 41.6 41.1 49.3 36.0 35.9 38.7 36.9

40 or older 35,370 37.4 41.4 30.0 40.6 36.5 41.1 35.7

Citizenshipf

U.S. citizen 72,302 76.4% 65.8% 96.9% 71.3% 65.3% 68.9% 89.0%

Non-U.S. citizen 22,376 23.6 34.2 3.1 28.7 34.7 31.1 11.0

Note: Data include only new district court commitments in the Federal Bureau of Prisons whose sentencing year was 1994 or later. Old law offenders, D.C. Superior Court 

commitments, state boarders, and other nondistrict court commitments are excluded.

-- Less than 0.05%.

a

Total includes 1,678 drug offenders with missing primary drug types.

bIncludes marijuana plants, hashish, and other marijuana derivatives.

cIncludes methamphetamine mixtures and precursors, such as ephedrine.

dIncludes all other drug types (pharmaceuticals such as oxycontin and MDMA or ecstasy) in federal cases not included in the other categories.

eExcludes persons of Hispanic or Latino origin.

f

All demographic variables from the BOP, except for 76 missing values for citizenship used from U.S. Sentencing Commission dataset.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from U.S. Sentencing Commission, fiscal years 1994–2012; and Federal Bureau of Prisons, SENTRY data base, fiscal 

yearend 2012.
DRUG OFFENDERS IN FEDERAL PRISON: ESTIMATES OF CHARACTERISTICS BASED ON LINKED DATA | OCTOBER 2015 4

More than a third of federal drug offenders had the 

lowest level of criminal history at sentencing

More than a third (35%) of federal drug offenders 

were in the lowest USSC criminal history category, 

Category I, which includes offenders with no previous 

term of imprisonment and others with minimal criminal 

histories. This was the most frequently applied category 

(table 4). Almost 8 in 10 (79%) federal drug offenders in 

Category I had no points assigned at sentencing, meaning 

they had no relevant criminal history as used to compute 

categorization. This accounted for more than 25% of all drug 

offenders in the BOP. In comparison, more than 22% of 

federal drug offenders were in the highest criminal history 

category (Category VI), which indicates the most extensive 

criminal histories.

USSC Criminal History Categorization

The U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC) aggregates available 

criminal history information into broader criminal history 

categories to be used at sentencing. This information includes 

whether the offender has been previously sentenced to a 

term of imprisonment, the length of each previous sentence 

imposed, whether the most recent offense was committed 

soon after a release from incarceration, whether the most 

recent offense was committed while under criminal justice 

supervision (e.g., probation), and whether there were any 

crimes of violence that were not previously captured in any of 

the previous other categories. 

Criminal history points are assigned in differing levels for each 

of these categories, and the points are collapsed into six levels 

of criminal history—zero points indicates that there is no 

history in any of the above domains, and higher point totals 

reflect more extensive criminal histories. Criminal history 

category may also be adjusted based on other aggravating 

circumstances, such as being a career offender or a repeat 

and dangerous sex offender against minors. Judges may 

depart upward or downward regarding the criminal history 

category if the final category substantially misrepresents the 

seriousness of the offender’s criminal history.3

3For more information, see Office of the General Counsel, U.S. 

Sentencing Commission, Criminal History Primer, Washington, DC: U.S. 

Sentencing Commission. 2014.

Table 4

Criminal history of federally sentenced drug offenders in the Federal Bureau of Prisons at fiscal yearend 2012, by drug type

Criminal history category All drug types Powder cocaine Crack cocaine Heroin Marijuanaa Methamphetamineb Otherc

Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Category I 34.5% 48.7% 11.7% 39.1% 44.3% 39.5% 41.5%

Zero points 27.4 40.8 7.6 32.8 35.7 30.6 31.5

One or more points 7.1 7.9 4.1 6.3 8.5 8.8 10.0

Category II 12.0% 12.4% 9.7% 10.6% 14.9% 12.9% 13.7%

Category III 16.3% 14.3% 17.4% 14.5% 17.2% 16.9% 17.0%

Category IV 9.3% 6.8% 12.5% 7.4% 7.8% 9.2% 8.7%

Category V 5.6% 3.4% 8.4% 4.7% 4.1% 5.8% 4.0%

Category VI 22.4% 14.5% 40.4% 23.8% 11.7% 15.8% 15.2%

Numberd 94,008 23,953 26,326 5,782 11,522 21,977 3,239

Note: Criminal History Category is used by the U.S. Sentencing Commission to combine all available information about criminal history. Lower categories suggest fewer 

(and less serious) historical offenses, while higher categories suggest more (and more serious) historical offenses. Data include only new district court commitments in 

the Federal Bureau of Prisons whose sentencing year was 1994 or later. Old law offenders, D.C. Superior Court commitments, state boarders, and other nondistrict court 

commitments are excluded.

aIncludes marijuana plants, hashish, and other marijuana derivatives.

bIncludes methamphetamine mixtures and precursors, such as ephedrine.

cIncludes all other drug types (pharmaceuticals such as oxycontin and MDMA or ecstasy) in federal cases not included in the other categories. 

dIncludes 1,209 drug offenders with missing primary drug types.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from U.S. Sentencing Commission, fiscal years 1994–2012; and Federal Bureau of Prisons, SENTRY data base, 

fiscal yearend 2012.
DRUG OFFENDERS IN FEDERAL PRISON: ESTIMATES OF CHARACTERISTICS BASED ON LINKED DATA | OCTOBER 2015 5

Crack cocaine offenders had the most extensive criminal 

histories

The extent of criminal history for drug offenders varied 

by primary drug type. Crack cocaine offenders had more 

extensive criminal histories than any other type of drug 

offenders, and more than 40% of crack offenders in federal 

prison were in the highest criminal history category 

(Category VI), followed by heroin offenders (24%). The 

proportion of offenders in Category I ranged from 39% for 

heroin offenders to 49% for powder cocaine offenders. 

Within each drug type, the majority of offenders in 

Category I had no criminal history points at the time of 

sentencing. Across all drug offenders, powder cocaine (41%) 

and marijuana (36%) offenders were the most likely to have 

no criminal history points applied at sentencing and be in 

Category I. Almost a quarter of heroin offenders (24%) were 

classified under the most serious criminal history category 

(Category VI), the second highest share of any drug type 

after crack cocaine.

About a quarter of federal drug offenders were 

sentenced for weapons involvement

Nearly 1 in 4 (24%) federal drug offenders in prison at 

yearend 2012 who were sentenced since 1998 were 

sentenced for having a weapon involved in the instant 

offense (table 5).

4 Of these drug offenders, about a quarter 

(26%) received a mandatory minimum sentence for a 

separate charge of conviction for using a weapon during the 

commission of the offense (pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)); 

and about three-quarters (73%) had a weapon specific 

offense characteristic that was not a separate charge of 

conviction but was still included in the sentence 

computation (not shown). A majority of the weaponinvolved offenders received a sentence enhancement, 

accounting for 18% of the total drug offender population. 

Another 6% of the drug offender population were convicted 

of a 924(c) weapon offense.5

Less than a third of crack cocaine offenders had their 

sentence increased due to weapons involvement in the 

offense 

Crack cocaine offenders were the most likely to receive a 

mandatory minimum sentence for weapon involvement 

under 924(c) (9%) or to have guidelines adjusted for a 

weapon-specific offense characteristic (23%) totaling 

to almost a third with weapon involvement (32%). 

Methamphetamine offenders were the next most likely to 

have weapon enhancements—more than 25% had some 

kind of sentencing related to weapons. In comparison, 

marijuana offenders were the least likely to have these 

weapon enhancements—3% had a mandatory minimum 

sentence under 924(c) for gun involvement and 12% had a 

specific offense characteristic.

4Although USSC datasets go back to 1994, some weapons variables are 

unavailable prior to 1998. To ensure continuity within comparisons of 

weapons, offenders sentenced prior to 1998 were excluded.

5All figures reported for weapon involvement exclude offenders who have 

both types of weapon; they made up less than 0.5% of drug offenders.

Table 5

Gun involvement in the instant offense for federally sentenced drug offenders in the Federal Bureau of Prisons at fiscal 

yearend 2012, by drug type

Gun involvement in offense All drug types Powder cocaine Crack cocaine Heroin Marijuanaa Methamphetamineb Otherc

Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

No 75.9% 78.1% 68.0% 82.7% 84.8% 74.5% 82.4%

Yes 24.1% 21.9% 32.0% 17.3% 15.2% 25.5% 17.6%

924(c)d 6.4 5.9 9.3 3.4 3.1 6.5 3.6

Weapon-specific 

 offense characteristic 17.6 15.8 22.5 13.7 12.1 18.8 14.0

Both 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.0

Numbere 91,455 23,273 25,162 5,645 11,372 21,694 3,219

Note: Data include only new district court commitments in the Federal Bureau of Prisons whose sentencing year was 1998 or later. Old law offenders, D.C. Superior Court 

commitments, state boarders, and other nondistrict court commitments are excluded.

aIncludes marijuana plants, hashish, and other marijuana derivatives.

bIncludes methamphetamine mixtures and precursors, such as ephedrine.

cIncludes all other drug types (pharmaceuticals such as oxycontin and MDMA or ecstasy) in federal cases not included in the other categories. 

dThough data regarding 924(c) charges are available prior to 1998, specific offense characteristics for weapons use are only available starting in the FY 1998 dataset. To 

make the percentages consistent, only cases after 1998 are considered in this table.

eIncludes 1,090 drug offenders with missing primary drug types.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from U.S. Sentencing Commission, fiscal years 1998–2012; and Federal Bureau of Prisons, SENTRY data base, fiscal 

yearend 2012.
DRUG OFFENDERS IN FEDERAL PRISON: ESTIMATES OF CHARACTERISTICS BASED ON LINKED DATA | OCTOBER 2015 6

The average prison sentence of drug offenders in 

federal prison was 11.3 years 

The total prison term imposed on federal drug offenders 

was more than 11 years on average. The median prison term 

was 10 years. Almost two-thirds (65%) of offenders were 

sentenced to a term of imprisonment of more than 5 years 

up to and including 20 years. Thirteen percent of federal 

drug offenders were sentenced to a term of imprisonment 

greater than 20 years, while less than 1% were sentenced to a 

term of 1 year or less (table 6).

Marijuana offenders had the shortest prison terms 

Marijuana offenders had the shortest average term of 

imprisonment of all drug types. The average sentence was 

more than 7 years (88 months) and the median was 5 years 

(60 months). A majority of marijuana offenders received a 

sentence of more than 1 year up to and including 5 years 

in prison. In comparison, crack cocaine offenders had the 

longest average and median prison terms. On average, 

these offenders were sentenced to more than 14 years 

(170 months), while the median sentence was more than 

12.5 years (151 months). A majority (62%) of crack cocaine 

offenders were sentenced to more than 10 years in prison.

Table 6

Sentences imposed for federally sentenced drug offenders in the Federal Bureau of Prisons at fiscal yearend 2012, by drug 

type

Sentence length All drug types Powder cocaine Crack cocaine Heroin Marijuanaa Methamphetamineb Otherc

Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

1 year or less 0.6 0.1 0.1 0.3 1.2 0.1 1.0

1–5 21.8 21.0 10.3 28.0 51.0 15.7 40.9

5–10 31.0 32.4 27.8 34.4 25.8 35.4 32.1

10–20 33.7 34.4 40.1 28.4 16.2 38.9 21.8

20 or mored 12.9 12.0 21.8 9.0 5.8 9.9 4.3%

Meane 136 mos. 135 mos. 170 mos. 120 mos. 88 mos. 138 mos. 96 mos.

Mediane 120 mos. 120 mos. 151 mos. 105 mos. 60 mos. 120 mos. 72 mos.

Numberf 94,215 23,883 26,158 5,782 11,517 21,963 3,241

Note: Data include only new district court commitments in the Federal Bureau of Prisons whose sentencing year was 1994 or later. Old law offenders, D.C. Superior Court 

commitments, state boarders, and other nondistrict court commitments are excluded. Detail may sum to more than 100% due to rounding.

aIncludes marijuana plants, hashish, and other marijuana derivatives.

bIncludes methamphetamine mixtures and precursors, such as ephedrine.

cIncludes all other drug types (pharmaceuticals such as oxycontin and MDMA or ecstasy) in federal cases not included in the other categories. 

dIncludes life and death sentences. 

eExcludes 1,945 life sentences.

f

Includes 1,638 drug offenders with missing drug types.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from U.S. Sentencing Commission, fiscal years 1994–2012; and Federal Bureau of Prisons, SENTRY data base, fiscal 

yearend 2012.
DRUG OFFENDERS IN FEDERAL PRISON: ESTIMATES OF CHARACTERISTICS BASED ON LINKED DATA | OCTOBER 2015 7

Methodology

These analyses are based on a data file built from the 

population of new U.S. district court commitments in 

the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) at fiscal yearend 

2012. These prisoners made up 87% of the federal prison 

population at that time. Pre-sentencing admissions, 

offenders sentenced prior to the Sentencing Reform Act 

of 1984, and others who were not new U.S. district court 

commitments (e.g., supervision violators, D.C. Superior 

Court commitments, or state boarders) were excluded. For 

more information about offenders who were included or 

excluded for the purposes of linking, see Dataset composition 

and definition of drug offender below. For the remaining 

188,988 prisoners, probabilistic linking methods were used 

to link each BOP record with a U.S. Sentencing Commission 

(USSC) record corresponding to that prisoner’s shared 

identifying information. USSC files from FY 1994 to FY 

2012 were used for these purposes.

Linking the BOP and the USSC datasets is useful because 

the BOP does not publicly provide certain data fields 

that are available in the USSC dataset, including criminal 

history information, offense characteristics, and sentencing 

information (e.g., whether an offender was convicted of 

an offense carrying a mandatory minimum penalty and 

whether that penalty was applied at sentencing). For drug 

offenders, the USSC also provides information about up 

to five drug types involved in the instant offense (the most 

recent offense for which the individual was sentenced and 

incarcerated), along with the weight of each type. This report 

uses the USSC primary drug type data.

Probabilistic matching techniques were applied across 

personally identifiable information such as name, date of 

birth, and sentencing year to link records between the two 

different data sources.6 Of the 188,988 federally sentenced 

prisoners included in the initial dataset, 97% had valid 

matches in the USSC data (table 7). There are many reasons 

why a person may not be matched to a USSC record. The 

two primary technical reasons are (1) a person is in prison 

for Class B or C misdemeanors not covered by the 

U.S. Sentencing Guidelines7 and (2) a person was sentenced 

pursuant to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines but prior to 1994, 

when the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) introduced the 

Federal Justice Statistics Program standard analysis files and 

dyad link files.

A Jaro-Winkler score threshold of 0.70 was used by the 

matching algorithm; names that matched below that level 

were excluded from this dataset. A comparison of linked 

and unlinked records by primary offense category shows 

that two offense types—violent offenses and immigration 

offenses—were over-represented in the unlinked population 

relative to the linked population (table 8). This is consistent 

with possible reasons for exclusion, as violent offenders 

typically receive very long sentences (certain violent 

offenders sentenced to long prison terms prior to 1994 

will be unlinked in this dataset) and a significant share of 

immigration offenders may be Class B and C misdemeanants 

not sentenced in U.S. district 

court pursuant to the federal sentencing guidelines, and 

therefore would not be included in the USSC dataset or in 

the linked file.

6For more detailed information about the linking methodology employed, 

see Kelly, J. (2012). Federal Justice Statistics Program Data Linking System 

(NCJ 239536). Washington, DC: Urban Institute.

7The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines do not apply to Class B and C 

misdemeanor offenses handled by U.S. magistrate judges; however, these 

offenders may receive short prison terms and therefore would be included 

in the BOP data.

Table 7

Dataset construction: dataset universe and linkage rate

Dataset universe Number of observations

Bureau of Prisons raw data extract for fiscal 

 yearend 2012 stock prisoners 218,228

Prisoners in for new U.S. District Court 

 commitments (new law only) prior to or including 

 FY 2012

188,988 

Bureau of Prisons stock records that linked to 

 U.S. Sentencing Commission data files 183,167

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from U.S. Sentencing 

Commission, fiscal years 1994–2012; and Federal Bureau of Prisons, SENTRY data 

base, fiscal yearend 2012.

Dataset composition and definition of 

drug offender

This report focuses on the subset of 94,678 federally 

sentenced prisoners in the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) 

on a new U.S. district court commitment whose most serious 

instant offense (as classified by the BOP) was a drug offense, 

and who had valid links to an observation in the United 

States Sentencing Commission (USSC) database. The universe 

of offenders analyzed in this report was a product of (1) the 

linking methodology and (2) the definition of drug offenders 

used in the report.

The base dataset used for linking includes only federally 

sentenced offenders in BOP for a new U.S. district court 

commitment. Offenders serving time in prison for a violation 

of probation or supervised release were excluded from the 

dataset, although they were sentenced at an earlier time. 

Violators are different from new commitments, differing 

in terms of age, race, sex, and citizenship (table 9). Many 

noncitizens are not released back to the United States and are 

therefore not actively supervised by federal probation, thus 

accounting for the lower proportion of noncitizens among 

supervision violator returns to prison as compared to new 

court commitments.
DRUG OFFENDERS IN FEDERAL PRISON: ESTIMATES OF CHARACTERISTICS BASED ON LINKED DATA | OCTOBER 2015 8

Table 8

Primary offense category of federally sentenced offenders in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, by linking status, 

fiscal yearend 2012

Most serious offensea

Unlinked records Linked records

Numberb Percentc Numberb Percentc

Total 5,809 100% 181,964 100%

Violent offense 453 7.8% 8,704 4.8%

Property offense 139 2.4% 10,749 5.9%

Fraudulent 114 2.0 9,119 5.0

Other 25 0.4 1,630 0.9

Drug offense 2,536 43.7% 94,678 52.0%

Trafficking 2,486 42.8 94,421 51.9

Possession 49 0.8 247 0.1

Otherd 1 -- 10 --

Public order offense 263 4.5% 8,733 4.8%

Regulatory 28 0.5 2,421 1.3

Other 235 4.1 6,312 3.5

Sex offense 88 1.5% 10,099 5.6%

Weapon offense 501 8.6% 27,969 15.4%

Immigration offense 1,829 31.5% 21,032 11.6%

-- Less than 0.05%.

aBased on the most serious offense, as determined by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) based on length of sentence imposed. See Methodology and Dataset 

composition and definition of drug offender text box.

bIncludes only new district court commitments in the federal Bureau of Prisons whose sentencing year was 1994 or later. Old law offenders, D.C. Superior Court 

commitments, state boarders, and other nondistrict court commitments are excluded.

cPercentages are based on records not missing offense type. There were 22 unlinked records missing offense type and 1,203 linked records missing offense type.

dIncludes investing illegal drug profits, operating a commercial carrier under the influence, and drug offenses that involve using the U.S. Postal Service.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from U.S. Sentencing Commission, fiscal years 1994–2012; and Federal Bureau of Prisons, SENTRY data base, fiscal 

yearend 2012.

Table 9

Demographic characteristics of offenders in federal prison, by commitment type, fiscal yearend 2012

New commitmentsa Violatorsb

Characteristic Number Percent Number Percent

Total 183,167 100% 7,179 100%

Sex

Male 171,122 93.4% 6,546 91.2%

Female 12,045 6.6 633 8.8

Race/Hispanic origin

Whitec 49,547 27.1% 2,191 30.5%

Black/African Americanc 63,616 34.7 2,957 41.2

Hispanic/Latino 64,256 35.1 1,554 21.7

Asian/Pacific Islanderc 2,738 1.5 76 1.1

American Indian/Alaska Nativec 3,010 1.6 401 5.6

Age

17 or younger 35 -- 7 0.1%

18–19 941 0.5% 30 0.4

20–29 38,833 21.2 1,749 24.4

30–39 70,383 38.4 2,988 41.6

40 or older 72,975 39.8 2,405 33.5

Citizenshipd

U.S. citizen 135,260 73.9% 6,586 91.8%

Non-U.S. citizen 47,907 26.2 590 8.2

--Less than 0.05%.

aInclude only new district court commitments in the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) whose sentencing year was 1994 or later. Old law offenders, D.C. Superior Court 

commitments, state boarders, and other nondistrict court commitments are excluded.

bInclude revocations from supervised release and federal probation. Old law offenders, D.C. Superior Court felons, and other nonfederally sentenced populations under 

supervision are excluded.

cExcludes persons of Hispanic or Latino origin.

dAll demographic variables from the BOP, except for 76 missing values for citizenship used from the U.S. Sentencing Commission dataset.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from U.S. Sentencing Commission, fiscal years 1994–2012; and Federal Bureau of Prisons, SENTRY data base, fiscal 

yearend 2012.
DRUG OFFENDERS IN FEDERAL PRISON: ESTIMATES OF CHARACTERISTICS BASED ON LINKED DATA | OCTOBER 2015 9

This report uses the BOP’s classification of most serious 

offense, which differs from that of the USSC, to define drug 

offenders in federal prison. In comparison, the USSC uses 

the statutory maximum to determine the most serious 

offense. As a result, this report does not include all persons 

who have committed a federal drug offense and instead 

focuses on prisoners whom BOP classified as drug offenders 

because the drug offense carried the longest sentence 

imposed. 

To identify drug offenders for this analysis, BOP’s most 

serious offense categorization (which relies on the longest 

sentence imposed) was used. Alternative methods of 

identifying drug offenders in BOP custody could have 

expanded the definition to include secondary charges or to 

rely on USSC’s categorization of most serious offense, which 

primarily depends on the statutory maximum. The USSC 

criteria would have yielded a slightly different population of 

prisoners considered to be drug offenders (table 10).

Another definition of drug offender could be any individual 

serving time for a drug offense, rather than any offender 

whose most serious offense is drug related. This would 

include other offenders who have more serious primary 

charges, as categorized by both the BOP and USSC, for 

which they were sentenced in addition to a secondary or 

tertiary drug charge. This criterion would have yielded 

102,012 persons who were serving time for a drug offense, 

although that offense may not have been the most serious 

charge of conviction. Most of the remaining offenders had a 

weapons offense as the most serious offense (table 11).

Table 10

Drug offense categorization of federally sentenced 

offenders in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, by agency, fiscal 

yearend 2012

Offense categorization by 

U.S. Sentencing Commission

Offense categorization 

by the Bureau of Prisons

Totala Drug Nondrugb

Total 183,167 94,678 88,489

Drug 95,840 91,062 4,778

Nondrugb 87,327 3,616 83,711 aIncludes only new district court commitments in the Federal Bureau of Prisons 

whose sentencing year was 1994 or later. Old law offenders, D.C. Superior Court 

commitments, state boarders, and other nondistrict court commitments are 

excluded.

bTotals of nondrug offenders include offenders missing primary offense category 

information. 

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from U.S. Sentencing 

Commission, fiscal years 1994–2012; and Federal Bureau of Prisons, SENTRY data 

base, fiscal yearend 2012.

Table 11

Most serious offense of offenders in federal prison with a 

drug charge, fiscal yearend 2012

Most serious offensea Numberb Percentc

Total 102,012 100%

Violent offense 201 0.2%

Property offense 196 0.2%

Fraudulent 131 0.1

Other 65 0.1

Drug offense 94,194 92.4%

Public order offense 1,061 1.0%

Regulatory 80 0.1

Other 981 1.0

Sex offense 22 --

Weapon offense 5,894 5.8%

Immigration offense 409 0.4%

--Less than 0.05%.

aBased on the most serious instant offense, as determined by the Federal Bureau 

of Prisons (BOP) based on length of sentence imposed. See Methodology and 

Dataset composition and definition of drug offender text box.

bIncludes only new district court commitments in the BOP whose sentencing 

year was 1994 or later. Old law offenders, D.C. Superior Court commitments, state 

boarders, and other nondistrict court commitments are excluded.

cPercentages are based on records not missing offense type. There were 

35 records missing offense type.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from U.S. Sentencing 

Commission, fiscal years 1994–2012; and Federal Bureau of Prisons, SENTRY data 

base, fiscal yearend 2012.
Office of Justice Programs

Innovation • Partnerships • Safer Neighborhoods

www.ojp.usdoj.gov

Celebrating

 35 years

The Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U.S. Department of Justice is the principal federal 

agency responsible for measuring crime, criminal victimization, criminal offenders, victims 

of crime, correlates of crime, and the operation of criminal and civil justice systems at the 

federal, state, tribal, and local levels. BJS collects, analyzes, and disseminates reliable and 

valid statistics on crime and justice systems in the United States, supports improvements 

to state and local criminal justice information systems, and participates with national and 

international organizations to develop and recommend national standards for justice statistics. 

William J. Sabol is director.

This report was written by Sam Taxy, Julie Samuels, and William Adams of Urban Institute. 

Mark Motivans and Rhonda Keith provided statistical verification and review.

Jill Thomas edited the report. Tina Dorsey produced the report.

October 2015, NCJ 248648

NCJ248648