STATE AND

FEDERAL

PRISONERS

Profiles of Inmate

Characteristics in

1991 and 1997

United States General Accounting Office

GAO Report to the Honorable

Charles B. Rangel

House of Representatives

May 2000

GAO/GGD-00-117

United States General Accounting Office General Government Division

Washington, D.C. 20548

Page 1 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

B-284249

May 24, 2000

The Honorable Charles B. Rangel

House of Representatives

Dear Mr. Rangel

In response to your request, we prepared profiles of felons incarcerated in

federal and state correctional facilities, using data provided by the

Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) from its

two most recent surveys1 of inmates in federal2 and state3 correctional

facilities. As agreed with your office, we addressed the following

questions:

• What were the overall profiles—personal demographics, family

background, criminal record, drug history, and treatment participation—

for state and for federal prison inmates in 1997 and were there any

differences between state and federal inmates or by current offense type,4

race, and gender?5

• In comparing the 1991 and 1997 profiles, were there any changes in the

overall profiles for state and for federal inmates or by current offense type,

race, and gender?

The BJS survey data provided detailed information on the individual

characteristics of state and federal prison inmates, as reported by the

inmates surveyed in 1991 and 1997. Appendix II contains additional

information on how the surveys were conducted and analyzed.

Below is a summary of key observations from the analysis presented in our

report regarding the overall profiles for state and for federal prison

1 BJS has sponsored regular periodic (i.e., every 5 or 6 years) surveys of inmates in state and/or federal

correctional institutions. The facilities included federal or state prisons, which usually house felons

(inmates sentenced to at least a year and a day for a criminal conviction), and not jails or juvenile

facilities.

2

Survey of Inmates in Federal Correctional Facilities (SIFCF), 1991 and 1997.

3

Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities (SISCF), 1991 and 1997.

4

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

5

For additional information on female prison inmates, see also Women in Prison: Issues and

Challenges Confronting U.S. Correctional Systems (GAO/GGD-00-22, Dec. 28, 1999).

Results in Brief
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Page 2 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

inmates in 1997, with some comparisons across offense type, race, and

gender. Comparing the 1991 and 1997 data, this discussion also identifies

changes in the profiles. Appendixes III through VI include more detailed

information on the overall profiles of state and federal prison inmates;

differences by current offense type, race, and gender; and changes in

profiles from 1991 to 1997.

Personal Demographics: Inmates’ gender, race, age, marital status,

children, education level, and employment status at the time of arrest

comprised the personal demographics category. Key observations within

this category included the following:

• In 1997, the majority of inmates in state and in federal prisons were male

(94 percent of state inmates and 93 percent of federal inmates), minority

(64 percent of state inmates and 65 percent of federal inmates were black

or Hispanic), and unmarried (17 percent of state inmates and 30 percent of

federal inmates were currently married).

• About 67 percent of federal and of state inmates in 1997 were between the

ages of 25 and 45. A higher percentage of state inmates, however, were

under age 25 (20 percent) than federal inmates (9 percent). Also,

minorities were more likely to be under age 35 than whites in both state

and federal prisons.

• Most inmates had either a high school degree (29 percent of state inmates

and 46 percent of federal inmates) or its equivalent (31 percent of state

inmates and 27 percent of federal inmates) in 1997. White inmates had

more education than did minority inmates in state and federal prisons.

• In 1997, at least two-thirds of both federal and state inmates reported being

employed in the month before their arrest.

Comparing 1991 and 1997, the primary changes in personal demographics

involved the age of inmates in state prisons and racial composition of

federal prisons:

• In state prisons in 1991, 32 percent of inmates were over age 35, as

compared with 42 percent in 1997.

• In federal prisons, in 1991, whites comprised 38 percent and blacks 30

percent of inmates, compared with 30 percent whites and 38 percent

blacks in 1997.
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Family Background: Family background characteristics included the

person with whom the inmate lived while growing up, whether either

parent abused alcohol or drugs, and whether the inmate had been

physically or sexually abused as a child. These data indicated the

following:

• In 1997, 44 percent of state inmates and 54 percent of federal inmates

reported growing up in homes with both parents present. However, a

higher percentage of whites and Hispanics (half or more of white and

Hispanic state inmates and about two-thirds of white and Hispanic federal

inmates) than blacks (about one-third of black state and federal inmates)

reported growing up in homes with both parents.

• Although in 1997, the majority of inmates reported no family history of

drug or alcohol abuse, 31 percent of the state inmates and 20 percent of

the federal inmates reported that they had lived with parents who abused

drugs or alcohol.

• While most inmates in 1997, reported that they had experienced no sexual

or physical abuse as children, differences between men and women were

dramatic. Among female inmates in 1997, 36 percent of state inmates and

25 percent of federal inmates reported that they had been physically or

sexually abused as children; the corresponding percentages for men were

14 percent in state prisons and 6 percent in federal prisons. In state and

federal prisons in 1997, higher percentages of violent offenders (19 and 15

percent, respectively) reported that they had experienced some abuse as

children, as compared with property offenders (15 and 7 percent,

respectively) or drug offenders (9 and 5 percent, respectively).

No notable changes in family demographics occurred between 1991 and

1997.

Criminal Record: The criminal record information for state and federal

inmates included self-reported data on their current offense type; criminal

justice status at the time of arrest; prior sentences; and for drug offenders,

the type of drug involved in the current offense. Regarding criminal

records, one of the most distinctive differences between the two prison

systems in 1997 was in the types of offenders they housed. While state

inmates were most frequently incarcerated for violent crimes, federal

offenders were most frequently incarcerated for drug crimes:

• In state prisons in 1997, 47 percent of the inmates reported that they had

been sentenced for violent crimes, 22 percent for property crimes, and 20
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Page 4 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

percent for drug crimes. By comparison, 15 percent of federal inmates

reported that they had been sentenced for violent crimes, 6 percent for

property crimes, and 62 percent for drug crimes, as shown in figure 1.

• In both federal and state prisons in 1997, minority inmates were more

likely to be incarcerated for drug crimes. Female inmates were also more

likely than male inmates to be incarcerated for drug crimes, while male

inmates were more likely to be incarcerated for violent crimes.

Source: GAO analysis of data from Survey of Inmates in Federal Correctional Facilities (SIFCF), 1997

and Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities (SISCF), 1997.

Most of state prison inmates reported that they had been incarcerated

previously, and many reported that they were under judicial supervision at

the time of their arrest. State inmates were more likely than federal

inmates to have been previously incarcerated or under supervision at the

time of their arrest.

• Seventy-five percent of state inmates and 60 percent of federal inmates in

1997 reported that they had served prior sentences.

Figure 1: State and Federal Inmate Populations in 1997, by Offense Type
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Page 5 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

• Forty-six percent of state inmates and 27 percent of federal inmates in

1997 reported that they were on probation or parole at the time of their

most recent arrest.

Drug offenders in both state and federal prisons reported crack cocaine

and powder cocaine as the drugs most commonly involved in the current

conviction, followed by methamphetamines and marijuana. Among state

and federal prison populations:

• Higher percentages of black drug offenders (state 59 percent and federal

54 percent) than Hispanic (17 percent and 7 percent) and white (11

percent and 6 percent) drug offenders reported crack cocaine as the

associated drug.

• Although black drug offenders (state 30 percent and federal 40 percent)

were also more likely than white drug offenders (29 percent and 30

percent) to indicate powder cocaine as the drug involved in their current

offense, Hispanics (43 percent and 51 percent) were more likely than

blacks or whites to report powder cocaine as the associated drug.

• In contrast, higher percentages of white drug offenders (state 36 percent

and federal 32 percent) than black (0.7 percent and 0.2 percent) or

Hispanic (10 percent and 7 percent) drug offenders identified

methamphetamines as the drug associated with their current offense.

• White (state 20 percent and federal 30 percent) and Hispanic (18 percent

and 26 percent) drug offenders were more likely than black (8 percent and

6 percent) drug offenders to indicate that marijuana was the drug

associated with their current offense.

There were few changes between the 1991 and the 1997 criminal records

reported by state prison inmates. However, there were a few differences

for federal prison inmates:

• The percentage of federal inmates who reported no prior sentences

decreased by almost 10-percentage points from 1991 to 1997, while the

percentage of inmates who reported 3 or more prior sentences increased

by 8 percentage points.

• In federal prisons, the percentage of drug offenses involving powder

cocaine decreased from 53 percent in 1991 to 41 percent in 1997. In

contrast, the percentage of reported crack-associated drug offenses

increased from 9 percent in 1991 to 26 percent in 1997.
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Drug Histories: The drug histories of the total populations of state and

federal offenders included data on the percentages of inmates who

reported (1) using various drugs in the month before their arrest or (2)

being under the influence of various drugs at the time of their arrest. The

data showed the following patterns for both state and federal inmates:

• For the most part, marijuana was most commonly reported by inmates as

the drug used in the month before arrest. Female inmates in state prisons,

however, reported having used crack cocaine slightly more often than

marijuana in the month before their arrest.

• Moreover, more inmates reported that they had been under the influence

of alcohol at the time of their arrest than any other drug.

• Drug and alcohol use were common among both nondrug offenders and

drug offenders. For example, the percentages of property offenders in

state prisons who reported that they had used crack or powder cocaine in

the month before their current arrest, and who reported that they had been

under the influence of crack or powder cocaine at the time of their arrest,

were very similar to the percentages of drug offenders.

The patterns of drug use reported by inmates in state and federal prisons

changed little in 1997, as compared with 1991.

• Higher percentages of federal inmates in 1997 (30 percent) than in 1991 (19

percent) reported using marijuana. The rates of marijuana use increased

for both male and female federal inmates.

• The percentage of female state inmates who reported having used crack

increased from 19 percent in 1991 to 30 percent in 1997.

• White and black federal inmates were more likely in 1997 (21 and 21

percent, respectively) than in 1991 (12 and 10 percent, respectively) to

report being under the influence of alcohol at the time of arrest.

• Higher percentages of federal inmates in 1997 than in 1991 reported being

under the influence of alcohol at the time of their offense (20 and 11

percent, respectively).

Treatment Participation: We obtained data on reported inmate

participation in alcohol/drug programs. In 1997, 56 percent of state inmates

and 46 percent of federal inmates reported that they had participated in

alcohol/drug treatment programs. The percentage of inmates who
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Page 7 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

reported that they had participated in alcohol/drug programs in 1997, as

compared with 1991, did not change.

Additional profile information extracted from the BJS inmate surveys is

presented in appendixes III through VI.

DOJ officials reviewed a draft of this report and commented that it (1)

provided a comprehensive breakdown of state and federal populations by

offense type, race, and gender and (2) was consistent with BJS findings on

inmate characteristics, using the same survey data.

According to BJS, between 1990 and the end of 1998 the rate of

incarceration in our nation’s prisons increased from 292 to 461 sentenced

inmates per 100,000 residents. BJS data also showed that during that

period the number of prisoners under the jurisdiction of federal or state

adult correctional facilities increased from 773,919 to 1,302,019—an

average annual increase of 6.7 percent (see fig. 2).

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prisoners in 1996 and Prisoners in 1998.

Background

Figure 2: Growth in U.S. Prison

Population, 1990 Through 1998
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Page 8 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

The relative percentage of inmates in state and federal prisons has

remained the same, with approximately 91 and 9 percent of inmates in

state and federal prisons, respectively. The states operate more than 1,000

prison facilities primarily to confine violators of state and territorial laws,

and the federal government operates about 100 prison facilities primarily

to confine persons convicted of federal crimes. The federal prison system

is administered by the DOJ’s Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

The data on which we relied for the inmate profiles in this report came

from surveys conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census for BJS in 1991

and 1997. Between 1974 and 1997, BJS sponsored periodic surveys of

inmates in state and federal correctional institutions6

—five of state and

two of federal prison inmates. The BJS survey data consisted of selfreported answers provided by a random, probability sample of inmates in

confidential personal interviews conducted by Census Bureau interviewers

in federal and state correctional facilities. The Census Bureau collected the

data using standard social survey techniques. BJS has analyzed the sample

survey data to provide estimates for the entire population of federal and

state inmates. In addition, to obtain background information and

perspective, we also reviewed selected relevant academic, BJS, and other

publications.

In this report, we presented the characteristics of inmates incarcerated in

federal and in state correctional facilities; identified changes in the 1997

characteristics reported, as compared with those reported in 1991; and

pointed out differences in the characteristics of state and federal inmates.

We did not, however, attempt to explain the characteristics, changes, or

differences reported.

We performed our work from October 1999 through April 2000 in

accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.

Appendix I of this report includes additional information on the methods

we followed in analyzing and presenting these data.

We provided a draft of this report to the Attorney General for comment.

Representatives of the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), BJS, and BOP

reviewed the draft. On May 16, 2000, the OJP liaison provided consolidated

comments from these agencies. The officials stated that the report

provided a comprehensive breakdown of state and federal inmate

populations by offense type, race, and gender. In addition, they said that its

6

BOP officials noted that BOP had paid for the 1991 federal inmate survey and shared the cost of the

1997 survey.

Scope and

Methodology

Agency Comments and

Our Evaluation
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Page 9 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

findings, with regard to inmate personal demographics, family background,

criminal records, and drug histories were consistent with those reported

by BJS using the same survey data. DOJ officials also provided some

technical comments, which have been incorporated, where appropriate.

As arranged with your office, unless you publicly announce the contents of

this report earlier, we plan no further distribution until 30 days after the

date of this report. At that time, we will send copies of this report to

Senator Orrin Hatch, Chairman, and Senator Patrick Leahy, Ranking

Minority Member, Senate Committee on the Judiciary; Representative

Henry Hyde, Chairman and Representative John Conyers, Ranking

Minority Member, House Committee on the Judiciary; the Honorable Janet

Reno, Attorney General; the Honorable Jan M. Chaiken, Director, Bureau

of Justice Statistics; and the Honorable Kathleen Hawk Sawyer, Director,

Bureau of Prisons. Copies of this report will be made available to others

upon request.

If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact me

or Daniel C. Harris on (202) 512-8777. Key contributors to this assignment

are acknowledged in appendix VII.

Sincerely yours,

Richard M. Stana

Associate Director,

Administration of Justice Issues
Page 10 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Contents

1 Letter

14

Objectives 14

Overview of Our Scope and Methodology 14

Appendix I

Objectives, Scope, and

Methodology

17

BJS Uses a Two-Stage Process to Develop Its Samples 17

National Estimates of Prison Inmate Characteristics 18

Other BJS Reports Provided Information on U.S. Prison

Inmates

18

Appendix II

Bureau of Justice

Statistics Surveys of

State and Federal

Prison Inmates

19

Overall Profiles of State Inmates 19

Overall Profile of Federal Prison Inmates 26

Differences Between the Overall State and Federal Prison

Inmate Profiles

34

Appendix III

Overall Profiles of

State and Federal

Prison Inmates

36

Profiles of State Inmates by Type of Current Offense 36

Profile of Federal Inmates by Type of Current Offense 42

Differences Between State and Federal Prison Inmate

Profiles

49

Appendix IV

Profiles of State and

Federal Prison Inmates

by Type of Current

Offense

52

Profiles of State Inmates by Race 52

Differences Between State and Federal Prison Inmate

Profiles

68

Appendix V

Profiles of State and

Federal Prison Inmates

by Race

70

Profiles of Male and Female State Inmates 70 Appendix VI

Profiles of State and

Federal Prison Inmates

by Gender

Profiles of Federal Male and Female Prison Inmates 76
Contents

Page 11 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Differences Between State and Federal Prison Inmate

Profiles

83

Appendix VII 84

GAO Contacts and

Staff

Acknowledgments

Glossary 85

Bibliography 87

Table III.1: Overall Profile of State Prison Inmates, 1997 20

Table III.2: Overall Profile of State Prison Inmates, 1991 25

Table III.3: Overall Profile of Federal Prison Inmates,

1997

27

Table III.4: Overall Profile of Federal Prison Inmates,

1991

32

Table IV.1: Profile of State Prison Inmates by Type of

Current Offense, 1997

37

Table IV.2: Profile of State Prison Inmates by Type of

Current Offense, 1991

41

Table IV.3: Profile of Federal Prison Inmates by Type of

Current Offense, 1997

43

Table IV.4: Profile of Federal Prison Inmates by Type of

Current Offense, 1991

47

Table V.1: Profile of State Prison Inmates by Race, 1997 53

Table V.2: State Inmates With Children, by Race, 1997 55

Table V.3: Profile of State Prison Inmates by Race, 1991 57

Table V.4: State Inmates With Children, by Race, 1991 59

Table V.5: Profile of Federal Prison Inmates by Race,

1997

61

Table V.6: Federal Inmates With Children, by Race, 1997 63

Table V.7: Profile of Federal Prison Inmates by Race,

1991

66

Table V.8: Federal Inmates With Children, by Race, 1991 68

Table VI.1: Profile of State Prison Inmates by Gender,

1997

71

Tables

Table VI.2: Profile of State Prison Inmates by Gender,

1991

75
Contents

Page 12 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Table VI.3: Profile of Federal Prison Inmates by Gender,

1997

77

Table VI.4: Profile of Federal Prison Inmates by Gender,

1991

81

Figure 1: State and Federal Inmate Populations in 1997,

by Offense Type

4

Figure 2: Growth in U.S. Prison Population, 1990

Through 1998

7

Figures

Abbreviations

BJS Bureau of Justice Statistics

BOP Bureau of Prisons

DOJ Department of Justice

SIFCF Survey of Inmates in Federal Correctional Facilities

SISCF Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities

OJP Office of Justice Programs
Page 13 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles
Appendix I

Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Page 14 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

In response to a request from Congressman Charles B. Rangel, this report

provides information on the self-reported characteristics of federal and

state prison inmates in 1991 and 1997. Specifically, we developed profiles

that address the following questions:

• What were the overall profiles—personal demographics, family

background, criminal record, drug history, and treatment participation—

for state and for federal prison inmates in 1997 and were there any

differences between state and federal inmates or by current offense type,1

race, and gender?2

• In comparing the 1991 and 1997 profiles, were there any changes in the

overall profiles for state and for federal inmates or by current offense type,

race, and gender?

To address each of the questions, we relied on federal and state prison

inmate survey data collected by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, U.S.

Department of Commerce, for the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), an

agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. Specifically, BJS provided

information to us from its 1991 and 1997 Survey of Inmates in State

Correctional Facilities (SISCF) and 1991 and 1997 Survey of Inmates in

Federal Correctional Facilities (SIFCF). (See app. II for a description of

the BJS survey.) For 1991, we obtained the SISCF and SIFCF survey data

sets, which are publicly available from BJS. However, the data sets for BJS’

1997 surveys were not publicly available at the time of our review. To

enable us to do our work, BJS provided data tables for specific information

we requested from the 1997 SISCF and SIFCF surveys.3

In addition, we

obtained BJS and Census Bureau documents and reports needed to

interpret the 1991 and 1997 BJS survey data. The Census Bureau

conducted the surveys in accordance with standard social survey methods.

The accuracy of the percentages derived from these surveys depends upon

two types of errors: sampling errors and nonsampling errors. Sampling

1

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

2

For additional information on female prison inmates, see also Women in Prison: Issues and

Challenges Confronting U.S. Correctional Systems (GAO/GGD-00-22, Dec. 28, 1999).

3

In response to the initial request, we attempted to obtain information on vocational training received

by state and federal inmates; however, 1997 BJS survey data on vocational training were not available

at the time of our review. We also attempted to obtain information on mental health problems among

inmates and whether inmates had been treated for such problems; however, data for 1991 and 1997

were not comparable. Information on inmate mental health can be found in Paula Ditton, Mental

Health and Treatment of Inmates and Probationers, Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, U.S.

Department of Justice, July 1999.

Objectives

Overview of Our Scope

and Methodology
Appendix I

Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Page 15 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

error is the variation that occurs by chance because a sample rather than a

complete enumeration of the population was studied. Nonsampling errors

arise from the practical difficulties of conducting a survey. For example,

respondents may misinterpret questions or interviewers may not

accurately record answers. For the BJS survey all of the information,

including information about factual matters, comes from the inmates’ own

answers to the questionnaires. We made no attempt to independently

verify inmates’ answers about subjects such as type of offense or

participation in educational programs. The amount of nonsampling error in

these and other sample surveys cannot be fully assessed. The Census

Bureau took steps to reduce nonsampling errors in the BJS surveys by

pledging that answers would be confidential, drawing a sample from a

complete list of the population, achieving a response rate of over 90

percent, and adjusting for some characteristics of nonrespondents. The

use of similar questions in 1991 and 1997 facilitated comparisons between

surveys--although in a few instances variations in question wording,

ordering, or the context in which questions were asked made assessing

changes over time more difficult. This was particularly true of questions

pertaining to physical and sexual abuse and being under the influence of

alcohol at the time of arrest.

The amount of uncertainty due to sampling errors can be expressed as

confidence intervals. For the percentages in this report, the uncertainty is

expressed using 95-percent confidence intervals that are ranges of values

that would be expected to include the correct inmate population results 19

out of 20 times that a sample of this type is studied. The percentages

presented in this report are for the total state and total federal inmate

populations for both 1991 and 1997 and for eight subgroups of those

populations based on sex, race (white, black, and Hispanic), and offender

type (drug, violent, and property). Information available from the BJS

survey reports indicated that the 95-percent confidence intervals for all but

two of these groups are less than plus or minus 6-percentage points of the

reported percentage. For the 1997 federal survey, the confidence intervals

are estimated to be wider for two groups--violent offenders (+/- 7 percent)

and property offenders (+/-11 percent). For comparisons of all other

groups, we are 95-percent confident that differences of at least 8

percentage points between groups are statistically significant and thus are

not due to sampling error. Many smaller differences would also be

statistically significant. In this report, we primarily noted differences of at

least 8 percentage points to identify differences that were statistically

significant.
Appendix I

Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Page 16 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

All of our estimated confidence intervals are based on approximate

predictors of sampling errors calculated in the Census Bureau’s analyses.

We could not directly compute sampling errors because the 1997 data were

not yet available for analysis and because the 1991 data set that we

analyzed did not contain sufficient information about the respondents’

sampling groups. The sampling errors from the Census Bureau’s analyses

were provided in the form of generalized variance functions that

summarize the relationship between the size of a population group and the

amount of sampling error for a broad range of variables. The Census

Bureau’s analyses provided these generalized variance functions for the

total population; two gender groups and, for all but one of the 1991 federal

prisons, three racial groups. For the three racial groups for federal prisons

in 1991 and for the offender types (drug, violent, and property) in all years,

we adopted a variance function from the same year and survey (state or

federal) for the sex or race group that predicted the least precise sampling

error. The estimate of the sampling error for each percentage discussed in

this report is approximate since it represents a summary of the calculated

sampling errors for many types of variables rather than the sampling error

for the specific variable discussed.

To enhance our analysis and interpretation of the SISCF and SIFCF data,

we reviewed related BJS reports, selected academic articles and other

publications, and discussed our analysis of the BJS data with BJS officials.

We incorporated this information as appropriate.

We conducted our work between October 1999 and April 2000, in

accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.
Appendix II

Bureau of Justice Statistics Surveys of State

and Federal Prison Inmates

Page 17 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

To provide detailed information on individual characteristics of prison

inmates, BJS has sponsored periodic (i.e., every 5 or 6 years) surveys of

inmates in state and/or federal correctional institutions. Between 1974 and

1997, BJS sponsored five state and two federal prison inmate surveys. In

1991 and 1997, the U.S. Bureau of the Census conducted the Survey of

Inmates of State Correctional Institutions (SISCF) for BJS and Survey of

Inmates of Federal Correctional Institutions (SIFCF) for BJS and the

Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Similar surveys of state inmates were

also conducted in 1974, 1979, and 1986. For the 1991 survey year, BJS

based its estimates on 765,649 inmates (711,642 inmates in state

correctional facilities and 54,006 sentenced inmates in the custody of

federally owned and operated facilities). For the 1997 survey, BJS based its

estimates on 1,148,679 inmates (1,059,607 inmates in state correctional

facilities and 89,072 sentenced inmates in the custody of federally owned

and operated facilities). The questionnaires used in the state and federal

facilities in 1991 and 1997 contained many identical questions that

facilitated comparison between the surveys.

All of these surveys are based on two-stage, probability sample designs. At

the first stage a sample of prisons was selected. At the second stage a

sample of inmates was selected from each prison.

Specifically, at the first stage a sample of prisons was selected from the

universe of state and federal correctional institutions enumerated in the

1990 or 1995 Census of State and Federal Adult Correctional Facilities or

opened after the completion of the 1990 census or by June 30, 1996,

respectively, for the 1991 and 1997 surveys. The universe of institutions for

the 1991 survey included 1,239 state prisons and the 72 federally owned

and operated facilities that held sentenced inmates as of March 1991. In

1997, the universe included 1,409 state prisons and 91 federally owned and

operated facilities that held sentenced inmates as of June 30, 1996.

In each survey year, male and female facilities were sampled separately at

different rates. The state sample of facilities was stratified by geographic

area in both years. The samples of facilities were also stratified by facility

type (confinement-based and community-based facilities) and/or security

level. Within security levels, facilities were ordered by size of population

and then selected with probability proportionate to size.

The number of facilities from which inmates samples were drawn were

similar in both survey years. In 1991, the federal survey included 53

facilities (45 male, 8 female) and the state sample included 273 facilities

(222 male, 47 female, and 4 facilities that housed both male and female

BJS Uses a Two-Stage

Process to Develop Its

Samples
Appendix II

Bureau of Justice Statistics Surveys of State and Federal Prison Inmates

Page 18 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

imates) of which 3 were ultimately not surveyed. In 1997, the initial federal

survey sample included 40 facilities (32 male, 8 female), all of which were

in the final sample. The initial 1997 state sample included 280 facilities (220

male, 60 female); however, 5 of the female facilities did not participate in

the survey, leaving a total of 275 state facilities of which 55 were female.

At the second stage, inmates were systematically selected for interviews

from lists of all inmates at the selected facilities, with a total number of

interviews based on the size of the facility and sex of the inmates held. To

obtain a more balanced sample at federal facilities in 1997, drug offenders

in these facilities were subsampled at a lower rate than other offenders.

The 1991 survey interviews were carried out from June to August in 1991,

with 13,986 interviews (11,163 male, 2,823 female) and 6,572 interviews

(4,991 male, 1,581 female) obtained for the state and federal surveys,

respectively. The 1997 interviews were carried out from June to October

1997, with 14,285 interviews (11,344 male, 2,941 female) and 4,041

interviews (3,173 male, 868 female) completed for the state and federal

surveys, respectively. The response rates were between 90 and 94 percent

for both federal and state surveys in each year.

The analyses of the survey data yield national estimates of the

characteristics of the prison population at the middle of 1991 and 1997. To

develop these estimates, BJS used weighting factors based on the original

probabilities of being selected into the sample that were adjusted for

nonresponse and information about the sex, race, age, and prison security

level of the total population. In 1997, information about type of offense

was also used.

Since the surveys are based on sample surveys, the results available from

the studies are estimates of the population characteristics and are subject

to sampling error. BJS provides information that allows readers to

estimate these sampling errors from the results of their analysis of the

general relationship between the estimated size of the population and the

magnitude of the sampling errors.

BJS has released several reports that present data from the 1991 and 1997

surveys, including publications that examine selected findings from the

survey results on issues such as the mental health of inmates and prior

physical or sexual abuse. In addition, BJS has published reports using

other data sources on state and federal prison inmates that are relevant to

the discussion of the 1991 and 1997 survey information. (See bibliography.)

National Estimates of

Prison Inmate

Characteristics

Other BJS Reports

Provided Information

on U.S. Prison Inmates
Appendix III

Overall Profiles of State and Federal Prison

Inmates

Page 19 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

This appendix presents overall profiles of state and of federal inmates,

including data on their personal demographics, family background,

criminal record, drug history, and treatment participation. These profiles

were developed from BJS self-reported survey data.1

The 1997 profiles for

both state and federal prison populations indicated that most inmates were

male, minority, unmarried, and were employed in the month before their

arrest. State inmates were younger than federal inmates, and most state

and federal inmates had at least a high school degree or its equivalent.

Most federal inmates and a large percentage of state inmates, as children,

lived in two-parent households, and most had not experienced sexual or

physical abuse or parental drug or alcohol abuse. The majority of both

state and federal inmates had served prior sentences.

Comparing the 1991 and 1997 profiles, the data showed few changes for

either the state or federal inmate populations. The federal inmate profiles

indicated some changes in the racial distribution, criminal records, and

drug histories.

State and federal inmate profiles showed several differences between the

two populations. For example, state inmates were younger than federal

inmates, and they tended to have more serious criminal records than

federal inmates. Moreover, a higher percentage of federal inmates than

state inmates were drug offenders, while higher percentages of state

inmates were violent offenders and property offenders.

According to BJS’ 1997 survey data, most state inmates were minority,

male, between the ages of 25 and 44, and employed at the time they were

arrested for their current offense. A slightly lower percentage of state

inmates reported violent crimes, as their current offense than reported all

categories of nonviolent crimes combined. Among drug offenders, state

inmates most frequently identified either powder or crack cocaine as the

drug associated with their current offense. However, state inmates most

frequently reported that they used marijuana in the month prior to their

arrest and were under the influence of alcohol at the time of the offense

(Data on alcohol usage in the month before inmate’s arrest were not

collected.). Although a comparison of the 1991 and 1997 overall state

1

Throughout appendixes III through VI, total percentages above or below 100 percent are usually due

to rounding. Where indicated, however, inmates may have been allowed to indicate more than one

answer, leading to total percentages greater than 100 percent. In some instances, missing data may

result in total percentages less than 100 percent. In rounding, when the value was exactly half way

between one desired rounding level and the next, we rounded the desired rounding level digit up when

that digit was an odd number and did not change the desired rounding level digit (that is, rounded

down) when it was an even number.

Overall Profiles of

State Inmates
Appendix III

Overall Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates

Page 20 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

inmate profiles showed little change in general, the 1997 data showed a

slightly larger percentage of inmates aged 35 or older.

Table III.1 summarizes selected personal demographic, family background,

criminal record, drug history, and treatment participation information for

inmates incarcerated in state prisons, estimated from BJS’ 1997 survey of

state prison inmates. The BJS survey results were based on a state prison

inmate population of 1,059,607. All percentages presented below for state

prison inmates in 1997 were calculated using this number as the base;

adjustments were not made to compensate for missing response rates to a

particular question.

Estimated number Percent

Personal demographics

Sex

Male 993,364 93.7

Female 66,242 6.3

Race

White 352,864 33.3

Black 492,676 46.5

Hispanic 179,998 17.0

Other 34,069 3.2

Age group

Under 25 209,343 19.8

25-34 404,034 38.1

35-44 311,999 29.4

45+ 134,231 12.7

Marital status

Never married 604,093 57.0

Married 175,717 16.6

Other 277,992 26.2

Education

Less than high school 415,804 39.2

GED 330,349 31.2

High school graduate 164,544 15.5

More than high school 141,137 13.3

Employment status in month before arrest

Employed 704,993 66.5

Not employed 329,003 31.0

Have children

Yes 695,160 65.6

No 354,655 33.5

Family background

Person lived with while growing up

Both mother and father 463,052 43.7

Mother only 408,275 38.5

Overall Profile of State

Inmates, 1997

Table III.1: Overall Profile of State Prison Inmates, 1997
Appendix III

Overall Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates

Page 21 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Estimated number Percent

Father only 38,026 3.6

Grandparents 87,220 8.2

Other 53,726 5.1

Either parent alcohol or drug abuse

None 711,567 67.2

Alcohol only 245,716 23.2

Drugs only 18,812 1.8

Alcohol and drugs 68,163 6.4

Abused as a childa

Physical only 99,823 9.4

Sexual only 31,435 3.0

Physical and sexual 34,295 3.2

None 884,192 83.4

Criminal records

Offense type

Violent 494,349 46.7

Property 230,177 21.7

Drug 216,254 20.4

Other 105,926 10.0

Type of drug involved in drug offenseb

Powder cocaine 70,523 32.9

Crack cocaine 85,824 40.0

Heroin 27,015 12.6

Marijuana 27,145 12.7

Methamphetamines 20,907 9.8

Other 5,344 2.5

Criminal justice status at time of arrest

None 551,072 52.0

Probation 255,007 24.1

Parole 231,745 21.9

Escape 7,359 0.7

Prior sentences

None 248,195 23.4

1 to 2 341,847 32.3

3 or more 446,843 42.2

Drug histories

Drug use in month before arrestc

Heroin 96,529 9.1

Powder cocaine 167,858 15.8

Crack cocaine 152,979 14.4

Marijuana 409,798 38.7

Other 157,843 14.9

Under influence at time of offensea, c

Heroin 58,018 5.5

Powder cocaine 78,390 7.4

Crack cocaine 87,719 8.3

Marijuana 156,933 14.8

Other 88,807 8.4

Alcohol 387,137 36.5
Appendix III

Overall Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates

Page 22 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Estimated number Percent

Treatment participation

Ever participated in alcohol/drug

program

Yes 591,469 55.8

No 456,464 43.1

Note: Unless otherwise noted, all percentages above were based on an estimated total population of

1,059,607 inmates in state prisons in 1997. Percentages may not add to 100 because of missing data

or rounding.

a

Some of the differences in the 1991 (see table III.2) and 1997 inmate reports of physical and sexual

abuse and being under the influence of alcohol at the time of arrest may have been due to changes in

question wording, order, and context.

b

These percentages were based on the estimated population total of 214,299 inmates who reported

being sentenced for drug offenses.

c

More than one drug may have been indicated.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

BJS’ 1997 state prison inmate survey produced the following estimated

demographic characteristics for inmates in state prisons:

• Ninety-four percent of state inmates were male and 6 percent were female.

• Minorities constituted the majority of state prison inmates; 46 percent

were black, and 17 percent were Hispanic. One-third of state inmates were

white.

• Sixty-eight percent of state inmates were between the ages of 25 and 44,

while 20 percent were under age 25, and 13 percent were age 45 or older.

• More than half of state inmates had never been married, while 17 percent

were married at the time of the survey.

• Sixty-six percent of state inmates had children at the time of the 1997

survey.

• Sixty percent of state inmates reported having at least a GED or high

school diploma, while nearly 40 percent reported having less than a high

school diploma.

• Two-thirds of the state inmates were employed during the month before

their arrest.

The 1997 survey revealed the following information about the reported

family background of state inmates:

• Forty-four percent of state prison inmates reported that they had grown up

in two-parent households; 38 percent reported that they had grown up with

only their mothers, 8 percent with grandparents, 4 percent with fathers,

and 5 percent with others.

• Almost 70 percent of state inmates reported that neither parent had abused

drugs or alcohol. Twenty-three percent of inmates indicated that one of

Personal Demographics

Family Background
Appendix III

Overall Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates

Page 23 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

their parents had abused alcohol. Few inmates indicated parental abuse of

both alcohol and drugs (6 percent) or drug abuse only (2 percent).

• Eighty-three percent of state prison inmates reported that they had not

experienced physical or sexual abuse as a child; 9 percent reported that

they had encountered physical abuse, 3 percent sexual abuse, and 3

percent both sexual and physical abuse.

Regarding criminal records, the BJS 1997 survey indicated the percentage

of state inmates who reported their current offense as a violent crime was

slightly less than the total percentage of inmates reporting all categories of

nonviolent crimes combined. Specifically,

• forty-seven percent of state prison inmates reported they were violent

offenders, and

• twenty percent reported they were drug offenders, 22 percent property

offenders, and 10 percent indicated other2 as their offense.

Drug offenders most frequently identified cocaine as the drug involved in

their current offense:3

• Thirty-three percent of drug offenders indicated powder cocaine and 40

percent indicated crack cocaine as the drug associated with their current

offense.

• Among the remaining drug offenders, 13 percent identified heroin, 13

percent marijuana, 10 percent methamphetamines, and 2 percent identified

“other”4 as the drug involved in their current offense.

Most state prison inmates had served prior sentences, but were not under

judicial supervision at the time of their arrest:

• Twenty-three percent reported having no prior sentence, 42 percent

reported having 3 or more prior sentences, and 32 percent reported having

1 to 2 prior sentences.

• At the time of arrest for their current offense, 52 percent of state inmates

had no criminal justice status, 24 percent were on probation, and 22

percent were on parole.

2

Other offenses included the BJS’ categories of public-order offenses (i.e., weapons and other public

order offenses, such as driving while intoxicated; escape from custody; regulatory violations; and

commercialized vice) and other offenses, which are not enumerated.

3

More than one drug might be associated with a single offense.

4 Other drugs include depressants and hallucinogens.

Criminal Records
Appendix III

Overall Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates

Page 24 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

State inmates most frequently identified marijuana as the drug used during

the month before their arrest and being under the influence of alcohol at

the time of the offense:5

• Almost 40 percent of state inmates indicated that they had used marijuana

during the month before their arrest

• Sixteen percent reported that they had used powder cocaine, 14 percent

crack cocaine, 9 percent heroin, and 15 percent used other drugs during

the month before their arrest.

• State inmates most frequently (36 percent) reported being under the

influence of alcohol at the time of their offense. Fifteen percent reported

that they were under the influence of marijuana at the time of their

offense. Less than 10 percent of state inmates reported being under the

influence of crack, powder cocaine, heroin, or other drugs at the time of

their offense.

The 1997 BJS survey provided information on whether state inmates had

ever participated in alcohol/drug programs. Fifty-six percent of state

prison inmates said that they had participated in such programs.

According to the BJS surveys, the total state prison population increased

from 711,642 in 1991 to 1,059,607 in 1997. A comparison of table III.1 with

table III.2, which provides information on selected characteristics from

BJS’ 1991 state prison inmate survey, showed few changes in the overall

1997 profiles of state inmates, as compared with 1991.

Most personal demographic characteristics of state inmates showed little

change from 1991 to 1997, with the exception of slight changes in the age

of inmates. The state inmate population aged slightly, with 42 percent of

state inmates being age 35 or older in 1997, compared with 32 percent in

1991.

In 1997, as compared with 1991, there were no significant changes in state

inmates’ family background characteristics, criminal records, and drug

histories. Since in 1991 BJS did not collect data on the drug involved in the

current offense of state drug offenders, we could not ascertain whether

there had been any changes in the drugs associated with drug offenses.

5 A single inmate might report more than one drug used in the month before or at the time of arrest.

Drug Histories

Treatment Participation

Few Changes in the 1997,

Compared With the 1991

Overall State Inmate Profile
Appendix III

Overall Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates

Page 25 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Estimated number Percent

Personal demographics

Sex

Male 672,847 94.5

Female 38,796 5.5

Race

White 252,038 35.4

Black 324,165 45.6

Hispanic 118,634 16.7

Other 16,807 2.4

Age group

Under 25 155,881 21.9

25-34 325,429 45.7

35-44 161,651 22.7

45+ 68,682 9.7

Marital status

Never married 389,302 54.7

Married 127,389 17.9

Other 187,045 26.3

Education

Less than high school 295,352 41.5

GED 174,979 24.6

High school graduate 136,087 19.2

More than high school 104,238 14.7

Employment status in month before arrest

Employed 476,726 67.0

Not employed 232,280 32.6

Have children

Yes 456,409 64.1

No 255,234 35.9

Family background

Person lived with while growing up

Both mother and father 305,082 42.9

Mother only 277,423 39.0

Father only 27,798 3.9

Grandparents 54,228 7.6

Other 43,677 6.1

Either parent alcohol or drug abuse

None 517,111 72.7

Alcohol only 156,405 22.0

Drugs only 5,730 0.8

Alcohol and drugs 26,074 3.7

Abused as a child

Physical only 48,503 6.8

Sexual only 17,118 2.4

Physical and sexual 30,668 4.3

None 615,354 86.5

Criminal records

Table III.2: Overall Profile of State Prison Inmates, 1991
Appendix III

Overall Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates

Page 26 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Estimated number Percent

Offense type

Violent 327,958 46.1

Property 174,534 24.5

Drug 150,304 21.1

Other 58,846 8.3

Criminal justice status at time of arrest

None 378,834 53.2

Probation 162,688 22.9

Parole 156,415 22.0

Escape 7,856 1.1

Prior sentences

None 145,376 20.4

1 to 2 253,114 35.6

3 or more 313,153 44.0

Drug histories

Drug use in month before arresta

Heroin 62,930 8.8

Powder cocaine 144,512 20.3

Crack cocaine 71,055 10.0

Marijuana 226,978 31.9

Other 93,843 13.2

Under influence at time of offensea

Heroin 42,237 5.9

Powder cocaine 79,741 11.2

Crack cocaine 36,036 5.1

Marijuana 81,788 11.5

Other 58,336 8.2

Alcohol 229,090 32.2

Treatment participation

Ever participated in alcohol/drug program

Yes 387,306 54.4

No 324,336 45.6

Note: All percentages above were based on an estimated total population of 711,642 inmates in state

prisons in 1991. Percentages may not add to 100 because of missing data or rounding.

a

More than one drug may have been indicated.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

The 1997 BJS federal prison inmate survey showed that most federal

inmates were male, minority, and between the ages of 25 and 44. Federal

inmates most frequently cited drug crimes as their current offense. Among

drug offenders, powder and crack cocaine were the drugs most often

identified with their current offense. Among all offenders, marijuana was

the drug most often reported having been used in the month before arrest.

(Data on alcohol usage in the month before the inmate’s arrest were not

collected.) Regarding drug use at the time of their arrest, in 1997, the

largest percentage of inmates (20 percent) reported being under the

influence of alcohol. Comparing the 1991 and 1997 profiles, few changes in

the federal inmate population were identified. However, the percentage of

Overall Profile of

Federal Prison Inmates
Appendix III

Overall Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates

Page 27 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

black inmates increased somewhat, and the percentage of white inmates

decreased by the same percentage points. In addition, the percentages of

inmates indicating marijuana use in the month before arrest and being

under the influence of alcohol or marijuana at the time of the offense

increased.

Table III.3 presents an overall profile of federal prison inmates using selfreported data from BJS’ 1997 federal prison inmate survey. According to

the survey, the federal prison population in 1997 was 89,072 inmates. All

percentages presented below for federal prison inmates for 1997 were

calculated using this number as the base; adjustments were not made to

compensate for missing response rates to a particular question.

Estimated number Percent

Personal demographics

Sex

Male 82,646 92.8

Female 6,426 7.2

Race

White 26,616 29.9

Black 33,697 37.8

Hispanic 24,349 27.3

Other 4,411 5.0

Age group

Under 25 7,933 8.9

25-34 32,634 36.6

35-44 27,259 30.6

45+ 21,247 23.9

Marital status

Never married 36,989 41.5

Married 27,000 30.3

Other 24,900 28.0

Education

Less than high school 23,101 25.9

GED 23,632 26.5

High school graduate 17,757 19.9

More than high school 23,544 26.4

Employment status in month before arrest

Employed 61,946 69.5

Not employed 24,428 27.4

Have Children

Yes 68,434 76.8

No 19,745 22.2

Family background

Person lived with while growing up

Both mother and father 47,955 53.8

Overall Profile of Federal

Prison Inmates, 1997

Table III.3: Overall Profile of Federal Prison Inmates, 1997
Appendix III

Overall Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates

Page 28 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Estimated number Percent

Mother only 28,044 31.5

Father only 2,532 2.8

Grandparents 6,712 7.5

Other 2,864 3.2

Either parent alcohol or drug abuse

None 69,504 78.0

Alcohol only 14,604 16.4

Drugs only 735 0.8

Alcohol and drugs 2,767 3.1

Abused as a child a

Physical only 3,837 4.3

Sexual only 1,297 1.5

Physical and sexual 1,100 1.2

None 81,719 91.7

Criminal records

Offense type

Violent 13,021 14.6

Property 5,826 6.5

Drug 55,069 61.8

Other 13,712 15.4

Type of drug involved in drug offenseb

Powder cocaine 22,579 41.1

Crack cocaine 14,398 26.2

Heroin 5,318 9.7

Marijuana 10,198 18.6

Methamphetamines 5,869 10.7

Other 1,887 3.4

Criminal justice status at time of arrest

None 64,240 72.1

Probation 11,952 13.4

Parole 11,811 13.3

Escape 248 0.3

Prior sentences

None 34,075 38.3

1 to 2 27,386 30.7

3 or more 25,610 28.8

Drug histories

Drug use in month before arrestc

Heroin 4,762 5.3

Powder cocaine 14,452 16.2

Crack cocaine 5,606 6.3

Marijuana 26,561 29.8

Other 9,352 10.5

Under influence at time of offensea, c

Heroin 2,634 3.0

Powder cocaine 5,706 6.4

Crack cocaine 2,852 3.2

Marijuana 9,381 10.5

Other 5,471 6.1
Appendix III

Overall Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates

Page 29 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Estimated number Percent

Alcohol 17,829 20.0

Treatment participation

Ever participated in alcohol/drug program

Yes 40,755 45.8

No 47,084 52.9

Note: Unless otherwise noted, all percentages above were based on a total estimated population of

89,072 inmates in federal prisons in 1997. Percentages may not add to 100 because of missing data

or rounding.

a

Some of the differences in the 1991 (see table III.4) and 1997 inmate reports of physical and sexual

abuse and being under the influence of alcohol at the time of arrest may have been due to changes in

question wording, order, and context.

b

These percentages were based on the estimated population total of 54,933 inmates who reported

being sentenced for drug offenses.

c

More than one drug may have been indicated.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

BJS’ 1997 federal prison inmate survey indicated the following

demographic characteristics for those in federal correctional facilities:

• Ninety-three percent of federal prison inmates were male and 7 percent

were female.

• Blacks constituted the largest single group of inmates (38 percent)

followed by whites (30 percent), Hispanics (27 percent), and other (5

percent).

• Two-thirds of federal inmates were between 25 and 44 years of age, 37

percent were between 25 and 34 years of age, and 31 percent were

between 35 and 44 years of age. Twenty-four percent of federal inmates

were over age 45 and 9 percent were under age 25.

• The largest percentage of federal inmates (42 percent) had never married,

while 30 percent were married at the time of the survey.

• Seventy-seven percent of federal inmates had children at the time of the

1997 survey.

• Twenty-six percent of federal inmates had more than a high school

diploma, with another 46 percent reporting either a high school diploma or

GED. However, 26 percent of federal inmates had less than a high school

education.

• Seventy percent of federal inmates were employed during the month

before their arrest.

Regarding family background, the 1997 BJS survey showed the following:

• Fifty-four percent of federal inmates reported that they had grown up in

households with two parents, and 32 percent reported that they had lived

Personal Demographics

Family Background
Appendix III

Overall Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates

Page 30 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

with their mother only. Eight percent reported that they had lived with

grandparents, 3 percent with fathers, and 3 percent with other relatives.

• Seventy eight percent of federal inmates indicated that neither parent had

abused alcohol or drugs. Another 16 percent, however, indicated parental

alcohol abuse, while 1 and 3 percent, respectively, specified parental drug

or drug and alcohol abuse.

• The overwhelming majority of federal inmates (92 percent) reported no

physical or sexual abuse as a child. Four percent indicated they had been

physically abused, and 2 and 1 percent, respectively, reported either sexual

abuse or physical and sexual abuse.

In 1997, federal inmates most frequently indicated drug crimes (62

percent) as their current offense type. Violent (15 percent), property (6

percent), and other offenses (15 percent) were reported less frequently.

Federal drug offenders in 1997 most often identified cocaine as the type of

drug involved in their current offense:6

• Of those indicating that cocaine was involved in their offense, 41 percent

specified powder cocaine and 26 percent crack cocaine.

• In addition, 19 percent of federal inmates identified marijuana, 11 percent,

methamphetamines, 10 percent heroin, and 3 percent “other” drug as the

type of drug associated with their offense.

Most federal offenders reported that they had served prior sentences,

although they were not necessarily on parole or probation at the time of

arrest for their current offense:

• Thirty-eight percent of federal inmates had no prior sentence, 31 percent

had 1 or 2, and 29 percent had 3 or more prior sentences.

• Seventy-two percent of the inmates had no criminal justice status at the

time of their arrest, while 13 percent were on parole and 13 percent were

on probation.

Federal offenders most frequently cited marijuana as the drug used in the

month before their arrest and being under the influence of alcohol when

they committed their offense:7

6

More than one drug might be associated with a single offense.

7

A single inmate might report more than one drug when reporting drug use during the month before or

at the time of arrest.

Criminal Records

Drug Histories
Appendix III

Overall Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates

Page 31 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

• Thirty percent indicated that they had used marijuana during the month

before their arrest and 10 percent reported being under the influence of

marijuana at the time of the offense.

• Powder cocaine (16 percent) was the next most frequently reported drug

used in the month before arrest.

• Twenty percent of federal inmates reported having been under the

influence of alcohol at the time of their offense.

• Reported usage of all other drugs either in the month before or at the time

of arrest was less than 10 percent.

The 1997 BJS survey included information on whether federal inmates had

ever participated in alcohol/drug programs. Forty-six percent of federal

prison inmates reported having participated in such programs.

According to BJS, the total federal prison population increased from

54,006 to 89,072 between 1991 and 1997. Table III.4 depicts selected

characteristics of federal prison inmates in 1991. A comparison of tables

III.4 and III.3 indicated few changes in the 1997 as compared with the 1991

overall federal inmate profile.

Comparing the 1991 and 1997 federal inmate profiles indicated few

changes in the personal demographics of federal inmates:

• While the number of male and female inmates increased, the relative

proportion of male and female inmates in federal prisons remained

essentially the same.

• In 1991, whites comprised the largest single racial/ethnic group of inmates,

(38 percent), followed by blacks (30 percent), Hispanics (28 percent), and

other (4 percent). In contrast, in 1997, the proportions of whites and blacks

were reversed (30 and 38 percent, respectively), with the percentages of

Hispanics and other remaining essentially the same.

• The percentage of inmates who had never been married increased from 32

percent to 42 percent.

Comparing the 1991 and 1997 federal inmate profiles revealed few

changes in the criminal record of federal inmates:

• The percentage of federal inmates reporting more serious criminal records

increased slightly. Those reporting having had no prior sentences

decreased by almost 10-percentage points between 1991 and 1997.

• Among those incarcerated for drug offenses, powder cocaine remained the

drug most frequently associated with the current offense, although the

percentage of those reporting powder cocaine decreased from 53 percent

Treatment Participation

Few Changes in the 1997,

Compared With the 1991

Overall Federal Prison

Inmate Profile
Appendix III

Overall Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates

Page 32 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

to 41 percent, and the percentage reporting crack cocaine as the

associated drug increased from 9 to 26 percent.

There were also few changes in inmates’ drug histories reported in 1997,

compared with 1991. Higher percentages of federal inmates in 1997 (30

percent) than in 1991 (19 percent) reported using marijuana, and higher

percentages of inmates in 1997 (20 percent) than in 1991 (11 percent) said

they were under the influence of alcohol when they committed their

offense.

Estimated number Percent

Personal demographics

Sex

Male 49,784 92.2

Female 4,222 7.8

Race

White 20,732 38.4

Black 16,143 29.9

Hispanic 15,101 28.0

Other 2,031 3.8

Age group

Under 25 5,012 9.3

25-34 19,431 36.0

35-44 17,769 32.9

45+ 11,794 21.8

Marital status

Never married 17,382 32.2

Married 20,225 37.4

Other 15,710 29.1

Education

Less than high school 12,837 23.8

GED 12,336 22.8

High school graduate 11,851 21.9

More than high school 16,809 31.1

Employment status in month before arrest

Employed 39,881 73.8

Not employed 13,833 25.6

Have Children

Yes 40,776 75.5

No 13,230 24.5

Family background

Person lived with while growing up

Both mother and father 31,219 57.8

Mother only 15,237 28.2

Father only 1,815 3.4

Grandparents 3,032 5.6

Table III.4: Overall Profile of Federal Prison Inmates, 1991
Appendix III

Overall Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates

Page 33 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Estimated number Percent

Other 2,246 4.2

Either parent alcohol or drug abuse

None 44,885 83.1

Alcohol only 7,827 14.5

Drugs only 159 0.3

Alcohol and drugs 593 1.1

Abused as a child

Physical only 1,937 3.6

Sexual only 539 1.0

Physical and sexual 720 1.3

None 50,810 94.1

Criminal records

Offense type

Violent 9,265 17.2

Property 4,582 8.5

Drug 31,103 57.6

Other 9,056 16.8

Type of drug involved in drug offensea

Powder cocaine 16,579 53.4

Crack cocaine 2,957 9.5

Heroin 3,460 11.1

Marijuana 5,993 19.3

Methamphetamines 1,951 6.3

Other 968 3.1

Criminal justice status at time of arrest

None 40,794 75.5

Probation 6,284 11.6

Parole 6,250 11.6

Escape 483 0.9

Prior sentences

None 26,221 48.6

1 to 2 16,479 30.5

3 or more 11,306 20.9

Drug histories

Drug use in month before arrestb

Heroin 2,714 5.0

Powder cocaine 7,350 13.6

Crack cocaine 2,003 3.7

Marijuana 10,229 18.9

Other 3,544 6.6

Under influence at time of offenseb

Heroin 1,952 3.6

Powder cocaine 3,563 6.6

Crack cocaine 994 1.8

Marijuana 3,197 5.9

Other 2,001 3.7

Alcohol 5,906 10.9

Treatment participation

Ever participated in alcohol/drug program
Appendix III

Overall Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates

Page 34 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Estimated number Percent

Yes 24,001 44.4

No 30,004 55.6

Note: Unless otherwise noted, all percentages above were based on an estimated total population of

54,006 inmates in federal prisons in 1991. Percentages may not add to 100 because of missing data

or rounding.

a

These percentages were based on the estimated population total of 31,052 inmates who reported

being sentenced for drug offenses.

b

More than one drug may have been indicated.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Although the state and federal inmate profiles in 1997 were generally

similar, we observed several differences.

We identified a few differences in the personal demographics reported by

state and federal inmates:

• Although minorities constituted the majority of inmates in both federal and

state prisons, the composition of the minority prison populations differed

between state and federal facilities. Blacks constituted a higher percentage

of state inmates (46 percent) compared with federal inmates (38 percent).

In contrast, there was a higher percentage of Hispanics in federal prisons

(27 percent) than in state prisons (17 percent).

• Overall, federal inmates were older than state inmates. Over half of federal

inmates (54 percent) were age 35 or older; however, fifty-eight percent of

state inmates were age 34 or younger.

• Fifty-seven percent of state inmates, compared with 42 percent of federal

inmates, reported never being married. At the same time, 30 percent of

federal inmates, compared with 17 percent of state inmates, reported being

married.

• A higher percentage of state inmates (39 percent) than federal inmates (26

percent) had less than a high school education and a higher percentage of

federal inmates (26 percent) than state inmates (13 percent) had more than

a high school education.

Regarding family background characteristics, federal and state inmates

were generally similar, with a few exceptions:

• A greater percentage of federal inmates (54 percent) than state inmates (44

percent) reported that they had grown up in a two-parent household.

• A higher percentage of state (16 percent) than federal (7 percent) inmates

reported that they had experienced physical and/or sexual abuse, although

a majority of inmates in both populations reported not encountering these

situations (83 percent of state inmates and 92 percent of federal inmates).

Differences Between

the Overall State and

Federal Prison Inmate

Profiles
Appendix III

Overall Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates

Page 35 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

• A higher percentage of state (31 percent) than federal (20 percent) inmates

reported having lived in a family where a parent abused drugs or alcohol,

although a majority of both populations did not (67 percent of state

inmates and 78 percent of federal inmates).

One of the largest differences between state and federal inmates was in the

type of crime for which they were incarcerated.

• Drug offenders accounted for over 60 percent of federal inmates in 1997

but for 20 percent of state inmates.

• In contrast, violent offenders accounted for 47 percent of state inmates but

15 percent of federal inmates in 1997.

• A higher percentage of state inmates (22 percent) than federal inmates (6

percent) were property offenders.

• In addition, in 1997 higher percentages of federal than state inmates

reported serving no prior sentence (38 percent of federal inmates and 23

percent of state inmates) and having no criminal justice status at the time

of arrest (72 percent of federal inmates and 52 percent of state inmates).

There were few differences in the drug histories of state and federal

inmates. However, higher percentages of state inmates than federal

inmates used marijuana in the month before their arrest (39 percent of

state inmates and 30 percent of federal inmates) and were under the

influence of alcohol at the time of their offense (36 percent of state

inmates and 20 percent of federal inmates).
Appendix IV

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates

by Type of Current Offense

Page 36 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

This appendix presents profiles of state and federal inmates by the type of

their current offense, including self-reported data on their personal

demographics, family background, criminal record, drug history, and

treatment participation. While the demographic and family background

characteristics reported by state inmates were quite similar across

different types of offenders, federal inmates differed substantially. The

criminal records of both state and federal inmates differed considerably

across offender types. For example, in state prisons a higher percentage of

property offenders than drug or violent offenders had served three or more

prior sentences, and in the federal system a higher percentage of violent

offenders than drug or property offenders had served three or more prior

sentences. Drug and alcohol use tended to be more common among state

than federal inmates; for example, higher percentages of property

offenders in state prisons than in federal prisons used crack or powder

cocaine and marijuana in the month before their arrest.

Comparing the 1991 and 1997 profiles, the data indicated some changes

across crime types. The percentage of black federal drug offenders rose

from 28 percent to 41 percent. Finally, although the drug histories of

violent offenders and property offenders in federal prisons changed little,

the percentage of drug offenders who had used marijuana in the month

preceding their arrest increased from 18 percent to 32 percent.

The 1997 state inmate profile, by type of current offense, indicated some

differences reported across offense types. Although state inmates did not

report substantial differences for most personal and family background

characteristics, the data showed some differences in race, education, and

experience of child abuse. For example, a higher percentage of blacks was

found among drug offenders than among violent or property offenders and

a higher percentage of inmates without a high school education was found

among drug offenders.

Reported criminal records also differed substantially across offense types.

For example, a greater percentage of property offenders reported having

served three or more prior sentences than violent or drug offenders.

Generally, inmate drug histories were similar across crime types, except

drug and property offenders more frequently than violent offenders

reported using crack cocaine in the month before their arrest. A

comparison of the 1991 and 1997 state inmate profiles indicated few

notable changes in characteristics; for example, the percentage of drug

offenders using marijuana in the month prior to their arrest increased.

Profiles of State

Inmates by Type of

Current Offense
Appendix IV

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Type of Current Offense

Page 37 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Table IV.1 summarizes selected personal demographic, family background,

criminal record, drug history, and treatment participation information for

inmates incarcerated in state correctional facilities separately for violent,

property, and drug offenders, as reported in BJS’ 1997 state prison inmate

survey. BJS reported a total population of 493,349 violent offenders,

230,177 property offenders, and 216,254 drug offenders in state prisons in

1997. All percentages presented in table IV.1 were calculated using these

numbers as the base; adjustments were not made to compensate for

missing response rates to a particular question.

Violent Property Drugs

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Personal demographics

Sex

Male 475,794 96.2 212,689 92.4 193,630 89.5

Female 18,554 3.8 17,488 7.6 22,624 10.5

Race

White 163,043 33.0 98,109 42.6 40,917 18.9

Black 235,604 47.7 93,148 40.5 121,827 56.3

Hispanic 77,774 15.7 32,888 14.3 48,934 22.6

Other 17,929 3.6 6,032 2.6 4,576 2.1

Age group

Under 25 110,344 22.3 43,235 18.8 37,103 17.2

25-34 171,168 34.6 97,291 42.3 88,671 41.0

35-44 139,450 28.2 69,531 30.2 65,381 30.2

45+ 73,386 14.8 20,120 8.7 25,099 11.6

Marital status

Never married 281,152 57.0 133,398 58.0 126,057 58.3

Married 79,326 16.1 34,971 15.2 41,975 19.4

Other 132,933 26.9 61,633 26.8 48,029 22.2

Education

Less than high school 181,818 36.8 86,154 37.4 99,711 46.1

GED 170,800 34.6 76,059 33.0 51,669 23.9

High school graduate 75,706 15.3 34,311 14.9 34,258 15.8

More than high school 62,765 12.7 31,890 13.9 29,273 13.5

Employment status in month before arrest

Employed 338,458 68.6 153,352 66.6 131,097 60.6

Not employed 143,758 29.1 71,142 30.9 81,184 37.5

Family background

Person lived with while growing up

Both mother and father 216,244 43.8 100,582 43.7 91,222 42.2

Mother only 191,154 38.7 86,353 37.5 87,866 40.6

Father only 16,760 3.4 9,614 4.2 7,580 3.5

Grandparents 39,483 8.0 19,672 8.5 19,008 8.8

Other 26,350 5.3 12,014 5.2 9,364 4.3

Profile of State Prison

Inmates by Type of Current

Offense, 1997

Table IV.1: Profile of State Prison Inmates by Type of Current Offense, 1997
Appendix IV

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Type of Current Offense

Page 38 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Violent Property Drugs

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Either parent alcohol or drug abuse

None 328,754 66.6 151,221 65.7 152,568 70.6

Alcohol only 116,008 23.5 56,810 24.7 44,369 20.5

Drugs only 8,708 1.8 3,068 1.3 5,237 2.4

Alcohol and drugs 33,352 6.8 16,175 7.0 11,659 5.4

Abused as a childa

Physical only 55,743 11.3 20,689 9.0 12,377 5.7

Sexual only 18,336 3.7 5,778 2.5 3,690 1.7

Physical and sexual 19,964 4.0 7,307 3.2 3,634 1.7

None 395,752 80.2 194,626 84.6 194,801 90.1

Criminal records

Criminal justice status at time of arrest

None 324,655 65.8 84,596 36.8 98,875 45.7

Probation 76,925 15.6 65,014 28.2 55,459 25.6

Parole 85,443 17.3 76,421 33.2 58,658 27.1

Escape 2,807 0.6 1,901 0.8 1,098 0.5

Prior sentences

None 147,509 29.9 32,307 14.0 46,693 21.6

1 to 2 167,753 34.0 66,345 28.8 73,660 34.1

3 or more 168,838 34.2 126,733 55.1 91,888 42.5

Drug histories

Drug use in month before arrestb

Heroin 32,067 6.5 27,456 11.9 27,756 12.8

Powder cocaine 67,991 13.8 44,303 19.2 44,519 20.6

Crack cocaine 47,502 9.6 49,803 21.6 45,404 21.0

Marijuana 197,001 39.9 89,106 38.7 88,468 40.9

Other 68,286 13.8 39,678 17.2 32,879 15.2

Under influence at time of offensea, b

Heroin 17,890 3.6 16,043 7.0 18,335 8.5

Powder cocaine 34,676 7.0 19,267 8.4 19,476 9.0

Crack cocaine 27,500 5.6 27,370 11.9 27,958 12.9

Marijuana 80,756 16.4 31,742 13.8 33,323 15.4

Other 40,664 8.2 21,067 9.2 18,093 8.4

Alcohol 202,032 41.0 78,447 34.1 58,728 27.2

Treatment participation

Ever participated in alcohol/drug program

Yes 245,521 49.8 142,550 61.9 132,329 61.2

No 242,869 49.2 85,817 37.3 82,147 38.0

Note: All percentages above were based on an estimated total population of 493,349 violent

offenders, 230,177 property offenders, and 216,254 drug offenders in state prisons in 1997.

Percentages may not add to 100 because of missing data or rounding.

a

Some of the differences in the 1991 (see table IV.2) and 1997 inmate reports of physical and sexual

abuse and being under the influence of alcohol at the time of arrest may have been due to changes in

question wording, order, and context.

b

More than one drug may have been indicated.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Appendix IV

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Type of Current Offense

Page 39 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

According to the BJS 1997 survey data, the primary types of offenders

(violent, property, and drug) in state prisons did not vary substantially by

sex, age, marital status, and employment status at the time of their arrest.

The data did, however, indicate differences in race and education between

groups:

• A higher percentage of drug offenders (56 percent) than property

offenders (41 percent) was black; 48 percent of violent offenders were

black. Property offenders (43 percent) were more likely than violent

offenders (33 percent) to be white and violent offenders more likely than

drug offenders (19 percent) to be white.

• Similar percentages of all three offender types reported having graduated

from high school or having more than a high school education. However, a

higher percentage of drug offenders (46 percent) than violent offenders (37

percent) and property offenders (37 percent) had less than a high school

education. Also, higher percentages of violent offenders (35 percent) and

property offenders (33 percent) than drug offenders (24 percent) had

earned a GED.

Violent, property, and drug offenders had similar family backgrounds.

Fewer than half of the inmates in all three groups grew up in two-parent

families. About two-thirds of each group reported that neither parent

abused alcohol or drugs. The only notable difference across offender types

involved reports of abuse as a child. A higher percentage of drug offenders

(90 percent) than violent offenders (80 percent) reported no physical or

sexual abuse; and property offenders (85 percent) were in between the

other two categories of offenders.

The BJS data showed substantial differences in criminal records across the

three groups of offenders:

• Higher percentages of property offenders (28 percent) and drug offenders

(26 percent) were on probation at the time of their arrest than violent

offenders (16 percent). Similarly, higher percentages of property offenders

(33 percent) and drug offenders (27 percent) than violent offenders (17

percent) were on parole at the time of their arrest.

• A lower percentage of property offenders (14 percent) than violent

offenders (30 percent) had served no prior sentences.

• A higher percentage of property offenders (55 percent) than violent

offenders (34 percent) and drug offenders (42 percent) had served three or

more prior sentences.

Personal Demographics

Family Background

Criminal Records
Appendix IV

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Type of Current Offense

Page 40 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

The use of most drugs in the month before arrest and the likelihood of

having been under the influence of drugs at the time of the offense were

quite similar for violent, property, and drug offenders, with two

exceptions:

• Higher percentages of drug offenders (21 percent) and property offenders

(22 percent) reported that they had used crack cocaine in the month

before their arrest than violent offenders (10 percent).

• A higher percentage of violent offenders (41 percent) than drug offenders

(27 percent) reported that they had been under the influence of alcohol at

the time of their offense; 34 percent of property offenders reported being

under the influence of alcohol at the time of their offense.

Violent, property, and drug offenders differed in their participation in

alcohol/drug programs. Higher percentages of property offenders (62

percent) and drug offenders (61 percent) had participated in such

programs than violent offenders (50 percent).

A comparison of the 1991 and 1997 BJS data, indicated few notable

changes in the characteristics of violent, property, and drug offenders in

state prisons.

• The percentage of inmates who were age 35 or older rose from 25 percent

to 39 percent among property offenders and from 30 percent to 42 percent

among drug offenders.

• The percentage of drug offenders who had used marijuana in the month

preceding their arrest increased from 31 percent to 41 percent.

• The percentage of drug offenders who were under the influence of alcohol

at the time of their offense increased from 18 percent to 27 percent.

Drug Histories

Treatment Participation

Few Notable Changes in

Profiles of State Violent,

Property, and Drug

Offenders in 1997,

Compared With 1991
Appendix IV

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Type of Current Offense

Page 41 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Violent Property Drugs

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Personal demographics

Sex

Male 315,557 96.2 163,510 93.7 137,672 91.6

Female 12,400 3.8 11,024 6.3 12,633 8.4

Race

White 121,972 37.2 75,015 43.0 29,751 19.8

Black 151,629 46.2 70,621 40.5 80,126 53.3

Hispanic 45,437 13.9 24,182 13.9 38,807 25.8

Other 8,920 2.7 4,716 2.7 1,620 1.1

Age group

Under 25 62,164 19.0 48,021 27.5 34,730 23.1

25-34 146,393 44.6 83,396 47.8 69,843 46.5

35-44 78,062 23.8 34,533 19.8 34,517 23.0

45+ 41,339 12.6 8,584 4.9 11,215 7.5

Marital status

Never married 172,841 52.7 103,117 59.1 85,571 56.9

Married 55,540 16.9 27,697 15.9 31,980 21.3

Other 96,118 29.3 41,654 23.9 31,248 20.8

Education

Less than high school 129,060 39.4 73,194 41.9 69,365 46.1

GED 89,101 27.2 44,832 25.7 28,235 18.8

High school graduate 63,196 19.3 31,349 18.0 29,534 19.6

More than high school 46,283 14.1 25,018 14.3 22,839 15.2

Employment status in month before

arrest

Employed 227,333 69.3 112,438 64.4 94,093 62.6

Not employed 99,343 30.3 61,696 35.3 55,547 37.0

Family background

Person lived with while growing up

Both mother and father 142,361 43.4 73,206 41.9 61,094 40.6

Mother only 127,222 38.8 66,892 38.3 63,052 41.9

Father only 11,764 3.6 8,673 5.0 5,281 3.5

Grandparents 23,889 7.3 13,397 7.7 12,419 8.3

Other 20,854 6.4 11,674 6.7 7,825 5.2

Either parent alcohol or drug abuse

None 235,413 71.8 119,821 68.7 119,446 79.5

Alcohol only 75,013 22.9 43,150 24.7 24,650 16.4

Drugs only 2,090 0.6 1,886 1.1 1,535 1.0

Alcohol and drugs 12,272 3.7 8,154 4.7 3,619 2.4

Abused as a child

Physical only 26,670 8.1 12,612 7.2 5,513 3.7

Sexual only 10,163 3.1 3,675 2.1 1,930 1.3

Physical and sexual 18,611 5.7 6,190 3.5 3,116 2.1

None 272,514 83.1 152,058 87.1 139,747 93.0

Criminal records

Table IV.2: Profile of State Prison Inmates by Type of Current Offense, 1991
Appendix IV

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Type of Current Offense

Page 42 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Violent Property Drugs

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Criminal justice status at time of

arrest

None 215,841 65.8 64,775 37.1 76,588 51.0

Probation 52,163 15.9 50,403 28.9 41,943 27.9

Parole 55,951 17.1 55,791 32.0 30,009 20.0

Escape 3,217 1.0 2,725 1.6 963 0.6

Prior sentences

None 90,138 27.5 14,878 8.5 31,248 20.8

1 to 2 117,386 35.8 58,088 33.3 60,244 40.1

3 or more 120,433 36.7 101,568 58.2 58,812 39.1

Drug histories

Drug use in month before arresta

Heroin 20,096 6.1 20,072 11.5 19,091 12.7

Powder cocaine 54,912 16.7 38,173 21.9 42,896 28.5

Crack cocaine 23,210 7.1 21,739 12.5 22,860 15.2

Marijuana 108,128 33.0 59,417 34.0 46,601 31.0

Other 42,401 12.9 26,411 15.1 18,503 12.3

Under influence at time of offensea

Heroin 12,727 3.9 14,112 8.1 12,979 8.6

Powder cocaine 31,756 9.7 21,195 12.1 22,731 15.1

Crack cocaine 12,907 3.9 10,843 6.2 11,419 7.6

Marijuana 43,636 13.3 20,477 11.7 14,370 9.6

Other 29,962 9.1 15,165 8.7 9,884 6.6

Alcohol 122,955 37.5 55,562 31.8 27,167 18.1

Treatment participation

Ever participated in alcohol/drug

program

Yes 159,971 48.8 105,246 60.3 88,345 58.8

No 167,986 51.2 69,289 39.7 61,960 41.2

Note: All percentages above were based on an estimated total population of 327,958 violent

offenders, 174,534 property offenders, and 150,304 drug offenders in state prisons in 1991.

Percentages may not add to 100 because of missing data or rounding.

a

More than one drug may have been indicated.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

The 1997 federal offender profile, by current offense type, showed

substantial differences in demographic characteristics, family background,

and criminal records reported across crime types. For example, property

offenders were better educated and more likely to have been employed

than violent or drug offenders. Federal violent offenders had more serious

criminal records than either drug or property offenders. The percentage of

federal inmates who reported having participated in alcohol/drug

programs also differed according to offense type, with a smaller

percentage of property offenders than violent or drug offenders reported

having participated in such programs. A comparison of the 1991 and 1997

BJS federal survey data indicated few sizable changes in the

Profile of Federal

Inmates by Type of

Current Offense
Appendix IV

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Type of Current Offense

Page 43 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

characteristics of the three offender groups. However, drug and property

offenders showed some change in their criminal records, with the

percentage who reported having no prior histories decreasing for drug

offenders and increasing for property offenders.

Table IV.3 summarizes selected personal demographic, family background,

criminal record, drug history, and treatment participation information for

inmates incarcerated in federal correctional facilities for each of the three

types of offenses, as reported in BJS’ 1997 federal prison inmate survey.

The federal prison population was made up of 13,021 violent offenders,

5,826 property offenders, and 55,069 drug offenders in 1997. All

percentages presented below for federal prison inmates for 1997 were

calculated using these numbers as the base; and adjustments were not

made to compensate for missing response rates to a particular question.

Violent Property Drugs

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Personal demographics

Sex

Male 12,592 96.7 5,064 86.9 50,486 91.7

Female 429 3.3 762 13.1 4,583 8.3

Race

White 4,895 37.6 3,347 57.4 13,026 23.7

Black 5,080 39.0 1,389 23.8 22,350 40.6

Hispanic 1,649 12.7 623 10.7 17,876 32.5

Other 1,397 10.7 466 8.0 1,817 3.3

Age group

Under 25 1,391 10.7 296 5.1 4,901 8.9

25-34 4,291 33.0 1,691 29.0 20,978 38.1

35-44 4,050 31.1 1,731 29.7 16,902 30.7

45+ 3,289 25.3 2,108 36.2 12,287 22.3

Marital status

Never married 6,466 49.6 1,629 28.0 22,886 41.6

Married 2,216 17.0 2,190 37.6 17,777 32.3

Other 4,278 32.9 2,008 34.5 14,315 26.0

Education

Less than high school 2,752 21.1 842 14.5 15,090 27.4

GED 4,411 33.9 900 15.4 14,058 25.5

High school graduate 2,409 18.5 1,130 19.4 11,895 21.6

More than high school 3,352 25.7 2,886 49.5 13,428 24.4

Employment status in month before

arrest

Employed 8,155 62.6 4,617 79.2 38,218 69.4

Not employed 4,442 34.1 1,066 18.3 15,687 28.5

Profile of Federal Prison

Inmates by Type of Current

Offense, 1997

Table IV.3: Profile of Federal Prison Inmates by Type of Current Offense, 1997
Appendix IV

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Type of Current Offense

Page 44 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Violent Property Drugs

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Family background

Person lived with while growing up

Both mother and father 6,273 48.2 3,787 65.0 29,619 53.8

Mother only 4,440 34.1 1,390 23.9 17,849 32.4

Father only 521 4.0 209 3.6 1,322 2.4

Grandparents 1,000 7.7 328 5.6 4,164 7.6

Other 677 5.2 195 3.3 1,530 2.8

Either parent alcohol or drug abuse

None 9,368 71.9 4,746 81.5 43,779 79.5

Alcohol only 2,658 20.4 963 16.5 8,483 15.4

Drugs only 140 1.1 34 0.6 368 0.7

Alcohol and drugs 615 4.7 153 2.6 1,651 3.0

Abused as a childa

Physical only 1,339 10.3 176 3.0 1,521 2.8

Sexual only 345 2.6 125 2.1 621 1.1

Physical and sexual 308 2.4 90 1.5 588 1.1

None 10,868 83.5 5,517 94.7 51,670 93.8

Criminal records

Criminal justice status at time of

arrest

None 8,318 63.9 4,156 71.3 41,605 75.6

Probation 1,281 9.8 1,023 17.6 7,537 13.7

Parole 3,170 24.3 755 13.0 5,562 10.1

Escape 140 1.1 0 0.0 93 0.2

Prior sentences

None 3,614 27.8 2,962 50.8 22,717 41.3

1 to 2 3,440 26.4 1,255 21.5 18,526 33.6

3 or more 5,749 44.2 1,556 26.7 12,909 23.4

Drug histories

Drug use in month before arrestb

Heroin 1,571 12.1 212 3.6 2,178 4.0

Powder cocaine 2,165 16.6 507 8.7 10,078 18.3

Crack cocaine 1,287 9.9 200 3.4 3,450 6.3

Marijuana 4,201 32.3 988 17.0 17,435 31.7

Other 1,476 11.3 497 8.5 5,963 10.8

Under influence at time of offensea, b

Heroin 901 6.9 83 1.4 1,355 2.5

Powder cocaine 873 6.7 139 2.4 4,003 7.3

Crack cocaine 579 4.4 82 1.4 1,911 3.5

Marijuana 1,304 10.0 230 3.9 6,595 12.0

Other 824 6.3 323 5.5 3,632 6.6

Alcohol 3,112 23.9 885 15.2 10,714 19.5

Treatment participation

Ever participated in alcohol/drug

program

Yes 6,554 50.3 1,890 32.4 25,602 46.5

No 6,282 48.2 3,863 66.3 28,744 52.2
Appendix IV

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Type of Current Offense

Page 45 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Note: All percentages above were based on an estimated total population of 13,021 violent offenders,

5,826 property offenders, and 55,069 drug offenders in federal prisons in 1997. Percentages may not

add to 100 because of missing data or rounding.

a

Some of the differences in the 1991 (see table IV.4) and 1997 inmate reports of physical and sexual

abuse and being under the influence of alcohol at the time of arrest may have been due to changes in

question wording, order, and context.

b

More than one drug may have been indicated.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

The demographic characteristics reported by violent, property, and drug

offenders in federal prisons in 1997 differed substantially:

• A smaller percentage of violent offenders (3 percent) than property

offenders (13 percent) were female; 8 percent of drug offenders were

female.

• Property offenders (57 percent) were more likely than violent offenders

(38 percent) to be white, and violent offenders were more likely than drug

offenders (24 percent) to be white. A larger percentage of violent offenders

(39 percent) and drug offenders (41 percent) than property offenders (24

percent) were black, while a larger percentage of drug offenders (32

percent) than violent offenders (13 percent) and property offenders (11

percent) were Hispanic.

• Property offenders tended to be older than the other two groups. Thirty-six

percent of property offenders were 45 or older, compared with 25 percent

of violent offenders and 22 percent of drug offenders.

• A considerably smaller percentage of violent offenders (17 percent) were

married than property offenders (38 percent) and drug offenders (32

percent).

• Property offenders were better educated than the other two groups. A

higher percentage of property offenders (50 percent) than violent

offenders (26 percent) and drug offenders (24 percent) had more than a

high school education.

• Property offenders were also more likely to have been employed at the

time of their arrest (79 percent) than drug offenders (69 percent) and

violent offenders (63 percent).

The family backgrounds reported by violent, property, and drug offenders

in federal prisons in 1997 were quite dissimilar:

• A higher percentage of property offenders (65 percent) grew up in twoparent families than drug offenders (54 percent) and violent offenders (48

percent).

Personal Demographics

Family Background
Appendix IV

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Type of Current Offense

Page 46 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

• The percentages of property offenders (82 percent) and drug offenders (80

percent) whose parents had not abused drugs were higher than the

percentage of violent offenders (72 percent).

• The percentages of property offenders (95 percent) and drug offenders (94

percent) who reported that they had not been abused as children were also

higher than the percentage of violent offenders (83 percent).

Reported criminal records also differed across the three types of offenders

in federal prisons in 1997:

• A higher percentage of violent offenders (24 percent) than property

offenders (13 percent) and drug offenders (10 percent) were on parole at

the time of their arrest, while a higher percentage of drug offenders (76

percent) than violent offenders (64 percent) were under no form of

criminal justice supervision. Seventy-one percent of property offenders

were not under criminal justice supervision.

• A higher percentage of violent offenders (44 percent) had served three or

more prior sentences than property offenders (27 percent) and drug

offenders (23 percent). While 51 percent of property offenders had never

served time before, the same was true of 41 percent of drug offenders and

28 percent of violent offenders.

Reported drug and alcohol use in the month prior to arrest and being

under the influence at the time of the offense did not differ markedly

across the three types of offenders, with a few exceptions:

• A higher percentage of drug offenders (18 percent) than property

offenders (9 percent) reported having used powder cocaine in the month

before their arrest; 17 percent of violent offenders reported having used

powder cocaine.

• A smaller percentage of property offenders (17 percent) than violent

offenders (32 percent) or drug offenders (32 percent) reported having used

marijuana in the month prior to their arrest.

• A higher percentage of violent offenders (24 percent) than property

offenders (15 percent) reported having been under the influence of alcohol

when they committed their offenses; 20 percent of drug offenders were

under the influence of alcohol.

Participation in alcohol/drug programs was less common among the

property offenders than among the other two groups. While 50 percent of

violent offenders and 46 percent of drug offenders reported that they had

participated in alcohol/drug programs, 32 percent of property offenders

reported having done so.

Criminal Records

Drug Histories

Treatment Participation
Appendix IV

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Type of Current Offense

Page 47 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

A comparison of 1991 and 1997 BJS federal survey data indicated few

sizable changes in the characteristics of different types of offenders. The

changes identified included the following:

• The percentage of black drug offenders rose from 28 percent in 1991 to 41

percent in 1997.

• The percentage of married drug offenders declined from 42 percent in 1991

to 32 percent in 1997.

• The criminal records of violent offenders in federal prisons were similar in

1991 and 1997, though property offenders and drug offenders showed

some changes in their prior sentences. The percentage of federal prison

inmates with no prior sentences rose from 42 percent to 51 percent among

property offenders, and declined from 57 percent to 41 percent among

drug offenders.

• The drug histories of violent offenders and property offenders in federal

prisons changed little between 1991 and 1997: however, there was some

change for drug offenders. The percentage of drug offenders who had used

marijuana in the month preceding their arrest increased from 18 percent to

32 percent, and the percentage of drug offenders who were under the

influence of alcohol at the time of their offense increased from 8 to 20

percent.

Violent Property Drugs

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Personal demographics

Sex

Male 8,943 96.5 4,018 87.7 28,341 91.1

Female 323 3.5 564 12.3 2,762 8.9

Race

White 3,878 41.9 2,713 59.2 9,548 30.7

Black 3,585 38.7 1,419 31.0 8,817 28.3

Hispanic 905 9.8 297 6.5 12,084 38.9

Other 897 9.7 153 3.3 654 2.1

Age group

Under 25 714 7.7 272 5.9 3,395 10.9

25-34 3,437 37.1 1,464 32.0 11,691 37.6

35-44 3,240 35.0 1,524 33.3 10,061 32.3

45+ 1,874 20.2 1,322 28.8 5,956 19.2

Marital status

Never married 4,049 43.7 1,181 25.8 9,699 31.2

Married 1,955 21.1 1,800 39.3 13,031 41.9

Other 3,147 34.0 1,566 34.2 7,997 25.7

Few Significant Changes in

1997, Compared With the

1991 Inmate Profiles of

Federal Violent, Property,

and Drug Offenders

Table IV.4: Profile of Federal Prison Inmates by Type of Current Offense, 1991
Appendix IV

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Type of Current Offense

Page 48 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Violent Property Drugs

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Education

Less than high school 1,638 17.7 669 14.6 8,451 27.1

GED 3,314 35.8 812 17.7 6,314 20.3

High school graduate 2,023 21.8 702 15.3 7,310 23.5

More than high school 2,238 24.2 2,389 52.1 8,937 28.7

Employment status in month before arrest

Employed 5,654 61.0 3,566 77.8 23,716 76.2

Not employed 3,562 38.4 1,013 22.1 7,221 23.2

Family background

Person lived with while growing up

Both mother and father 4,648 50.2 2,847 62.1 18,253 58.7

Mother only 2,962 32.0 1,103 24.1 8,714 28.0

Father only 283 3.1 189 4.1 1,135 3.6

Grandparents 687 7.4 252 5.5 1,582 5.1

Other 596 6.4 175 3.8 1,150 3.7

Either parent alcohol or drug abuse

None 6,830 73.7 3,803 83.0 26,833 86.3

Alcohol only 2,077 22.4 702 15.3 3,639 11.7

Drugs only 45 0.5 12 0.3 86 0.3

Alcohol and drugs 234 2.5 41 0.9 232 0.7

Abused as a child

Physical only 491 5.3 151 3.3 868 2.8

Sexual only 104 1.1 80 1.7 237 0.8

Physical and sexual 228 2.5 117 2.6 241 0.8

None 8,442 91.1 4,234 92.4 29,757 95.7

Criminal records

Criminal justice status at time of arrest

None 5,661 61.1 3,044 66.4 25,674 82.5

Probation 1,100 11.9 877 19.1 3,075 9.9

Parole 2,262 24.4 547 11.9 2,224 7.1

Escape 232 2.5 104 2.3 79 0.3

Prior sentences

None 2,693 29.1 1,925 42.0 17,605 56.6

1 to 2 3,134 33.8 1,528 33.3 9,206 29.6

3 or more 3,438 37.1 1,129 24.6 4,292 13.8

Drug histories

Drug use in month before arresta

Heroin 1,101 11.9 250 5.5 1,069 3.4

Powder cocaine 1,717 18.5 423 9.2 4,271 13.7

Crack cocaine 540 5.8 117 2.6 1,040 3.3

Marijuana 2,415 26.1 472 10.3 5,728 18.4

Other 964 10.4 216 4.7 1,825 5.9

Under influence at time of offensea

Heroin 732 7.9 182 4.0 848 2.7

Powder cocaine 827 8.9 157 3.4 2,121 6.8

Crack cocaine 280 3.0 60 1.3 462 1.5

Marijuana 689 7.4 172 3.8 1,830 5.9
Appendix IV

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Type of Current Offense

Page 49 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Violent Property Drugs

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Other 510 5.5 178 3.9 1,050 3.4

Alcohol 1,890 20.4 341 7.4 2,559 8.2

Treatment participation

Ever participated in alcohol/drug program

Yes 4,951 53.4 1,585 34.6 13,742 44.2

No 4,314 46.6 2,996 65.4 17,361 55.8

Note: Unless otherwise noted, all percentages above were based on an estimated total population of

9,265 violent offenders, 4,582 property offenders, and 31,103 drug offenders in federal prisons in

1991. Percentages may not add to 100 because of missing data or rounding.

a

More than one drug may have been indicated.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Comparing state and federal inmate profiles showed several differences

between types of offenders in state and federal prison.

Regarding the personal background characteristics reported by state and

federal inmates for 1997, the data showed the following:

• The percentage of white property offenders was higher in federal prisons

(57 percent) than in state prisons (43 percent), while the percentage of

black property offenders was lower in federal prisons (24 percent) than in

state prisons (40 percent).

• The percentage of Hispanic drug offenders was higher in federal prisons

(32 percent) than in state prisons (23 percent), while the percentage of

black drug offenders was lower in federal prisons (41 percent) than in

state prisons (56 percent).

• The percentage of black violent offenders was higher in state prisons (48

percent) than in federal prisons (39 percent).

• The percentages of older inmates among all three groups of offenders were

higher in federal prisons than in state prisons. While 25 percent of violent

offenders, 36 percent of property offenders, and 22 percent of drug

offenders were age 45 or older in federal prisons, the corresponding

percentages in state prisons were 15, 9, and 12 percent, respectively.

• The percentages of married inmates were also higher in federal prisons

than in state prisons for property offenders (38 versus 15 percent) and

drug offenders (32 versus 19 percent).

• The level of education was higher for all three groups of offenders among

federal inmates than among state inmates. The percentages of violent

offenders, property offenders, and drug offenders with more than a high

school education in federal prisons were 26, 50, and 24 percent,

respectively, compared with 13, 14, and 14 percent, respectively, in state

prisons.

Differences Between

State and Federal

Prison Inmate Profiles
Appendix IV

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Type of Current Offense

Page 50 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

• Property offenders in the two prison systems also differed in their

employment status; 79 percent of property offenders were employed at the

time of their arrest among federal prison inmates, compared with 67

percent of property offenders among state prison inmates.

Differences in family background reported were found across crime types,

for example:

• The percentages of inmates who grew up in two-parent families were

higher for both property offenders (65 percent) and drug offenders (54

percent) in federal prisons than for property offenders (44 percent) and

drug offenders (42 percent) in state prisons.

• A higher percentage of property offenders (82 percent) and drug offenders

(80 percent) in federal prisons than in state prisons (66 percent and 71

percent, respectively) reported that neither parent had abused alcohol or

drugs. However, a higher percentage of property offenders in state prisons

(25 percent) than in federal prisons (16 percent) said that their parents had

abused alcohol only.

• A higher percentage of property offenders in federal prisons (95 percent)

than in state prisons (85 percent) said that they had never been physically

or sexually abused as children.

The criminal records reported by federal and state inmates differed in

several instances:

• The percentages of property offenders (18 percent) and drug offenders (14

percent) in federal prisons who were on probation at the time of their

arrest were lower than the percentages of property offenders (28 percent)

and drug offenders (26 percent) in state prisons.

• Similar differences existed in the percentages of property offenders and

drug offenders on parole (13 and 10 percent, respectively) in federal

prisons, compared with state prisons (33 and 27 percent, respectively).

• The percentages of property offenders (71 percent) and drug offenders (76

percent) in federal prisons who had no criminal justice status at the time

of their arrest were higher than the percentages of property offenders (37

percent) and drug offenders (46 percent) in state prisons.

• There was no difference in the percentage of inmates with no prior

sentences among violent offenders in state and federal prisons, though

higher percentages of property offenders (51 percent) and drug offenders

(41 percent) in federal prisons than in state prisons (14 and 22 percent,

respectively) had no prior sentences.

• Violent offenders in federal prisons were more likely to have three or more

prior sentences than violent offenders in state prisons (44 versus 34
Appendix IV

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Type of Current Offense

Page 51 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

percent); however, lower percentages of property offenders (27 percent)

and drug offenders (23 percent) in federal prisons than in state prisons (55

and 42 percent, respectively) had three or more prior sentences.

Moreover, the data showed the following differences in drug histories

among offender groups:

• Property offenders in federal prisons were less likely than their state

counterparts to have used powder cocaine (9 versus 19 percent), crack

cocaine (3 versus 22 percent), and marijuana (17 versus 39 percent) in the

month before their arrest.

• Higher percentages of drug offenders in state prisons used crack cocaine

21 percent), marijuana (41 percent), and heroin (13 percent) compared

with drug offenders in federal prisons (6 percent used crack cocaine, 32

percent used marijuana, and 4 percent used heroin) in the month before

arrest.

• Property offenders in federal prisons were also less likely than those in

state prisons to have been under the influence, at the time of the offense,

of crack cocaine (1 versus 12 percent), marijuana (4 versus 14 percent),

and alcohol (15 versus 34 percent).

• No similar difference existed for drug offenders, and the only substantial

difference for violent offenders in federal and state prisons involved

alcohol. Twenty-four percent of violent offenders in federal prisons,

compared with 41 percent of violent offenders in state prisons, were under

the influence of alcohol at the time of their offense.

Regarding participation in alcohol/drug programs by federal and state

inmates, the data indicated differences for some types of offenders but not

others:

• While no differences were found for violent offenders in the two prison

systems, the data showed differences for drug offenders and property

offenders. Lower percentages of property offenders (32 percent) and drug

offenders (46 percent) in federal prisons had participated in such

programs than property offenders (62 percent) and drug offenders (61

percent) in state prisons.
Appendix V

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates

by Race

Page 52 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

This appendix presents profiles of state and federal inmates by race,

including self-reported information on their personal demographics, family

background, criminal record, drug history, and treatment participation.

The BJS 1991 and 1997 state and federal surveys indicated that inmates

were quite similar across racial and ethnic groups, although some

differences were revealed. In 1997, minority inmates were more likely than

white inmates to be under 35 years of age, and overall, they had less

education. A higher percentage of white and Hispanic state and federal

inmates reported that they had grown up in two-parent households. In

both federal and state prisons, minority inmates were more likely than

white inmates to have been convicted of a drug crime. Federal and state

drug offenders varied, by race and ethnicity, in the drug associated with

their current offense. A comparison of the 1991 and 1997 profiles showed

few changes. However, higher percentages of white and black federal

inmates reported that they had been under the influence of alcohol at the

time of their arrest. In addition, for federal drug offenders, crack cocaine

was the drug involved for a higher percentage of black inmates in 1997

than in 1991, and a higher percentage of whites in 1997 than in 1991

identified methamphetamines as the drug involved.

The 1997 state prison inmate profiles by race revealed some differences.

Personal demographic and family background characteristics showed that

a higher percentage of minority inmates were younger and had less

education than white inmates, and smaller percentages of whites than

blacks and Hispanics reported that they had experienced no childhood

physical or sexual abuse. Drug offenders in state prisons differed by race

in the drug associated with their current offense, with a higher percentage

of white inmates reporting methamphetamines, black inmates reporting

crack cocaine, and Hispanic inmates citing powder cocaine. White inmates

more frequently than black or Hispanic inmates reported that they had

participated in alcohol/drug programs.

A comparison of the 1991 and 1997 profiles showed few changes. However,

the percentage of black and white inmates age 35 and older increased and

a higher percentage of black state inmates used marijuana in the month

before their arrest in 1997 than in 1991.

Table V.1 summarizes selected personal demographic, family background,

criminal record, drug history, and treatment participation information for

inmates incarcerated in state correctional facilities by race, as reported in

BJS’ 1997 state prison inmate survey. BJS reported a total population of

352,864 white inmates, 492,676 black inmates, and 179,998 Hispanic

inmates in state prisons in 1997. All percentages presented in table V.1 for

Profiles of State

Inmates by Race

Profile of State Prison

Inmates by Race, 1997
Appendix V

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Race

Page 53 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

white, black, and Hispanic state prison inmates in 1997 were calculated

using these numbers as the base; adjustments were not made to

compensate for missing response rates to a particular question.

White Black Hispanic

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Personal demographics

Sex

Male 330,852 93.8 461,088 93.6 169,799 94.3

Female 22,013 6.2 31,588 6.4 10,199 5.7

Age group

Under 25 55,615 15.8 100,915 20.5 44,445 24.7

25-34 124,790 35.4 194,590 39.5 72,315 40.2

35-44 110,951 31.4 146,856 29.8 45,590 25.3

45+ 61,508 17.4 50,315 10.2 17,649 9.8

Marital status

Never married 151,559 43.0 334,929 68.0 97,870 54.4

Married 59,573 16.9 69,197 14.0 41,288 22.9

Other 140,861 39.9 87,702 17.8 40,755 22.6

Education

Less than high school 94,574 26.8 214,711 43.6 94,420 52.5

GED 135,335 38.4 134,480 27.3 48,722 27.1

High school graduate 60,350 17.1 79,982 16.2 19,910 11.1

More than high school 60,401 17.1 59,506 12.1 15,548 8.6

Employment status in month before arrest

Employed 256,374 72.7 302,826 61.5 123,844 68.8

Not employed 88,187 25.0 177,910 36.1 52,176 29.0

Family background

Person lived with while growing up

Both mother and father 197,630 56.0 161,186 32.7 89,136 49.5

Mother only 100,310 28.4 236,213 47.9 59,923 33.3

Father only 17,883 5.1 13,063 2.7 5,346 3.0

Grandparents 18,609 5.3 52,373 10.6 13,884 7.7

Other 15,966 4.5 24,746 5.0 10,140 5.6

Either parent alcohol or drug abuse

None 210,056 59.5 349,489 70.9 131,287 72.9

Alcohol only 106,028 30.0 96,570 19.6 34,193 19.0

Drugs only 5,094 1.4 10,734 2.2 2,629 1.5

Alcohol and drugs 27,398 7.8 28,036 5.7 9,457 5.3

Abused as a childa

Physical only 49,516 14.0 31,926 6.5 13,856 7.7

Sexual only 14,645 4.2 12,628 2.6 3,311 1.8

Physical and sexual 20,657 5.9 9,114 1.8 3,514 2.0

None 265,529 75.2 433,775 88.0 157,390 87.4

Criminal records

Offense type

Table V.1: Profile of State Prison Inmates by Race, 1997
Appendix V

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Race

Page 54 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

White Black Hispanic

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Violent 163,043 46.2 235,604 47.8 77,774 43.2

Property 98,109 27.8 93,148 18.9 32,888 18.3

Drug 40,917 11.6 121,827 24.7 48,934 27.2

Other 44,664 12.7 37,631 7.6 19,062 10.6

Type of drug involved in offenseb

Powder cocaine 11,642 28.7 36,884 30.5 20,731 43.0

Crack cocaine 4,442 10.9 71,861 59.4 8,012 16.6

Heroin 4,263 10.5 11,309 9.3 10,987 22.8

Marijuana 8,076 19.9 9,763 8.1 8,534 17.7

Methamphetamines 14,489 35.7 887 0.7 4,643 9.6

Other 2,622 6.5 1,091 0.9 1,397 2.9

Criminal justice status at time of arrest

None 193,536 54.8 245,735 49.9 92,663 51.5

Probation 80,676 22.9 106,724 21.7 37,272 20.7

Parole 70,034 19.8 132,114 26.8 46,620 25.9

Escape 3,870 1.1 2,450 0.5 659 0.4

Prior sentences

None 82,768 23.5 103,777 21.1 52,877 29.4

1 to 2 100,184 28.4 173,135 35.1 58,633 32.6

3 or more 164,054 46.5 203,188 41.2 65,096 36.2

Drug histories

Drug use in month before arrest c

Heroin 32,546 9.2 32,952 6.7 28,456 15.8

Powder cocaine 54,162 15.3 72,595 14.7 36,960 20.5

Crack cocaine 36,973 10.5 96,193 19.5 16,524 9.2

Marijuana 134,596 38.1 201,195 40.8 60,861 33.8

Other 94,954 26.9 31,266 6.3 25,423 14.1

Under influence at time of offensea, c

Heroin 18,171 5.1 18,827 3.8 19,663 10.9

Powder cocaine 23,445 6.6 33,920 6.9 19,471 10.8

Crack cocaine 20,169 5.7 57,529 11.7 8,480 4.7

Marijuana 52,308 14.8 77,434 15.7 23,100 12.8

Other 52,018 14.7 19,525 4.0 13,668 7.6

Alcohol 148,679 42.1 159,455 32.4 65,063 36.1

Treatment participation

Ever participated in alcohol/drug program

Yes 223,376 63.3 262,654 53.3 86,182 47.9

No 126,403 35.8 223,615 45.4 91,958 51.1

Note: Unless otherwise noted, all percentages above were based on an estimated total population of

352,864 white inmates, 492,676 black inmates, and 179,998 Hispanic inmates in state prisons in

1997. Percentages may not add to 100 because of missing data or rounding.

a

Some of the differences in 1991 (see table V.3) and 1997 inmate reports of physical and sexual

abuse and being under the influence of alcohol at the time of arrest may have been due to changes in

question wording, order, and context.

b

These percentages were based on the estimated population total of 40,566 white inmates, 120,980

black inmates, and 48,255 Hispanic inmates who reported being sentenced for drug offenses.

c

More than one drug may have been indicated.
Appendix V

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Race

Page 55 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

White Black Hispanic

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Do you have children

Male

Yes 199,874 60.9 310,257 68.0 114,103 67.7

No 128,147 39.1 146,068 32.0 54,317 32.3

Female

Yes 17,058 77.9 25,617 81.8 7,985 78.7

No 4,849 22.1 5,688 18.2 2,164 21.3

Note: These percentages were based on the estimated population of 328,022 white, 456,325 black,

and 168,420 Hispanic male state inmates and 21,907 white, 31,305 black, and 10,149 Hispanic

female state inmates in 1997.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Among state inmates in the 1997 survey, the profiles revealed few

differences in demographics based on race or ethnicity:

• In state prisons, higher percentages of minority inmates were under the

age of 35 than white inmates. Sixty-five percent of Hispanic inmates, 60

percent of black inmates, and 51 percent of white inmates were under age

35.

• Higher percentages of minorities in state prisons than whites had never

been married. Sixty-eight percent of black, 54 percent of Hispanic, and 43

percent of white inmates had never been married.

• Fifty-two percent of Hispanic and 44 percent of black state prison inmates

had less than a high school degree or its equivalent, compared with 27

percent of white inmates.

• Seventy-three percent of white state inmates were employed in the month

before their arrest, compared with about 62 percent of black inmates; 69

percent of Hispanic inmates were employed.

Family backgrounds reported by state inmates differed among racial and

ethnic groups, including the following:

• Higher percentages of white (56 percent) and Hispanic (50 percent) state

inmates than black inmates (33 percent) lived with both parents when

growing up. A higher percentage of black state inmates had lived with only

their mother (48 percent), compared with white (28 percent) and Hispanic

(33 percent) inmates.

Table V.2: State Inmates With Children, by Race, 1997

Personal Demographics

Family Background
Appendix V

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Race

Page 56 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

• Seventy-one percent of black and 73 percent of Hispanic state inmates said

that neither parent had abused alcohol or drugs, compared with 60 percent

of white inmates. A higher percentage of white inmates (30 percent) than

black (20 percent) or Hispanic (19 percent) inmates said that a parent had

abused alcohol only.

• Although most state inmates had not experienced physical or sexual abuse

as a child, a lower percentage of white (75 percent) than black (88

percent) and Hispanic (87 percent) inmates had not been abused.

The types of nonviolent crimes committed and the types of drugs involved

in drug crimes differed by racial or ethnic group:

• Regardless of race or ethnicity, state inmates in 1997 most frequently had

been convicted of a violent crime. However, concerning nonviolent crimes,

a higher percentage of white inmates (28 percent) than black (19 percent)

and Hispanic (18 percent) inmates were in prison for a property crime,

while a higher percentage of black (25 percent) and Hispanic (27 percent)

inmates than white inmates (12 percent) were in prison for a drug crime.

• Among drug offenders, the type of drug involved in the crime varied by

racial group. A higher percentage of black state inmates (59 percent) than

Hispanic (17 percent) or white inmates (11 percent) who were convicted

of drug crimes said that crack cocaine was involved in the crime. However,

a higher percentage of Hispanic inmates (43 percent) than black (30

percent) and white (29 percent) inmates said that powder cocaine was

involved.

• Methamphetamines were involved for a higher percentage of white

inmates convicted of drug crimes (36 percent) than Hispanic (10 percent)

or black (1 percent) inmates.

• Marijuana was more likely to be involved for white (20 percent) and

Hispanic (18 percent) inmates than black (8 percent) inmates. A higher

percentage of Hispanic inmates (23 percent) than white (10 percent) and

black inmates (9 percent) indicated heroin.

• A higher percentage of white (47 percent) than Hispanic (36 percent)

inmates had served three or more prior sentences; 41 percent of black

inmates had served three or more prior sentences.

The drug histories reported by state inmates in 1997 across the racial and

ethnic groups were quite similar, with the following exceptions:

• In the month before arrest, a higher percentage of black state inmates (20

percent) than white (10 percent) and Hispanic (9 percent) inmates used

crack cocaine.

Criminal Records

Drug Histories
Appendix V

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Race

Page 57 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

• A higher percentage of Hispanic inmates (16 percent) than black inmates

(7 percent) used heroin; 9 percent of white inmates used heroin during this

period.

• White inmates (27 percent) were more likely than Hispanic (14 percent)

and black (6 percent) inmates to have used a drug other than marijuana,

cocaine, or heroin during the month before their arrest.

• A higher percentage of white inmates (42 percent) than black inmates (32

percent) were under the influence of alcohol when they committed their

offense; 36 percent of Hispanic inmates were under the influence of

alcohol.

State inmates’ reports of participation in alcohol/drug programs differed

across racial and ethnic groups. A higher percentage of white inmates (63

percent) than black (53 percent) and Hispanic (48 percent) inmates

reported that they had participated in such programs.

A comparison of table V.1 with table V.3, which provides information on

selected characteristics from BJS’ 1991 inmate survey of state prison

inmates, showed little change in state inmate profiles based on race or

ethnicity between 1991 and 1997. There were a few differences, however:

• The percentages of white and black state inmates under age 35 decreased

from 1991 (62 and 71 percent, respectively) to 1997 (51 and 60 percent,

respectively).

• A higher percentage of black state inmates had used marijuana in the

month before their arrest in 1997 (41 percent) than in 1991 (30 percent).

White Black Hispanic

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Personal demographics

Sex

Male 238,012 94.4 306,329 94.5 113,113 95.3

Female 14,026 5.6 17,836 5.5 5,521 4.7

Age group

Under 25 47,296 18.8 76,923 23.7 27,923 23.5

25-34 108,839 43.2 153,577 47.4 55,830 47.1

35-44 59,857 23.7 72,640 22.4 24,802 20.9

45+ 36,045 14.3 21,025 6.5 10,079 8.5

Marital status

Never married 104,821 41.6 216,330 66.7 60,395 50.9

Married 46,512 18.5 47,336 14.6 29,825 25.1

Other 97,551 38.7 56,569 17.5 27,735 23.4

Treatment Participation

Changes in 1997, Compared

With 1991 Profiles of White,

Black, and Hispanic

Inmates in State Prisons

Table V.3: Profile of State Prison Inmates by Race, 1991
Appendix V

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Race

Page 58 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

White Black Hispanic

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Education

Less than high school 75,408 29.9 148,543 45.8 65,669 55.4

GED 78,262 31.1 67,647 20.9 24,027 20.3

High school graduate 52,948 21.0 64,108 19.8 16,628 14.0

More than high school 45,191 17.9 43,310 13.4 12,110 10.2

Employment status in month before arrest

Employed 183,015 72.6 202,958 62.6 80,221 67.6

Not employed 68,171 27.0 119,909 37.0 37,998 32.0

Family background

Person lived with while growing up

Both mother and father 140,935 55.9 102,804 31.7 54,463 45.9

Mother only 69,366 27.5 160,184 49.4 42,680 36.0

Father only 12,269 4.9 9,757 3.0 4,784 4.0

Grandparents 12,954 5.1 32,294 10.0 8,092 6.8

Other 15,469 6.1 17,222 5.3 8,216 6.9

Either parent alcohol or drug abuse

None 158,675 63.0 257,248 79.4 91,633 77.2

Alcohol only 76,397 30.3 53,493 16.5 20,552 17.3

Drugs only 1,812 0.7 2,346 0.7 1,533 1.3

Alcohol and drugs 13,359 5.3 7,952 2.5 3,795 3.2

Abused as a child

Physical only 26,712 10.6 14,540 4.5 5,648 4.8

Sexual only 9,849 3.9 5,105 1.6 1,890 1.6

Physical and sexual 19,149 7.6 6,849 2.1 2,824 2.4

None 196,328 77.9 297,671 91.8 108,273 91.3

Criminal records

Offense type

Violent 121,972 48.4 151,926 46.9 45,437 38.3

Property 75,015 29.8 70,621 21.8 24,182 20.4

Drug 29,751 11.8 80,126 24.7 38,807 32.7

Other 25,299 10.0 21,789 6.7 10,207 8.6

Criminal justice status at time of arrest

None 140,585 55.8 168,446 52.0 60,920 51.4

Probation 56,501 22.4 74,734 23.1 27,932 23.5

Parole 48,695 19.3 75,743 23.4 28,048 23.6

Escape 4,370 1.7 2,418 0.7 663 0.6

Prior sentences

None 52,520 20.8 60,486 18.7 28,601 24.1

1 to 2 79,605 31.6 126,081 38.9 42,688 36.0

3 or more 119,912 47.6 137,597 42.4 47,344 39.9

Drug histories

Drug use in month before arresta

Heroin 17,013 6.8 22,993 7.1 22,116 18.6

Powder cocaine 44,882 17.8 66,187 20.4 30,551 25.8

Crack cocaine 16,218 6.4 44,535 13.7 9,461 8.0

Marijuana 90,880 36.1 96,856 29.9 33,571 28.3

Other 55,955 22.2 19,685 6.1 14,348 12.1
Appendix V

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Race

Page 59 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

White Black Hispanic

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Under influence at time of offensea

Heroin 11,579 4.6 13,590 4.2 16,533 13.9

Powder cocaine 25,272 10.0 37,382 11.5 15,354 12.9

Crack cocaine 7,484 3.0 24,045 7.4 4,115 3.5

Marijuana 33,740 13.4 34,993 10.8 11,049 9.3

Other 36,005 14.3 12,482 3.9 7,159 6.0

Alcohol 99,860 39.6 83,889 25.9 37,969 32.0

Treatment participation

Ever participated in alcohol/drug program

Yes 151,902 60.3 161,861 49.9 63,281 53.3

No 100,136 39.7 162,303 50.1 55,352 46.7

Note: All percentages above were based on an estimated population of 252,038 white inmates,

324,165 black inmates, and 118,634 Hispanic inmates in state prisons in 1991. Percentages may not

add to 100 because of missing data or rounding.

a

More than one drug may have been indicated.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

White Black Hispanic

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Do you have children

Male

Yes 136,990 57.6 204,573 66.8 75,397 66.7

No 101,022 42.4 101,756 33.2 37,716 33.3

Female

Yes 10,322 73.6 14,086 79.0 4,490 81.3

No 3,703 26.4 3,749 21.0 1,031 18.7

Note: These percentages were based on the estimated population of 238,012 white, 306,329 black,

and 113,113 Hispanic male state inmates and 14,025 white, 17,835 black, and 5,521 Hispanic female

state inmates in 1991.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

The 1997 federal prison inmate profiles revealed a few differences in

personal demographics and family background based on race or ethnicity.

While federal inmates of all races were most likely to report that their

current incarceration was for a drug crime, the likelihood of committing

drug crimes, as opposed to violent or property crimes varied across racial

groups. Moreover, among drug offenders, the drugs likely to be associated

with the current offense differed by race and ethnicity. For example, a

higher percentage of white drug offenders than other drug offenders cited

methamphetamines, black drug offenders were more likely than other drug

Table V.4: State Inmates With Children, by Race, 1991
Appendix V

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Race

Page 60 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

offenders to report crack cocaine, and Hispanic drug offenders were more

likely than other drug offenders to report powder cocaine as the

associated drug. Moreover, greater percentages of white and black federal

inmates than Hispanic inmates had serious criminal records. The drug

histories of federal inmates also varied by race and ethnicity, with a

greater percentage of black inmates reporting that they had used

marijuana in the month before arrest, a greater percentage of Hispanic

inmates reporting that they had used powder cocaine, and a greater

percentage of white inmates reporting that they had used other drugs. In

1997, higher percentages of white and black federal inmates than Hispanic

inmates reported that they had participated in alcohol/drug programs.

A comparison of the 1991 and 1997 federal profiles showed few changes by

race. However, white and black inmates were more likely in 1997 than

1991 to have been under the influence of alcohol at the time of their arrest.

In addition, a higher percentage of black drug offenders in 1997 than in

1991 said crack cocaine was the drug involved in their current offense, and

a higher percentage of white inmates identified methamphetamines as the

drug involved.

Table V.5 summarizes selected self-reported personal demographic, family

background, criminal record, drug history, and treatment participation

information for inmates incarcerated in federal correctional facilities

derived from BJS’ 1997 federal prison inmate survey. The federal prison

population included 26,616 white, 33,697 black, and 24,349 Hispanic

inmates. All percentages presented below for federal prison inmates for

1997 were calculated using those numbers as the base; adjustments were

not made to compensate for missing responses to a particular question.

Profile of Federal Prison

Inmates by Race, 1997
Appendix V

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Race

Page 61 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

White Black Hispanic

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Personal demographics

Sex

Male 24,746 93.0 31,481 93.4 22,280 91.5

Female 1,870 7.0 2,216 6.6 2,069 8.5

Age group

Under 25 1,099 4.1 4,216 12.5 1,981 8.1

25-34 6,134 23.0 16,119 47.8 8,849 36.3

35-44 9,111 34.2 8,537 25.3 8,309 34.1

45+ 10,272 38.6 4,825 14.3 5,210 21.4

Marital status

Never married 6,978 26.2 20,169 59.9 7,812 32.1

Married 8,016 30.1 7,681 22.8 10,001 41.1

Other 11,548 43.4 5,754 17.1 6,518 26.8

Education

Less than high school 3,105 11.7 10,117 30.0 8,985 36.9

GED 7,556 28.4 8,594 25.5 6,372 26.2

High school graduate 5,495 20.6 7,555 22.4 3,873 15.9

More than high school 10,188 38.3 7,169 21.3 4,682 19.2

Employment status in month before arrest

Employed 18,955 71.2 21,545 63.9 18,207 74.8

Not employed 6,946 26.1 11,235 33.3 5,169 21.2

Family background

Person lived with while growing up

Both mother and father 17,991 67.6 12,286 36.5 15,380 63.2

Mother only 6,173 23.2 15,381 45.6 5,325 21.9

Father only 836 3.1 743 2.2 829 3.4

Grandparents 645 2.4 4,031 12.0 1,553 6.4

Other 560 2.1 1,014 3.0 988 4.1

Either parent alcohol or drug abuse

None 19,562 73.5 26,228 77.8 20,523 84.3

Alcohol only 5,281 19.8 5,274 15.7 3,047 12.5

Drugs only 163 0.6 441 1.3 66 0.3

Alcohol and drugs 994 3.7 1,311 3.9 326 1.3

Abused as a childa

Physical only 1,861 7.0 937 2.8 535 2.2

Sexual only 478 1.8 426 1.3 318 1.3

Physical and sexual 630 2.4 235 0.7 164 0.7

None 23,137 86.9 31,810 94.4 23,010 94.5

Criminal records

Offense type

Violent 4,895 18.4 5,080 15.1 1,649 6.8

Property 3,347 12.6 1,389 4.1 623 2.6

Drug 13,026 48.9 22,350 66.3 17,876 73.4

Other 4,839 18.2 4,359 12.9 3,956 16.2

Type of drug involved in offenseb

Table V.5: Profile of Federal Prison Inmates by Race, 1997
Appendix V

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Race

Page 62 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

White Black Hispanic

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Powder cocaine 3,833 29.5 8,990 40.3 9,153 51.3

Crack cocaine 769 5.9 12,165 54.5 1,298 7.3

Heroin 618 4.8 1,650 7.4 2,639 14.8

Marijuana 3,832 29.5 1,366 6.1 4,607 25.8

Methamphetamines 4,177 32.2 42 0.2 1,305 7.3

Other 921 7.1 542 2.4 255 1.4

Criminal justice status at time of arrest

None 19,809 74.4 22,767 67.6 17,960 73.8

Probation 2,534 9.5 5,617 16.7 3,290 13.5

Parole 3,911 14.7 4,989 14.8 2,730 11.2

Escape 121 0.5 18 0.1 93 0.4

Prior sentences

None 9,950 37.4 9,294 27.6 12,468 51.2

1 to 2 7,649 28.7 11,759 34.9 7,019 28.8

3 or more 8,421 31.6 12,004 35.6 4,193 17.2

Drug histories

Drug use in month before arrestc

Heroin 1,916 7.2 1,186 3.5 1,532 6.3

Powder cocaine 4,027 15.1 4,520 13.4 5,510 22.6

Crack cocaine 1,417 5.3 3,178 9.4 786 3.2

Marijuana 7,871 29.6 12,411 36.8 5,109 21.0

Other 6,269 23.6 984 2.9 1,348 5.5

Under influence at time of offensea, c

Heroin 1,009 3.8 715 2.1 830 3.4

Powder cocaine 1,493 5.6 2,012 6.0 2,094 8.6

Crack cocaine 678 2.5 1,534 4.6 479 2.0

Marijuana 2,519 9.5 4,999 14.8 1,520 6.2

Other 3,948 14.8 687 2.0 383 1.6

Alcohol 5,697 21.4 6,989 20.7 4,011 16.5

Treatment participation

Ever participated in alcohol/drug program

Yes 13,975 52.5 16,119 47.8 8,764 36.0

No 12,045 45.3 17,208 51.1 15,317 62.9

Note: Unless otherwise noted, all percentages above were based on an estimated total population of

26,616 white inmates, 33,697 black inmates, and 24,349 Hispanic inmates in federal prisons in 1997.

Percentages may not add to 100 because of missing data or rounding.

a

Some of the differences in the 1991 (see table V.7) and 1997 inmate reports of physical and sexual

abuse and being under the influence of alcohol at the time of arrest may have been due to changes in

question wording, order, and context.

b

These percentages were based on the estimated population total of 12,982 white inmates, 22,302

black inmates, and 17,833 Hispanic inmates who reported being sentenced for drug offenses.

c

More than one drug may have been indicated.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Appendix V

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Race

Page 63 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

White Black Hispanic

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Do you have children

Male

Yes 16,985 69.7 25,885 82.9 17,591 79.8

No 7,383 30.3 5,325 17.1 4,460 20.2

Female

Yes 1,453 77.9 1,844 83.7 1,771 85.6

No 412 22.1 360 16.3 298 14.4

Note: These percentages were based on the estimated population of 24,368 white, 31,210 black, and

22,051 Hispanic male federal inmates and 1,866 white, 2,205 black, and 2,069 Hispanic female

federal inmates in 1997.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Examination of BJS’ 1997 federal prison inmate survey data revealed few

differences between racial and ethnic groups in their general demographic

characteristics:

• In federal prisons in 1997, minority inmates were more likely than white

inmates to be under the age of 35. Sixty percent of black inmates were

under the age of 35, with nearly half (48 percent) being between 25 and 34

years old; 44 percent of Hispanic inmates were younger than 35, with

about one-third (36 percent) being between 25 and 34. About one-quarter

of white inmates (27 percent) were younger than 35 years old. A higher

percentage of white (39 percent) than other inmates (14 percent of black

and 21 percent of Hispanic inmates) were 45 years of age or older.

• Concerning marital status, black federal inmates (60 percent) were the

most likely to report never having been married, Hispanic inmates (41

percent) were the most likely to indicate being married currently, and

white inmates (43 percent) were the most likely to report marital statuses

other than never married or married (i.e., divorced, separated, or

widowed).

• A higher percentage of white federal inmates had more education than did

minority inmates. Specifically, 38 percent of white inmates had more

education than a high school degree or GED, compared with 21 percent of

black and 19 percent of Hispanic inmates. Greater percentages of Hispanic

(37 percent) and black (30 percent) federal inmates had less than a high

school degree than did white inmates (12 percent).

• A higher percentage of Hispanic inmates (75 percent) than black inmates

(64 percent) were employed in the month before their arrest; 71 percent of

white inmates were employed.

Table V.6: Federal Inmates With Children, by Race, 1997

Personal Demographics
Appendix V

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Race

Page 64 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

• Black (83 percent) and Hispanic (80 percent) male federal inmates were

more likely than white male inmates (70 percent) to have children.

While there were few racial differences in the family background

characteristics reported by federal prison inmates in 1997, we found the

following:

• In federal prisons, higher percentages of white (68 percent) and Hispanic

(63 percent) inmates than black inmates (37 percent) reported that they

had lived with both parents when growing up. Forty-six percent of black

inmates (46 percent) lived with only their mother, compared with white

(23 percent) and Hispanic (22 percent) inmates.

• Hispanic inmates (84 percent) were more likely than white inmates (74

percent) to report no parental abuse of alcohol or drugs; 78 percent of

black inmates reported no parental abuse of alcohol or drugs.

There were differences in federal inmates’ criminal records, according to

race or ethnicity. The type of current offense reported varied across racial

groups in the following ways:

• Higher percentages of Hispanic (73 percent) and black (66 percent)

inmates than white inmates (49 percent) were drug offenders.

• White (18 percent) and black (15 percent) inmates were more likely than

Hispanic inmates (7 percent) to be violent offenders.

• A higher percentage of white inmates (13 percent) than black (4 percent)

and Hispanic (3 percent) inmates were property offenders.

There were racial and ethnic differences in the types of drugs federal drug

offenders said were associated with their current offense:

• Drug offenders who were members of minority groups were more likely

than white drug offenders to cite powder cocaine as the drug involved in

their current offense. Fifty-one percent of Hispanic inmates, 40 percent of

black inmates, and 30 percent of white inmates cited powder cocaine.

• Fifty-four percent of black drug offenders compared with 7 percent of

Hispanic and 6 percent of white drug offenders indicated crack cocaine as

the drug involved in their current offense.

• White drug offenders (32 percent) were more likely than Hispanic (7

percent) or black (0.2 percent) drug offenders to identify

methamphetamines as the associated drug.

• Marijuana was involved in the current offense for a higher percentage of

white (30 percent) and Hispanic (26 percent) drug offenders than black

drug offenders (6 percent).

Family Background

Criminal Records
Appendix V

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Race

Page 65 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

There were some racial and ethnic differences among federal inmates in

their reported previous experience with the criminal justice system:

• Hispanic inmates (51 percent) were more likely than white inmates (37

percent) and white inmates more likely than black inmates (28 percent) to

have served no prior sentences.

• Black (36 percent) and white (32 percent) inmates were about twice as

likely as Hispanic inmates (17 percent) to have served three or more prior

sentences.

The drug histories reported by federal inmates also differed across racial

groups:

• Higher percentages of black (37 percent) and white (30 percent) inmates

than Hispanic inmates (21 percent) had used marijuana in the month prior

to the arrest for their current offense.

• Hispanic inmates (23 percent) were more likely than white (15 percent) or

black (13 percent) inmates to have used powder cocaine in the month

prior to their arrest.

• Twenty-four percent of white inmates compared with 6 percent of

Hispanic and 3 percent of black inmates used a drug other than marijuana,

cocaine, or heroin in the month before their arrest.

In 1997, the percentage of federal prison inmates who reported they had

participated in alcohol/drug programs differed by race and ethnicity, with

greater percentages of white and black inmates than Hispanic inmates

having participated in such treatment. White (52 percent) and black (48

percent) federal inmates were more likely than Hispanic inmates (36

percent) to report having participated in alcohol/drug programs.

A comparison of table V.5 with table V.7, which provides information on

selected characteristics from BJS’ 1991 inmate survey of federal prison

inmates, generally, showed little overall change in federal inmate profiles

by race and ethnicity between 1991 and 1997. However, some changes did

occur:

• Higher percentages of black and Hispanic inmates in 1997 (60 and 32

percent, respectively) than in 1991 (50 and 23 percent, respectively) were

never married.

• A higher percentage of black inmates in 1997 (66 percent) than in 1991 (55

percent) was in prison for a drug crime.

• Black inmates were nearly twice as likely to cite crack cocaine in 1997 (54

percent) than in 1991 (29 percent) as the drug involved, and the percentage

Drug Histories

Treatment Participation

Few Changes in 1997,

Compared With 1991

Profiles of Federal White,

Black, and Hispanic

Inmates
Appendix V

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Race

Page 66 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

of white inmates who indicated methamphetamines nearly doubled also

between 1997 (32 percent) and 1991 (17 percent).

• Lower percentages of Hispanic and black federal inmates in 1997 (51 and

28 percent, respectively) than in 1991 (65 and 40 percent, respectively) had

served no prior sentences. A higher percentage of black inmates in 1997

(36 percent) than in 1991 (26 percent) had served three or more prior

sentences.

• A greater percentage of Hispanic federal inmates had used powder cocaine

in the month before their arrest in 1997 (23 percent) than in 1991 (13

percent). A higher percentage of white inmates in 1997 (21 percent) than in

1991 (12 percent) had used a drug other than marijuana, cocaine, or

heroin.

• White and black federal inmates were more likely in 1997 (21 and 21

percent, respectively) than in 1991 (12 and 10 percent, respectively) to

report being under the influence of alcohol at the time of arrest.

White Black Hispanic

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Personal demographics

Sex

Male 19,506 94.1 14,514 89.9 13,856 91.8

Female 1,226 5.9 1,629 10.1 1,245 8.2

Age group

Under 25 950 4.6 2,475 15.3 1,330 8.8

25-34 6,205 29.9 6,717 41.6 5,667 37.5

35-44 7,221 34.8 4,805 29.8 5,149 34.1

45+ 6,356 30.7 2,147 13.3 2,955 19.6

Marital status

Never married 4,899 23.6 8,150 50.5 3,445 22.8

Married 7,549 36.4 4,520 28.0 7,556 50.0

Other 7,979 38.5 3,199 19.8 4,010 26.6

Education

Less than high school 3,024 14.6 4,562 28.3 4,718 31.2

GED 4,653 22.4 3,534 21.9 3,592 23.8

High school graduate 4,724 22.8 3,639 22.5 3,097 20.5

More than high school 8,259 39.8 4,369 27.1 3,642 24.1

Employment status in month before

arrest

Employed 15,368 74.1 10,921 67.7 12,033 79.7

Not employed 5,241 25.3 5,107 31.6 3,012 19.9

Family background

Person lived with while growing up

Both mother and father 14,202 68.5 6,520 40.4 9,375 62.1

Table V.7: Profile of Federal Prison Inmates by Race, 1991
Appendix V

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Race

Page 67 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

White Black Hispanic

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Mother only 4,281 20.6 6,777 42.0 3,717 24.6

Father only 765 3.7 491 3.0 483 3.2

Grandparents 572 2.8 1,398 8.7 827 5.5

Other 755 3.6 740 4.6 626 4.1

Either parent alcohol or drug abuse

None 16,334 78.8 13,358 82.7 13,650 90.4

Alcohol only 3,815 18.4 2,358 14.6 1,228 8.1

Drugs only 47 0.2 60 0.4 51 0.3

Alcohol and drugs 345 1.7 149 0.9 47 0.3

Abused as a child

Physical only 1,125 5.4 392 2.4 314 2.1

Sexual only 296 1.4 144 0.9 88 0.6

Physical and sexual 396 1.9 196 1.2 77 0.5

None 18,915 91.2 15,412 95.5 14,621 96.8

Criminal records

Offense type

Violent 3,878 18.7 3,585 22.2 905 6.0

Property 2,713 13.1 1,419 8.8 297 2.0

Drug 9,548 46.1 8,817 54.6 12,084 80.0

Other 4,593 22.2 2,322 14.4 1,815 12.0

Type of drug involved in offensea

Powder cocaine 4,354 45.6 4,500 51.1 7,477 62.0

Crack cocaine 87 0.9 2,570 29.2 290 2.4

Heroin 451 4.7 1,305 14.8 1,437 11.9

Marijuana 2,712 28.4 477 5.4 2,731 22.7

Methamphetamines 1,652 17.3 30 0.3 203 1.7

Other 502 5.3 396 4.5 48 0.4

Criminal justice status at time of arrest

None 15,538 74.9 11,259 69.7 12,363 81.9

Probation 2,281 11.0 2,362 14.6 1,428 9.5

Parole 2,519 12.1 2,375 14.7 1,182 7.8

Escape 344 1.7 83 0.5 56 0.4

Prior sentences

None 8,996 43.4 6,376 39.5 9,756 64.6

1 to 2 6,664 32.1 5,631 34.9 3,731 24.7

3 or more 5,072 24.5 4,136 25.6 1,614 10.7

Drug histories

Drug use in month before arrestb

Heroin 869 4.2 950 5.9 780 5.2

Powder cocaine 2,925 14.1 2,279 14.1 1,974 13.1

Crack cocaine 586 2.8 1,139 7.1 216 1.4

Marijuana 4,395 21.2 3,629 22.5 1,876 12.4

Other 2,348 11.3 608 3.8 399 2.6

Under influence at time of offenseb

Heroin 634 3.1 693 4.3 550 3.6

Powder cocaine 1,481 7.1 1,077 6.7 931 6.2

Crack cocaine 238 1.1 636 3.9 99 0.7
Appendix V

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Race

Page 68 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

White Black Hispanic

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Marijuana 1,268 6.1 1,157 7.2 665 4.4

Other 1,426 6.9 294 1.8 163 1.1

Alcohol 2,410 11.6 1,600 9.9 1,274 8.4

Treatment participation

Ever participated in alcohol/drug

program

Yes 10,778 52.0 6,602 40.9 5,730 37.9

No 9,954 48.0 9,541 59.1 9,371 62.1

Note: Unless otherwise noted, all percentages above were based on an estimated total population of

20,732 White inmates, 16,143 Black inmates, and 15,101 Hispanic inmates in federal prisons in 1991.

Percentages may not add to 100 because of missing data or rounding.

a

These percentages were based on the estimated population total of 9,538 white inmates, 8,804 black

inmates, and 12,056 Hispanic inmates who reported being sentenced for drug offenses.

b

More than one drug may have been indicated.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

White Black Hispanic

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Do you have children

Male

Yes 13,613 69.8 11,307 77.9 11,227 81.0

No 5,893 30.2 3,206 22.1 2,629 19.0

Female

Yes 929 75.7 1316 80.7 1,040 83.5

No 297 24.3 314 19.3 205 16.5

Note: These percentages were based on the estimated population total of 19,506 white, 14,513 black,

and 13,856 Hispanic male federal inmates and 1,226 white, 1,630 black, and 1,245 Hispanic female

federal inmates in 1991.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

We identified several differences between state and federal inmate

populations in 1997 that were related to race:

• White and Hispanic state inmates tended to be younger than white and

Hispanic federal inmates. Higher percentages of white and Hispanic state

inmates were under age 35 (51 and 65 percent, respectively), while higher

percentages of white and Hispanic federal inmates were age 35 or older

(73 and 56 percent, respectively).

• Higher percentages of white (68 percent) and Hispanic (63 percent)

inmates in federal prisons than in state prisons (56 percent of white and 50

Table V.8: Federal Inmates With Children, by Race, 1991

Differences Between

State and Federal

Prison Inmate Profiles
Appendix V

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Race

Page 69 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

percent of Hispanic inmates) lived with both parents when growing up. A

higher percentage of Hispanic state inmates (33 percent) than Hispanic

federal inmates (22 percent) lived with their mother only.

• Higher percentages of white (74 percent) and Hispanic (84 percent)

inmates in federal prisons than in state prisons (60 percent of whites and

73 percent of Hispanics) said that neither parent had abused alcohol or

drugs. However, a higher percentage of white state inmates (30 percent)

than white federal inmates (20 percent) said that a parent had abused

alcohol only.

• A lower percentage of white state inmates (75 percent) than white federal

inmates (87 percent) said that they had not been physically and/or sexually

abused as a child.

• A higher percentage of white state inmates (23 percent) than white federal

inmates (10 percent) said that they had been on probation at the time of

their arrest. Higher percentages of state black (27 percent) and Hispanic

inmates (26 percent) than federal black (15 percent) and Hispanic inmates

(11 percent) were on parole at the time of their arrest.

• Among drug offenders, higher percentages of federal black inmates (40

percent) and Hispanic inmates (51 percent) than state black inmates (30

percent) and Hispanic inmates (43 percent) cited powder cocaine as the

drug involved in the crime. Higher percentages of federal white inmates

(30 percent) and Hispanic inmates (26 percent) than state white inmates

(20 percent) and Hispanic inmates (18 percent) indicated marijuana.

• Higher percentages of state white inmates (46 percent) and Hispanic

inmates (36 percent) than federal white inmates (32 percent) and Hispanic

inmates (17 percent) had served 3 or more prior sentences.

• A higher percentage of black state inmates (20 percent) than black federal

inmates (9 percent) had used crack cocaine in the month before their

arrest, and a higher percentage of Hispanic state inmates (34 percent) than

Hispanic federal inmates (21 percent) had used marijuana.

• Higher percentages of state white (63 percent) and Hispanic inmates (48

percent) than federal white (52 percent) and Hispanic inmates (36 percent)

had participated in alcohol/drug programs.
Appendix VI

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates

by Gender

Page 70 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

This appendix presents profiles of state and federal inmates by gender,

including their self-reported personal demographics, family background,

criminal record, drug history, and treatment participation.1

While few

differences were found between male and female inmates in state and

federal prisons in 1991 and 1997, some differences were striking. In 1997,

36 percent of female state inmates and 23 percent of female federal

inmates reported being physically and/or sexually abused as children,

compared with 14 and 6 percent of male state and federal inmates,

respectively. In both state and federal prisons, female inmates were more

likely than male inmates to report drug crimes as their current offense;

whereas, a higher percentage of male state inmates reported that their

current offense was a violent crime. Moreover, among state inmates,

females were more likely than males to report having used crack cocaine

in the month before arrest; however, males were more likely to report

using marijuana. Among federal inmates, similar percentages of males and

females reported using all types of drugs except marijuana in the month

before arrest. Higher percentages of males than females reported using

marijuana.

The 1997 state inmate survey revealed some differences between male and

female inmates. In state prisons, males were somewhat younger than

females. Although the majority of state inmates reported no sexual or

physical abuse as a child, female inmates more frequently reported abuse

than male inmates. Male and female state prison inmates also had different

current offenses. A higher percentage of male than female inmates were

currently incarcerated for violent crimes, while a higher percentage of

female than male inmates were incarcerated for drug crimes. Male and

female inmates also reported different drug use patterns. For example,

while a higher percentage of male than female inmates reported using

marijuana in the month before arrest, a higher percentage of female

inmates reported using crack cocaine or heroin in the month their arrest.

Comparing the 1997 and 1991 profiles, few changes were identified.

However, the percentage of female state inmates who reported having

experienced physical and sexual abuse as a child decreased, and the

percentage of female inmates who used crack cocaine in the month before

arrest increased.

Table VI.1 summarizes selected personal demographic, family background,

criminal record, drug history, and treatment participation information for

inmates incarcerated in state correctional facilities separately for males

1

For additional information on female prison inmates, see also Women in Prison: Issues and

Challenges Confronting U.S. Correctional Systems (GAO/GGD-00-22, Dec. 28, 1999).

Profiles of Male and

Female State Inmates

Profile of Male and Female

State Inmates, 1997
Appendix VI

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Gender

Page 71 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

and females, as reported in BJS’ 1997 state prison inmate survey. BJS

reported a total population of 993,364 males and 66,242 females in state

prisons in 1997. All percentages presented below for male and female state

prison inmates in 1997 were calculated using these numbers as the base;

adjustments were not made to compensate for missing response rates to a

particular question.

Male Female

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Personal demographics

Race

White 330,852 33.3 22,013 33.2

Black 461,088 46.4 31,588 47.7

Hispanic 169,799 17.1 10,199 15.4

Other 31,626 3.2 2,443 3.7

Age group

Under 25 201,713 20.3 7,631 11.5

25-34 375,253 37.8 28,781 43.4

35-44 289,378 29.1 22,621 34.1

45+ 127,021 12.8 7,210 10.9

Marital status

Never married 572,976 57.7 31,117 47.0

Married 164,289 16.5 11,428 17.3

Other 254,490 25.6 23,502 35.5

Education

Less than high school 388,476 39.1 27,328 41.3

GED 314,058 31.6 16,291 24.6

High school graduate 153,503 15.5 11,041 16.7

More than high school 130,101 13.1 11,036 16.7

Employment status in month before arrest

Employed 671,999 67.6 32,994 49.8

Not employed 296,951 29.9 32,052 48.4

Family background

Person lived with while growing up

Both mother and father 435,818 43.9 27,234 41.1

Mother only 382,702 38.5 25,572 38.6

Father only 35,697 3.6 2,328 3.5

Grandparents 80,557 8.1 6,663 10.1

Other 49,912 5.0 3,814 5.8

Either parent alcohol or drug abuse

None 670,786 67.5 40,781 61.6

Alcohol only 228,188 23.0 17,529 26.5

Drugs only 17,322 1.7 1,490 2.2

Alcohol and drugs 62,773 6.3 5,390 8.1

Abused as a childa

Physical only 92,390 9.3 7,432 11.2

Table VI.1: Profile of State Prison Inmates by Gender, 1997
Appendix VI

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Gender

Page 72 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Male Female

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Sexual only 24,022 2.4 7,413 11.2

Physical and sexual 25,135 2.5 9,159 13.8

None 842,772 84.8 41,420 62.5

Criminal records

Offense type

Violent 475,794 47.9 18,554 28.0

Property 212,689 21.4 17,488 26.4

Drug 193,630 19.5 22,624 34.2

Other 98,858 10.0 7,069 10.7

Type of drug involved in drug offenseb

Powder cocaine 64,652 33.7 5,871 26.3

Crack cocaine 74,780 38.9 11,044 49.5

Heroin 23,593 12.3 3,422 15.4

Marijuana 25,713 13.4 1,432 6.4

Methamphetamines 19,046 9.9 1,860 8.3

Other 4,567 2.4 778 3.5

Criminal justice status at time of arrest

None 520,670 52.4 30,403 45.9

Probation 209,627 21.1 22,118 33.4

Parole 243,122 24.5 11,885 17.9

Escape 6,821 0.7 538 0.8

Prior sentences

None 225,444 22.7 22,751 34.3

1 to 2 320,714 32.3 21,133 31.9

3 or more 426,187 42.9 20,656 31.2

Drug Histories

Drug use in month before arrestc

Heroin 85,977 8.7 10,552 15.9

Powder cocaine 154,136 15.5 13,723 20.7

Crack cocaine 132,590 13.3 20,389 30.8

Marijuana 392,449 39.5 17,349 26.2

Other 147,557 14.9 10,286 15.5

Under influence at time of offensea, c

Heroin 51,221 5.2 6,797 10.3

Powder cocaine 71,972 7.2 6,418 9.7

Crack cocaine 75,331 7.6 12,388 18.7

Marijuana 151,492 15.3 5,441 8.2

Other 83,115 8.4 5,692 8.6

Alcohol 368,194 37.1 18,943 28.6

Treatment participation

Ever participated in alcohol/drug program

Yes 551,780 55.5 39,689 59.9

No 430,817 43.4 25,647 38.7

Note: Unless otherwise noted, all percentages above were based on an estimated total population of

993,364 male inmates and 66,242 female inmates in state prisons in 1997. Percentages may not add

to 100 because of missing data or rounding.
Appendix VI

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Gender

Page 73 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

a

Some of the differences in 1991 (see table VI.2) and 1997 inmate reports of physical and sexual

abuse and being under the influence of alcohol at the time of arrest may have been due to changes in

question wording, order, and context.

b

These percentages were based on the estimated population total of 192,006 male inmates and

22,293 female inmates who reported being sentenced for drug offenses.

c

More than one drug may have been indicated.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Examination of BJS’ 1997 state prison inmate survey data revealed a few

differences between male and female state prison inmates in their general

demographic characteristics:

• A higher percentage of male (20 percent) than female (11 percent) state

inmates were under age 25.

• While about 17 percent of both male and female inmates were married, 58

percent of the male inmates had never been married, compared with 47

percent of the female inmates. Likewise, a higher percentage of female (36

percent) than male (26 percent) inmates had some “other” marital status

(i.e., divorced, separated, widowed).

• Two-thirds of state male inmates were employed in the month before their

arrest, compared with half of female inmates.

While male and female state inmates in 1997 had similar family

backgrounds, higher percentages of females than males reported having

been sexually and/or physically abused as a child. About 25 percent of

female state inmates reported some kind of sexual abuse, compared with 5

percent of male inmates.

Male and female state inmates in 1997 reported different crimes and

criminal records:

• Forty-eight percent of the male state inmates were incarcerated for violent

crimes, compared with 28 percent of the female inmates. A larger

percentage of female than male inmates, however, were incarcerated for

drug crimes--34 percent of females, compared with 20 percent of male

inmates.

• While about half of both male and female state inmates had no criminal

justice status at the time of arrest, 33 percent of the female inmates were

on probation when arrested, compared with 21 percent of the male

inmates.

• Male inmates were more likely to have served prior sentences than female

state inmates. While 23 percent of male state inmates had not served prior

sentences, 34 percent of female inmates had served no prior sentences.

Personal Demographics

Family Background

Criminal Records
Appendix VI

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Gender

Page 74 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

• Among drug offenders, 50 percent of female inmates, compared with 39

percent of male inmates, were incarcerated for offenses involving crack

cocaine.

Male and female state inmates also reported different patterns of drug use:

• Almost 40 percent of male state inmates indicated that they had used

marijuana during the month before their arrest, compared with 26 percent

of female inmates. A higher percentage of female state inmates (31

percent) than males (13 percent) reported using crack cocaine in the

month before their arrest.

• Female state inmates were more than twice as likely as male state inmates

to have been under the influence of crack cocaine when they committed

their offense. Nineteen percent of female state inmates reported being

under the influence of crack cocaine, compared with 8 percent of male

inmates.

In 1997, male and female state inmates had similar rates of participation in

alcohol/drug programs.

A comparison of table VI.1 with table VI.2, which provides information on

selected characteristics from BJS’ 1991 inmate survey of state prison

inmates, shows that while the differences between male and female state

prison inmates were similar in 1991 and 1997, there were a few changes:

• The percentage of female state inmates who reported being both sexually

and physically abused as a child decreased from 24 percent in 1991 to 14

percent in 1997. The percentages for male state inmates remained about

the same, and as a result, the difference between male and female inmates

was less in 1997 than in 1991.

• A higher percentage of female state inmates in 1997 (31 percent) than in

1991 (19 percent) reported they had used crack cocaine in the month

before their arrest. Male inmates showed little change. Moreover, the

percentage of female inmates who reported being under the influence of

crack cocaine at the time of committing the offense increased from 10

percent in 1991 to 19 percent in 1997.

Drug Histories

Treatment Participation

Few Changes in 1997,

Compared With 1991 Male

and Female State Inmate

Profiles
Appendix VI

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Gender

Page 75 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Male Female

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Personal demographics

Race

White 238,012 35.4 14,026 36.2

Black 306,329 45.5 17,836 46.0

Hispanic 113,113 16.8 5,521 14.2

Other 15,393 2.3 1,414 3.6

Age group

Under 25 149,534 22.2 6,346 16.4

25-34 305,883 45.5 19,545 50.4

35-44 151,766 22.6 9,885 25.5

45+ 65,663 9.8 3,020 7.8

Marital status

Never married 371,928 55.3 17,374 44.8

Married 120,731 17.9 6,658 17.2

Other 172,577 25.6 14,467 37.3

Education

Less than high school 279,066 41.5 16,287 42.0

GED 166,994 24.8 7,985 20.6

High school graduate 128,501 19.1 7,587 19.6

More than high school 97,374 14.5 6,864 17.7

Employment status in month before arrest

Employed 458,780 68.2 17,946 46.3

Not employed 211,558 31.4 20,722 53.4

Family background

Person lived with while growing up

Both mother and father 288,876 42.9 16,206 41.8

Mother only 262,415 39.0 15,008 38.7

Father only 26,504 3.9 1,295 3.3

Grandparents 50,645 7.5 3,583 9.2

Other 41,138 6.1 2,538 6.5

Either parent alcohol or drug abuse

None 491,491 73.0 25,620 66.0

Alcohol only 146,281 21.7 10,124 26.1

Drugs only 5,111 0.8 618 1.6

Alcohol and drugs 23,895 3.6 2,179 5.6

Abused as a child

Physical only 45,048 6.7 3,455 8.9

Sexual only 13,543 2.0 3,575 9.2

Physical and sexual 21,391 3.2 9,278 23.9

None 592,865 88.1 22,488 58.0

Criminal records

Offense type

Violent 315,557 46.9 12,400 32.0

Property 163,510 24.3 11,024 28.4

Drug 137,672 20.5 12,633 32.6

Table VI.2: Profile of State Prison Inmates by Gender, 1991
Appendix VI

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Gender

Page 76 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Male Female

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Other 56,107 8.3 2,739 7.1

Criminal justice status at time of arrest

None 358,220 53.2 20,614 53.1

Probation 151,403 22.5 11,285 29.1

Parole 150,161 22.3 6,254 16.1

Escape 7,587 1.1 269 0.7

Prior sentences

None 138,038 20.5 11,339 29.2

1 to 2 238,822 35.5 14,291 36.8

3 or more 299,986 44.6 13,166 33.9

Drug histories

Drug use in month before arresta

Heroin 57,211 8.5 5,719 14.7

Powder cocaine 134,438 20.0 10,074 26.0

Crack cocaine 63,706 9.5 7,348 18.9

Marijuana 219,105 32.6 7,873 20.3

Other 88,249 13.1 5,594 14.4

Under influence at time of offensea

Heroin 37,877 5.6 4,360 11.2

Powder cocaine 73,899 11.0 5,842 15.1

Crack cocaine 31,984 4.8 4,052 10.4

Marijuana 79,975 11.9 1,812 4.7

Other 55,299 8.2 3,037 7.8

Alcohol 220,488 32.8 8,601 22.2

Treatment participation

Ever participated in alcohol/drug program

Yes 365,234 54.3 22,073 56.9

No 307,613 45.7 16,723 43.1

Note: All percentages above were based on an estimated total population of 672,847 male inmates

and 38,796 female inmates in state prisons in 1991. Percentages may not add to 100 because of

missing data or rounding.

a

More than one drug may have been indicated.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

The 1997 federal survey showed some differences between males and

females. As with state inmates, a higher percentage of female than male

federal inmates reported having experienced some sexual abuse as a child.

The offenses and criminal records of male and female federal inmates

were also somewhat different. While both male and female federal inmates

were most frequently incarcerated for drug offenses, the percentage of

females serving a sentence for a drug crime was greater than the

percentage was for males. Male federal inmates were more likely than

females to have had a criminal justice status at the time of arrest and to

have served prior sentences. Male federal inmates more frequently

reported using marijuana in the month before arrest than female inmates.

Profiles of Federal

Male and Female

Prison Inmates
Appendix VI

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Gender

Page 77 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

There were few significant changes in the gender differences reported by

federal inmates from 1991 to 1997. However, while the percentage of

female and male drug offenders who said that powder cocaine was

associated with their drug crime decreased from 1991 to 1997, the

decrease was greater for females than males.

Table VI.3 summarizes selected personal demographic, family background,

criminal record, drug history, and treatment participation information

about inmates incarcerated in federal correctional facilities, as reported in

BJS’ 1997 federal prison inmate survey. The federal prison population was

made up of 82,646 male inmates and 6,426 female inmates. All percentages

presented below for federal prison inmates for 1997 were calculated using

these numbers as the base; adjustments were not made to compensate for

missing response rates to a particular question.

Male Female

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Personal demographics

Race

White 24,746 29.9 1,870 29.1

Black 31,481 38.1 2,216 34.5

Hispanic 22,280 27.0 2,069 32.2

Other 4,139 5.0 272 4.2

Age group

Under 25 7,380 8.9 553 8.6

25-34 30,361 36.7 2,273 35.4

35-44 25,202 30.5 2,056 32.0

45+ 19,704 23.8 1,543 24.0

Marital status

Never married 34,834 42.1 2,155 33.5

Married 25,107 30.4 1,893 29.5

Other 22,522 27.3 2,378 37.0

Education

Less than high school 21,513 26.0 1,588 24.7

GED 22,004 26.6 1,627 25.3

High school graduate 16,424 19.9 1,333 20.7

More than high school 21,699 26.3 1,845 28.7

Employment status in month before arrest

Employed 57,903 70.1 4,043 62.9

Not employed 22,093 26.7 2,335 36.3

Family background

Person lived with while growing up

Both mother and father 44,447 53.8 3,508 54.6

Mother only 26,183 31.7 1,861 29.0

Profile of Federal Prison

Inmates, 1997

Table VI.3: Profile of Federal Prison Inmates by Gender, 1997
Appendix VI

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Gender

Page 78 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Male Female

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Father only 2,344 2.8 188 2.9

Grandparents 6,103 7.4 609 9.5

Other 2,650 3.2 213 3.3

Either parent alcohol or drug abuse

None 64,784 78.4 4,719 73.4

Alcohol only 13,341 16.1 1,263 19.7

Drugs only 647 0.8 88 1.4

Alcohol and drugs 2,486 3.0 281 4.4

Abused as a childa

Physical only 3,293 4.0 544 8.5

Sexual only 762 0.9 534 8.3

Physical and sexual 717 0.9 383 6.0

None 76,834 93.0 4,885 76.0

Criminal records

Offense type

Violent 12,592 15.2 429 6.7

Property 5,064 6.1 762 11.9

Drug 50,486 61.1 4,583 71.3

Other 13,140 15.9 573 8.9

Type of drug involved in drug offenseb

Powder cocaine 20,868 41.4 1,711 37.3

Crack cocaine 13,255 26.3 1,143 24.9

Heroin 4,471 8.9 847 18.5

Marijuana 9,435 18.7 763 16.6

Methamphetamines 5,279 10.5 589 12.9

Other 1,740 3.5 147 3.2

Criminal justice status at time of arrest

None 58,800 71.1 5,441 84.7

Probation 11,128 13.5 682 10.6

Parole 11,703 14.2 249 3.9

Escape 201 0.2 47 0.7

Prior sentences

None 29,778 36.0 4,297 66.9

1 to 2 26,069 31.5 1,317 20.5

3 or more 24,870 30.1 740 11.5

Drug histories

Drug use in month before arrestc

Heroin 4,467 5.4 295 4.6

Powder cocaine 13,784 16.7 668 10.4

Crack cocaine 5,105 6.2 502 7.8

Marijuana 25,259 30.6 1,302 20.3

Other 8,597 10.4 754 11.7

Under influence at time of offensea, c

Heroin 2,410 2.9 223 3.5

Powder cocaine 5,498 6.7 208 3.2

Crack cocaine 2,648 3.2 203 3.2

Marijuana 8,957 10.8 425 6.6
Appendix VI

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Gender

Page 79 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Male Female

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Other 5,045 6.1 426 6.6

Alcohol 16,876 20.4 954 14.8

Treatment participation

Ever participated in alcohol/drug program

Yes 38,191 46.2 2,563 39.9

No 43,310 52.4 3,774 58.7

Note: Unless otherwise noted, all percentages above were based on a total estimated population of

82,646 male inmates and 6,426 female inmates in federal prisons in 1997. Percentages may not add

to 100 because of missing data or rounding.

a

Some of the differences in the 1991 (see table VI.4) and 1997 inmate reports of physical and sexual

abuse and being under the influence of alcohol at the time of arrest may have been due to changes in

question wording, order, and context.

b

These percentages were based on the estimated population total of 50,350 male inmates and 4,583

female inmates who reported being sentenced for drug offenses.

c

More than one drug may have been indicated.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

The personal demographic characteristics of male and female federal

inmates in 1997 were quite similar. The only difference was that 27 percent

of male federal inmates were unemployed in the month before their arrest,

compared with 36 percent of female inmates.

Male and female federal inmates in 1997 had similar family backgrounds.

More female inmates, however, reported that they had experienced

physical and/or sexual abuse as a child. Twenty-three percent of female

federal inmates reported abuse, compared with 6 percent of males. About

14 percent of female federal inmates reported some kind of sexual abuse,

compared with about 2 percent of male inmates.

Male and female federal inmates in 1997 reported different offenses and

criminal records:

• While both male and female federal inmates were most often incarcerated

for drug offenses, the rate was higher for females (71 percent) than for

males (61 percent).

• About 85 percent of female federal inmates had no criminal justice status

at the time of the arrest that resulted in their current incarceration,

compared with 71 percent of male inmates. Male federal inmates (14

percent) were more likely than female inmates (4 percent) to be on parole

at the time of their arrest.

Personal Demographics

Family Background

Criminal Records
Appendix VI

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Gender

Page 80 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

• Male federal inmates were more likely to have prior sentences than

females. Thirty-two percent of female federal inmates reported having

prior sentences, compared with 62 percent of the male inmates.

• While both female and male federal drug offenders were more often

incarcerated for offenses involving powder cocaine than any other drug,

more female offenders (18 percent) were incarcerated for offenses

involving heroin than male offenders (9 percent).2

Male and female federal inmates in 1997 generally had similar drug

histories. However, a higher percentage of males (31 percent) than females

(20 percent) reported using marijuana in the month before arrest.3

Male and female inmates reported that they had participated in

alcohol/drug programs at about the same rates.

A comparison of table VI.3 with table VI.4, which provides information on

selected characteristics from BJS’ 1991 inmate survey of federal prison

inmates, showed that in general the differences between male and female

inmates were similar in 1991 and 1997. A few changes, however, stand out:

• In 1997, as compared with 1991, the racial distributions of male and female

federal inmates were more similar. In 1991, 39 percent of male federal

inmates were white, but 29 percent of female federal inmates were white.

In 1997, 30 percent of male federal inmates were white, as were 29 percent

of the female federal inmates. The percentage of black male inmates

increased from 29 percent in 1991 to 38 percent in 1997; however, the

percentage of black female inmates remained about the same—39 percent

in 1991 and 34 percent in 1997.

• Male federal inmates were less likely in 1991 than in 1997 to have reported

a prior criminal record. A lower percentage of male inmates in 1997 (36

percent) than in 1991 (47 percent) reported that they had not served any

prior sentences.

• Female federal drug offenders who indicated powder cocaine as the drug

associated with their current incarceration decreased from 61 percent in

1991 to 37 percent in 1997, compared with male drug offenders whose

reported usage decreased from 53 percent in 1991 to 41 percent in 1997.

2

More than one drug might be associated with a single offense.

3 An inmate might have used more than one drug in the month before arrest.

Drug Histories

Treatment Participation

Few Changes in 1997,

Compared With 1991

Federal Prison Inmate

Profiles, by Gender
Appendix VI

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Gender

Page 81 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Male Female

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Personal demographics

Race

White 19,506 39.2 1,226 29.0

Black 14,514 29.2 1,629 38.6

Hispanic 13,856 27.8 1,245 29.5

Other 1,908 3.8 122 2.9

Age group

Under 25 4,535 9.1 477 11.3

25-34 17,733 35.6 1,699 40.2

35-44 16,448 33.0 1,322 31.3

45+ 11,069 22.2 725 17.2

Marital status

Never married 16,028 32.2 1,355 32.1

Married 19,019 38.2 1,207 28.6

Other 14,082 28.3 1,628 38.6

Education

Less than high school 11,681 23.5 1,156 27.4

GED 11,504 23.1 832 19.7

High school graduate 10,889 21.9 962 22.8

More than high school 15,545 31.2 1,264 29.9

Employment status in month before arrest

Employed 37,221 74.8 2,660 63.0

Not employed 12,281 24.7 1,552 36.8

Family background

Person lived with while growing up

Both mother and father 29,005 58.3 2,213 52.4

Mother only 13,949 28.0 1,289 30.5

Father only 1,713 3.4 102 2.4

Grandparents 2,653 5.3 379 9.0

Other 2,022 4.1 224 5.3

Either parent alcohol or drug abuse

None 41,504 83.4 3,382 80.1

Alcohol only 7,154 14.4 674 16.0

Drugs only 130 0.3 29 0.7

Alcohol and drugs 483 1.0 111 2.6

Abused as a child

Physical only 1,684 3.4 253 6.0

Sexual only 282 0.6 257 6.1

Physical and sexual 336 0.7 384 9.1

None 47,482 95.4 3,328 78.8

Criminal records

Offense type

Violent 8,943 18.0 323 7.6

Property 4,018 8.1 564 13.4

Table VI.4: Profile of Federal Prison Inmates by Gender, 1991
Appendix VI

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Gender

Page 82 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Male Female

Estimated

number Percent

Estimated

number Percent

Drug 28,341 56.9 2,762 65.4

Other 8,482 17.0 574 13.6

Type of drug involved in drug offensea

Powder cocaine 14,899 52.7 1,680 60.9

Crack cocaine 2,663 9.4 294 10.7

Heroin 3,093 10.9 367 13.3

Marijuana 5,712 20.2 281 10.2

Methamphetamines 1,781 6.3 170 6.2

Other 873 3.1 96 3.5

Criminal justice status at time of arrest

None 37,337 75.0 3,457 81.9

Probation 5,769 11.6 515 12.2

Parole 6,033 12.1 217 5.1

Escape 455 0.9 28 0.7

Prior sentences

None 23,356 46.9 2,865 67.9

1 to 2 15,511 31.2 967 22.9

3 or more 10,916 21.9 390 9.2

Drug Histories

Drug use in month before arrestb

Heroin 2,436 4.9 278 6.6

Powder cocaine 6,840 13.7 510 12.1

Crack cocaine 1,738 3.5 265 6.3

Marijuana 9,742 19.6 487 11.5

Other 3,239 6.5 305 7.2

Under influence at time of offenseb

Heroin 1,729 3.5 222 5.3

Powder cocaine 3,277 6.6 286 6.8

Crack cocaine 869 1.7 125 3.0

Marijuana 3,071 6.2 126 3.0

Other 1,822 3.7 179 4.2

Alcohol 5,682 11.4 225 5.3

Treatment participation

Ever participated in alcohol/drug program

Yes 22,383 45.0 1,619 38.3

No 27,401 55.0 2,603 61.7

Note: Unless otherwise noted, all percentages above were based on a total estimated population of

49,784 male inmates and 4,222 female inmates in federal prisons in 1991. Percentages may not add

to 100 because of missing data or rounding.

a

These percentages were based on the estimated population total of 28,292 male inmates and 2,759

female inmates who reported being sentenced for drug offenses.

b

More than one drug may have been indicated.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Appendix VI

Profiles of State and Federal Prison Inmates by Gender

Page 83 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

We identified several differences between state and federal inmate profiles

in 1997:

• A higher percentage of female federal inmates (63 percent) than female

state inmates (50 percent) reported that they had been employed in the

month before their arrest. There was no difference in the percentages of

male federal and state inmates who reported being employed at the time of

arrest.

• A higher percentage of female federal inmates (76 percent) than female

state inmates (62 percent) had not been physically and/or sexually abused

as a child.

• Female federal drug offenders were more likely to be incarcerated for

crimes involving powder cocaine or marijuana (37 and 17 percent,

respectively) than female state drug offenders (26 and 6 percent,

respectively).

• Female state inmates were more likely to report having used heroin (16

percent), powder cocaine (21 percent), or crack cocaine (31 percent) in

the month before arrest than female federal inmates (5 percent used

heroin, 10 percent used powder cocaine, and 8 percent used crack

cocaine). There was no difference in the use of these drugs for males. A

higher percentage of male state inmates (40 percent) than male federal

inmates (30 percent) had used marijuana. There was no difference in the

use of marijuana between female state and federal inmates.

• A higher percentage of female state inmates (19 percent) than female

federal inmates (3 percent) indicated that they were under the influence of

crack cocaine when they committed their offense. There was no difference

in whether male state and federal inmates were under the influence of

crack cocaine.

Differences Between

State and Federal

Prison Inmate Profiles
Appendix VII

GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments

Page 84 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Richard M. Stana, (202) 512-8777

Daniel C. Harris, (202) 512-8777

In addition to those named above, Barbara A. Stolz, Douglas M. Sloane,

David P. Alexander, Wendy Ahmed, George Quinn, James Fields, and

Michael H. Little made major contributions to this report.

GAO Contacts

Acknowledgments
Glossary

Page 85 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

This glossary includes definitions of terms used in the inmate profiles

presented in this report. These definitions were taken from the 1991 and

1997 BJS surveys, which were the source of the data presented in our

report.

Violent offenses include murder, negligent manslaughter, kidnapping, rape,

other sexual assault, robbery, assault, and other violent offenses (e.g.,

extortion, hit-and–run driving, and criminal endangerment).

Property offenses include burglary, larceny/theft, motor vehicle theft,

arson, fraud, stolen property, and other property (e.g., destruction of

property, trespassing, and possession of burglary tools).

Drug offenses include possession, trafficking, and other/unspecified (e.g.,

forged prescriptions, possession of drug paraphernalia, and unspecified

drug violations).

Other offenses include the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ categories of

public-order offenses (i.e., weapons and other public order offenses, such

as driving while intoxicated, escape from custody, regulatory violations,

and commercialized vice) and other offenses, which are not enumerated.

Current offense is the most serious offense for which the inmate was

serving a sentence.

Prior offenses are offenses for which an inmate was sentenced before the

current offense.

The categories of drugs used without prescription include:

Marijuana: Marijuana and hashish

Heroin/opiates: Heroin, opiates, and methadone

Barbiturates: Barbiturates and Quaaludes or downers

Stimulants: Amphetamines and methamphetamines

Hallucinogens: LSD, PCP, and other hallucinogens

White, black, and other categories presented for race include only inmates

describing themselves as non-Hispanic. Inmates with Asian, Native

American, or Pacific Islander heritage were categorized as other. Hispanic

Inmate Profile Terms

Violent offenses

Property offenses

Drug offenses

Other offenses

Current offense

Prior offenses

Drugs

Race and Hispanic origin
Glossary

Page 86 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

inmates include persons of all races who reported having a Hispanic

background. Where statistics for Hispanic inmates are reported with

statistics for white or black inmates, the categories do not overlap.

Abuse (sexual or physical), in the BJS survey questions, relied on the

respondents definition, within the context of their own lives, to recall their

pasts, and to report what they remembered.

Abuse
Bibliography

Page 87 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles

Beck, Allen J., and Christopher J. Mumola. Prisoners in 1998, Bureau of

Justice Statistics Bulletin, U.S. Department of Justice, Aug. 1999.

Beck, Allen J., et al. Survey of Prison Inmates, 1991, Bureau of Justice

Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, Mar. 1993.

Bonczar, Thomas P., and Allen J. Beck. Lifetime Likelihood of Going to

State and Federal Prison, Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, U.S.

Department of Justice, Mar. 1997.

Correctional Populations in the United States, 1996, Bureau of Justice

Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, Apr. 1999.

Ditton, Paula M. Mental Health and Treatment of Inmates and

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of Justice, July 1999.

Gilliard, Darrell K., and Allen J. Beck. Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear

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Statistics Bulletin, U.S. Department of Justice, Aug. 1998.

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Harlow, Caroline Wolf. Prior Abuse Reported by Inmates and

Probationers, Bureau of Justice Statistics Selected Findings, U.S.

Department of Justice, Apr. 1999.

Mumola, Christopher J., and Allen J. Beck. Prisoners in 1996, Bureau of

Justice Statistics Bulletin, U.S. Department of Justice, June 1997.

Mumola, Christopher J. Substance Abuse and Treatment, State and Federal

Prisoners, 1997, Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, U.S.

Department of Justice, Jan. 1999.

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Snell, Tracy L. Women in Prison: Survey of State Prison Inmates, 1991,

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These reports can be found on the BJS Internet site (URL:

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Page 89 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles
Page 90 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles
Page 91 GAO/GGD-00-117 State and Federal Inmate Profiles
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