U.S. Depar1ment ofJustice 

Bureau of Justice Statistics 

State and Federal 

Prisoners, 1925-85 

The number of persons sentenced to 

State and Federal correctional institutions has been recorded annually 

since January 1, 1926 (reported here as 

yearend 1925). The rapid growth of 

prison population over the past 12 years 

thus can be viewed against nearly 50 

years of prior data. In general the 

trend in prison population over the 

entire period has been one of upward 

growth, about half of which reflects the 

growth in the general population during 

the same period (table 1 and figure 1). 

The average annual growth rate for 

the prison popUlation during 1925-85 was 2.8%; for the residential population of the United States it was 1.2%. 

The more rapid growth of the prison 

population is also reflected in the 

incarceration rate (the number of 

sentenced prisoners for each 100,000 

residents in the United States), which 

rose from 79 per 100,000 to 201 per 

100,000 (figure 2). 

Although the long-range trend in 

Number of sentenced State and Federal prisoners, yearend 1925-85 Number 

481.S16 

i' 

i 

400,000 

300,000 

200.000 

100,000 

• _ .... _________ ...... ___ ........ ~_ .... ____ ..1 _______ 1_ 0 

1925 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1985 

Note: Prior to 1977, prisoner reports were based on the custody population. 

Beginning in 1977, focus is on the jurisdiction population (see table 1). 

Figure 1 

prison population has been upward, it 

has not been without interruptions, the 

two longest and deepest drops occurring 

during World War II and the Vietnam 

era. 

Between 1925 and 1939 the number 

of sentenced prisoners grew by 88,000, 

an average annual rate of 4.9%, substantially higher than for the entire 

1925-85 period even though there was 

virtually no growth during the depth of 

the Depression 1932-34. By 1939 the 

incarceration rate had reached 137 per 

100,000, a level it was not to reach 

again for 41 years. 

october 1986 

This bulletin presents 60 years of 

data on prison populations from 

the statistical series "Prisoners in 

State and Federal Institutions." 

Along with the data, we have 

included a discussion of trends and 

of the development and expansion 

of the statistical series. With our continuing publication of end-ofyear and midyear data on prison 

po pula tions, there has been new 

interest in the statistical series 

from which these data are <)3-

rived. The /'Iistorical series should 

be especially useful to those en- gaged in analyzing recent trends. 

Within the next month, the Bureau 

will publish, by State, the com- plete time series upon which this 

summary report is based . 

Steven R. Schlesinger 

Director 

If you have issues viewing or accessing this file, please contact us at NCJRS.gov.
• , 

Table 1. Sentenced prisoners in State and Federal institutions: Number and incarceration rates, 1925-85 

Year Total Rate Males Rate 

1925a 91,669 79 88,231 149 

1926 97,991 83 94,287 157 

1927 109,346 91 104,983 173 

1928 116,390 96 111,836 182 

1929 120,496 98 115,876 187 

1930 129,453 104 124,785 200 

193'1 137,082 110 132,638 2ll 

1',';;2 137,997 110 133,573 211 

1933 ~~;;,810 109 132,520 209 

1934 138,316 109 133,769 209 

1935 144,180 ll3 139,278 217 

1936 145,038 113 139,990 217 

1937 152,741 118 147,375 227 

1938 160,285 123 154,826 236 

1939 179,818 137 173,143 263 

1940b 173,706 131 167,345 252 

1941 165,439 124 159,228 239 

1942 150,384 112 144,167 217 

1943 137,220 103 131,054 202 

1944 132,456 100 126,350 200 

1945 133,649 98 127,609 193 

1946 140,079 99 134,075 191 

1947 151,304 105 144,961 202 

1948 155,977 106 149,739 205 

1949 163,749 109 157,663 211 

1950 166,165 109 160,309 211 

1951 165,680 107 159,610 208 

1952 168,233 107 161,994 208 

1953 173,579 108 166,909 211 

1954 182,901 112 175,907 218 

1955 185,780 112 178,655 217 

1956 189,565 112 182,190 218 

1957 195,256 113 188,113 221 

1958 205,643 117 198,208 229 

1959 208,105 117 200,469 228 

Note: The Incarceration rate Is the number 

of prisoners per 100,000 residential 

population. The figures for males and 

females in 1950,1957,1968-1971, and 1973 

do not add to the total po pula tion figures 

shown because the yearend counts were 

revised in a subsequent report while the 

male/female breakdown was not. 

aData for 1925 through 1939 Include 

During World War II the prison popula tion declined by nearly 50,000 in 5 

years as most of the pool of potential 

offenders was drafted. By 1946 the 

Incarceration rate had dropped to 99 

per 100,000. From 1944 to 1961 the 

prison population increased in every 

year but 1951, although the annual 

gains were uneven, and in 1961 the 

Incarceration rate peaked at 119 per 

100,000. 

During the first part of the Vietnam 

era (1961 to 1968) the prison population 

declined by 30,000. The 1968 prison 

population was 188,000, and the incarceration rate was the lowest since the 

late 1920's. 

From this low the prison population 

and the incarceration rate grew rather 

slowly for 5 years, but in 1974 began 

a dramatic rise that added more than 

275,000 sentenced inmates to the national prison population by 1985. The 

average annual increase during this 

period was 7.4%, compared to 2.8% for 

the entire 1925-85 period. At the end 

Females Rate Year Total Rate Males Rate Females Rate 

3,438 6 1960 212,953 117 205,265 230 7,688 8 

3,704 6 1961 220,149 ll9 212,268 234 7,881 8 

4,363 7 1962 il8,830 117 210,823 229 8,007 8 

4,554 8 1963 217,283 114 209,538 225 7,745 8 

4,620 8 1964 214,336 111 206,632 219 7,704 8 

4,668 8 1965 210,895 108 203,327 213 7,568 8 

4,444 7 1966 199,654 102 192,703 201 6,951 7 

4,424 7 1967 194,896 98 188,661 195 6,235 6 

4,290 7 1968 187,274 94 182,102 187 5,812 6 

4,547 7 1969 197,136 97 189,413 192 6,594 6 

4,902 8 1970 196,441 96 190,794 191 5,635 5 

5,048 8 1971c 198,061 95 191,732 189 6,329 6 

5,366 8 1972 196,092 93 189,823 185 6,269 6 

5,459 8 1973 204,211 96 197,523 191 6,004 6 

6,675 10 1974 218,466 102 211,077 202 7,389 7 

6,361 10 1975 240,593 111 231,918 220 8,675 8 

6,211 9 1976d 262,833 120 252,794 238 10,039 9 

6,217 9 1977 278,,141 126 267,097 249 11,044 10 

6,166 9 1977 285,456 129 274,244 255 11,212 10 

6,106 9 1978 294,396 132 282,813 261 11,583 10 

6,040 9 1979 301,4'1'0 133 289,465 264 12,005 10 

6,004 8 1980 315,974 138 303,643 274 12,331 11 

6,343 9 1981 353,673 153 339,375 303 14,298 12 

6,238 8 1982 395,516 170 379,075 335 16,441 14 

6,086 8 1983 419,346 178 401,870 352 17,476 14 

5,814 8 1984 446,108 188 426,713 370 19,395 16 

6,070 8 1985 481,616 201 460,210 394 21,406 17 

6,239 8 

6,670 8 

6,994 8 

7,125 8 

7,375 9 

7,301 8 

7,435 8 

7,636 8 

sentenced prisoners In State and Federal w,axlmum sentence was over a year. 

prisons and reformatories whether committed Before 1977 only prisoners in the custody of 

bor felonies or misdemeanors. State and Federal correctional systems were 

Data for 1940 through 1970 Include all adult counted. After 1977 all prisoners under the 

felons serving sentences in State and Federal jurisdiction of State and Federal correctional 

Institutions. 

Cnata for 1971 to present InclUde all adults 

systems were counted. Figures for both 

custody and jurISdiction are shown for 1977 to 

and YOllthflll offenders ~Ii!ntenced to State or faclIitate comparisons. 

Federal correctional institutions whose 

of 1985 the incarceration rate was 201 

per 100,000, the highest ever recorded. 

Historical data 

The first attempt to count all of the 

prisoners in the United states was made 

in the decennial population census of 

1850. Counts of prisoners were included in each subsequent decennial census 

through 1890. In the years 1904, 1910, 

and 1923 separate enumerations of the 

prison population were made. In 1926, 

under a mandate from Congress, the 

National Prisoner Statistics program 

began to collect stitistics on prisoners 

on an annual basis. Since its inception the program has depended entirelyon the voluntary participation of 

State departments of corrections and 

the Federal Bureau of Prisons. 

IThe NPS program was begun by the Census 

Bureau. It waS transferred to the Bureau of Prisons in 1950 and to the National Criminal Justice 

Information and Statistics Service (now the Bureau 

of Justice Statistics) of the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration In 1971. Since that time 

the Census Bureau has served as the data collection 

agent for the Bureau of Justice Statistics. 

2 

The complete National Prisoner 

Statistics program consists of a count 

of the number of State and Federal 

prisoners on December 31 of each year; 

a count of the number of persons admitted to and released fl'om prison each 

year (by type of admission and release); 

the number of persons executed annually (beginning in 1930); the yearend 

population of death row (beginning in 

1953); and, for selected years prior to 

1981 and annually thereafter, the characteristics of persons admitted to and 

released from prison. This discussion 

focuses entirely on the statistics for 

the yearend prison population. 

The difficulty in collecting prison 

statistics, or indeed most criminal 

justice statistics for the United States 

as a whole, arises not only from different record-keeping and statisticsgathering practices in each State but 

also, more important, from the different criminal justice practices in 

each State. Therefore, since the beginning of the prison population series, 

special attention has been directed at 
making the population counts for the 

individual states as comparable as possible, given the range of sentencing 

laws and practices among the States. 

Nevertheless, each annual report publlshed by the Bureau of Justice Statistics contains an appendix specifying the 

ways in which data reported for each 

State deviate from the standard definitions. In recent years these devia tions 

generally have been minor. In the 

earlier years of the series this was not 

always the case. Early publications 

orten warned the reader to use caution 

In making direct comparisons between 

the statistics for one State and another. 

Definitional changes 

From the beginning the National 

Prisoner Statistics program has attempted to count persons Imprisoned 

for serious crimes. The original definition included adult prisoners sentenced to and confined In State and 

Federal prisons and reformatories. 

Consequently the data included persons 

convicted for misdemeanors as well as 

those convicted for felonies. There was 

not at that time, and there still is not, 

a standard definition of "felony" and 

"misdemeanor" that is applicable in all 

States. In general felonies are more 

serious crimes than misdemeanors. For 

example, all maj0r crimes-such as 

murder, rape, and robbery-are always 

felonies. All minor crimes still serious 

enough to have incarceration as a 

possible sentence-such as drunkenness, 

loitering and disturbing the peace--are 

misdemeanors. It is for the crimes that 

fall between that the distinction is 

often blurred. Because the aim of the 

sentenced prisoner series was to collect 

data on serious offenders in State and 

Federal facilities, the series excluded 

inmates in city and county jails (who 

Table 2. Prlaonera In State and Federal 

lruttltultlOlll1l Total and prisoners with short 

oontencoo or no sentences, 11174-85 

Short-sentence and 

Total unsentenced I2rlsoMl'sa 

prlsoners Total Male Female 

1974 229,721 11,516 10,749 767 

1975 253,816 11,066 10,249 B17 

1976b 278,000 15,167 14,036 1,131 

1977 291,667 13,526 12,529 997 

1977 300,024 14,56B 13,501 1,067 

1978 307,276 12,8BO 11,717 1,163 

1979 314,457 12,987 11,997 990 

19BO 329,821 13,847 12,758 1,089 

1981 369,930 16,257 15,018 1,239 

1982 413,806 18,290 16,946 1,344 

1983 436,855 17,509 15,965 1,544 

1984 464,567 18,459 17,004 1,455 

1985 503,601 21,985 20,300 1,685 

aprisoners with short sentences are deflned as those whose maxlmum sentence ls a year or 

bess. Before 1977 only prisoners in the custody of 

State and Federal correctional systems were counted, After 1977 all prisoners under the 

jurisdiction of state and Federal correctional 

systems were counted. Figures for both 

custody and jUrisdiction are shown for 1977 to 

facilitate comparisons, 

are mostly sentenced misdemeanants or 

persons awaitin~' trial) and inmates in 

locally operated prisons or houses of 

corrections. Nevertheless, some misdemeanants were included in the series, 

especially in the few States that 

operated combined jail-prison systems. 

States differ substantially in the 

distinctions they maJ(e between Sta tesentenced and locally sentenced prisoners. North Carolina, for example, 

imposes "state time" for those offenders with sentences greater than 90 

days; Louisiana, by contrast, sentences 

offenders locally to parish prisons 

with sentences up to life terms. Massachusetts generally sentences males 

with sentences of 2 years or more to 

State prisons while sentenced females 

Number of sentenced State and Federal prisoners, 

per 100,000 U. S. population, yearend 1925-85 Number 

201 

;, 

l' 50 

Ii 0 ____ ..... _ ............ ___ _ i; 

1925 1930 1940 1950 1960 

Note: Prior to 1977. prisoner reports were based on the custody population. 

Beginning In 1977. focus Is on the Jurisdictional population (see table 1). 

Figure 2 

" 

I: 

" 

1970 

150 

, 

" 

100 

! 50 

~ , 

j: 

" lL. 0 

1980 1985 

3 

with shorter terms are sent to State 

facilities. These differenoes In state 

versus local sentencing have been 

operationally split into two data collection serles--one focusing on State 

and Federal popUlations and the other 

focusing upon local populations. The 

prisoners count focuses exclusively on 

state and Federal populations. Locally 

sentenced prisoners are counted in BJS 

reports on local jails. 

In 1940 the definition of sentenced 

prisoners was changed to eliminate 

more Inmates serving time for minor 

offenses. It was assumed, not entirely 

accurately, that felons always served 

sentences lasting more than 6 months. 

They almost always do, but so do some 

mlsdemeanants. Nevertheless, the 

series was l'edefined as adult felons 

serving time in state or Federal institutions, with a felon presumed to be 

someone serving a maximum sentence 

of 6 months or more. This did eliminate mlsdemeanants serving sentences 

of less than 6 months and thereby 

focused the series more sharply on the 

serious offender. In 1971, to further 

restrict the series, the term "felon" was 

discarded and the Sta tes were asked to 

report only on prisoners with maximum 

sentences of more than a year. This 

not only eliminated additional misdemeanants from the count, it also established uniformity across States around 

the most widely accepted definition of 

a felon, someone with a maximum sentence of more than" year. In the 

prisoners series this group is referred to 

as the IIsentenced" prisoner popUlation. 

The definition also was expanded to 

encompass persons sentenced as youthful offenders as well as those sentenced 

as adults. The Federal system and 

several States have youthful offender 

statutes. Youthful offenders are above 

the legal maximum age of juveniles 

(which varies from State to State) and 

are usually below the age of 25. They 

are frequently assigned to separate 

sections of adult correctional facilities 

or to completely separate facilities. 

Persons in this age group may be tried 

and sentenced as adults, however, just 

as they are in states without youthful 

offender statutes. 

The de£init~on of sentenced prisoners adopted in 1971 is currently in use. 

Although two definitional changes have 

been made since the series began, each 

change was designed to sharpen the 

original concept of the series, that is, 

to measure the number of serious offenders sentenced to prison. 

In 1974 the prison population series 

was expanded to separately .report on 

persons with short sentences, that is, 
with maximum sentences of a year or 

less, and persons without sentences 

(table 2). This group, when added to 

the "sentenced" group, produces the 

total number of persons in State and 

Federal correctional institutions. 

Most prisoners with short sentences 

and without sentences can be found in 

jurisdictions that operate combined 

jail-prison systems-Vermont, Rhode 

Island, Connecticut, Delaware, Alaska, 

Hawaii, and the District of Columbia. 

In these jurisdictions most of the unsentenced prisoners are awaiting trial and 

the short-sentence prisoners are serving 

time for lesser offenses. In States 

where jail and prison systems are not 

combined, short-sentence and unsentenced prisoners may be held in State 

facilities for safekeeping, for presentencing evaluation, for medical care, or 

for a variety of other reasons. At the 

end of 1985 some 1,990 unsentenced 

aliens were held by the Federal Bureau 

of Prisons for the Immigration and 

Naturalization Service. 

By including a count of the total 

number of pet'sons in prison while 

preserving the distinction between 

"sentenced" (more than 1 year), "shortsentenced" (a year or less), and "unsentenced," the prison population data 

present a more complete picture of the 

physical and fiscal pressures the prison 

population exerts on tl"\.r Nation's 

correctional facilities. 

Custody and jurisdiction 

In 1977 another change was made to 

the prison population statistics. Instead 

of reporting prisoners within their custody, the States were asked to report 

on prisoners under their jurisdiction. 

At the time of the change an increase 

of some 7,000 inmates occurred. 

The concept of custody is simply 

that of physical possession of the 

prisoner. The concept of jurisdiction 

focuses on ultimate responsibility for 

the prisoner. It is common for States 

to house prisoners from other States or 

from the Federal system, as well as for 

the Federal system to house prisoners 

for the States. This may occur when 

one State houses the overflow population of another State, although extra 

bed space in any system has been rare 

in recent years. Prisoners may also be 

moved for personal safety or as a temporary response to an emet·gency. For 

example, after the 1980 prison riot 

2 Although short-sentenced and unsentenced 

prisoners are combined In Table 2, they are shown 

separately in the annual report, Prisoners In state 

and Federal Institutions. 

Table 3. Total prison population by race and sex, 1978-84a 

Total 

White Black Otherb White 

1978 157,208 143,376 3,283 151,534 

1979 161,642 145,383 3,677 155,803 

1980 169,274 150,249 3,853 163,083 

1981 190,503 168,129 4,477 183,202 

1982 214,741 189,610 5,262 206,167 

1983 225,902 200,216 5,663 216,522 

1984 239,428 209,673 6,654 229,323 

8The numbers in this table add to totals 

different from those shown In Table 2 because preliminary statistics on race are not 

that severely damaged the New Mexico 

State Prison, correctional authorities of 

adjacent States and the Federal Bureau 

of Prisons accepted New Mexico prisoners for temporary holding. In each of 

these examples, however, there would 

be no difference between the total 

number of prisoners measured under the 

custody concept and number measured 

under the jurisdiction concept. One 

prisoner in custody in one State merely 

becomes one prisoner under the jurisdiction of another State. 

The increase of more than. 7,000 

that occurred in 1977 can be attributed 

to several sources. The most common 

was State prisoners housed in local 

jails, usually due to overcrowding in the 

State prison system. Other factors 

included inmates in hospitals (including 

mental hospitals) outside the correctional system, inmates on work release 

or furlough, and Federal prisoner.s 

housed at private contract sites.;J 

Since the definition was changed in 

1977, separate statistics on custody 

populations have continued to be 

collected yearly and published in a 

separate table in the annual report. 

Race and ethnicity 

Beginning in 1978 prison population statistics were collected by race 

and ethnicity (table 3). The statistics by race have been reliably reported 

by all of the States; in 1984 race was 

not known for less than 2% of the 

inmate population. Ethnicity was more 

difficult to report. In 1984, nine 

States could not identify any of their 

Hispanic inmates and the ethnicity of 

one-third of all inmates could not be 

determined. 

Each State is given the opportunity 

to revise its yearend prison population 

statistics a year later. Most States 

make such revisions, so that final 

statistics for a given year are not 

available until the preliminary statis3For a more detailed discussion of custody and 

jurisdiction, see Appendix nI, Prisoners in'State 

and Federal Institutions on December 31. 1978. 

4 

Male Female Not 

Black Otherb White Black Otherb known 

136,893 3,090 5,674 6,483 193 2,735 

138,776 3,468 5,839 6,607 209 3,304 

143,700 3,677 6,191 6,549 176 5,319 

160,442 4,240 7,301 7,687 237 5,663 

180,844 4,990 8,754 8,766 272 4,749 

191,020 5,336 9,380 9,196 327 5,457 

199,692 6,250 10,105 9,981 404 6,687 

~ubsequently revised. 

American Indians, Alaskan Natives, Asians, 

and Pacific Islanders. 

tics for the subsequent year are published. Yearend population statistics 

are revised fOt' sentence length, sex, 

jurisdiction, and custody; they are not 

revised for race or ethnicity. 

This discussion of historical prison 

population statistics has been focused 

almost exr:lIusively on the national 

level. It has not dealt with the changes 

and irregularities that occurred within 

the 1925-85 statistics for the individual 

States. These are documented and will 

be released, along with the notes for 

each State, from the Bureau of Justice 

Statistics within the next few months, 

both as a publication and as a machinereadable data set. 

Further reading 

To obtain other National Prisoner 

Statistics reports or to be added to the 

bulletin and/or corrections mailing 

lists, write to the National Criminal 

Justice Reference Service, (301/251-

5500), User Services Dept. 2, Box 6000, 

Rockville, Md. 20850. Other NPS 

bulletins include-

• Prisoners in 1985, 6/86, NCJ-101384 

• CapitafPunishment 1984, 5/86, NCJ99562 

• Admissions and Releases, 1983, 3/86, 

NCJ-100582 

Machine-readable data on historical 

corrections will be available by yearend 

1986 from the Criminal Justice Archive 

and Information Network, P.O. Box 

1248, Ann Arbor, MI 48106 (313-764-

5010). 

Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletins 

are prepared principally by BJS 

staff. This report was written by 

Stephanie Minor-Harper. Marilyn 

Marbrook, publications unit chief, 

administered report production, 

assisted by Millie Baldea and Joyce 

Stanford. This bulletin is based on 

material developed by Chet Bowie of 

the Bureau of the Census. 

October 1986, NCJ-102494 

----------------------------
Bureau of 

Justice Statistics 

Announces the 

Justice Statistics 

Clearinghouse 

The Bureau of Justice Statistics 

(BJS), in conjunction with the National Criminal Justice Reference 

Service (NCJRS), announces the 

establishment of the Justice Statbti'cs Clearinghouse, The Clearin,!!-

house toll-free number is: 

800-732-3277 

Persons from Maryland and the 

Washington, D.C., metropolitan 

area should call 301-251-55()(), 

Services offered by the Clearinghouse include: 

• Responding to statistical requests. How many rapes arc rcported to the police'? How many 

burglaries occurred in the past year'? 

Call the Clearinghollse, toll free, 

fl Providing information about 

BJS services. Interested ~n receiving BJS documents and products'? 

Register with the BJS mailing list 

by calling the Clearinghouse, toll 

free. 

• Suggesting referrals to other 

sources for criminal justice statistics. I f the Clearinghollse doesn't 

have the answer, an information 

specialist will refer you to agencies 

or individuals who do. 

• Conducting custom literature 

searches of the NCJRS document 

data base. We can search the 

NCJRS data base and provide topical bibliographic citations and 

abstracts to answer sped fie requests. 

• Collecting statistical reports. 

The Clearinghouse collects statistical reports from numerous sources. 

Submit statistical documents to 

share with criminal justice col· 

leagues to: NCJRS, Attention BJS 

Acquisition, Box 6000, Rockville, 

MD 20850. 

5 

You have 24-hour access to the 

lustice Statistics Clearinghouse. 

From8:30a.m, to8:00p.m. EST, 

weekdays, an information specialist 

is available. After work hours, you 

may record your orders or leave a 

message for an information specialist to return your call. 

• 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcing the new 

Fact-Finding nd graphS Statistical tables a t 

with explanatory tex __ _ 

Specialized directories or 

.-i __ ... ------Iations 

Service 

1-. 

-----

Need a specialized 

report-one tailormade just for you? 

The National Criminal Justice Reference Service's new Fact-Finding 

Service is your solution. Get 

answers to your hard-to-fmd criminal justice questions in a report 

tailored just for you. 

We'll gather the facts and figures 

using BJS resources, NCJRS resources, professional associations, 

news articles, juvenile justice agendes, or whatever it takes to find the 

answers. We then send you a full 

report that matches your specific 

needs. 

Crime trend information 

over a period of time 

~~~ 

Examples of reports: 

• statistical tables and graphs with 

explanatory text; 

• State-by-State program or legislative information presented in 

an easy-to-read format; 

• specialized directories or listings 

of justice agencies, organizations, or instructions; 

• crime trend information over a 

specified period of time. 

Prices: 

Your cost for the Fact-Finding 

Service covers actual expenses 

only. Prices are determined by the 

time needed to respond to your request. A request that requires up to 

5 hours could cost between $75 and 

$250. 

6 

Call NCJRS with your request. An 

information specialist will estimate 

the cost. We can begin work as 

soon as we have your approval. 

Call toll free for more information: 

National Criminal Justice Reference Service sponsored by the National Institute of Justice 

800-851-3420 

Justice Statistics Clearinghouse 

sponsored by the Bureau of Justice 

Statistics 

800-732-3277 

Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse 

sponsored by the Office of Juvenile 

Justice and Delinquency Prevention 

800-638-8736 
Bureau of Justice Statistics reports (revised October 1986) 

Call toll-free 800-732-3277 (local 

251-5500) to order BJS reports, to be added 

to one of the BJS mailing lists, or to speak 

to a reference specialist in statistiCS at the 

Justice Statistics Clearinghouse, National 

Criminal Justice Reference Service, 

Box 6000, Rockville, MD 20850. Single 

caples of reports are free; use NCJ number 

to order. Postage and handling are charged 

for bulk orders of single reports. For single 

copies of multiple titles, up to 10 litles are 

free; 11-40 titles $10; more than 40, $20; 

libraries call for special rates. 

Public-use tapes of BJS data sets and 

other criminallustice data are available 

from the Criminal Justice Archive and 

Information Network, P.O. Box 1248. Ann 

Arbor, MI48106 (313-763-5010). 

National Crime Survey 

Criminal vl~tlmlzatlon In the U.S.: 

1984 (linal report). NCJ·l00435. 5/86 

1983 (flOal report). NCJ·96459. 10/85 

1982 (linal reporl). NCJ·92820. 11/84 

1973·82 trends, NCJ·90541. 9/83 

1980 (final report). NCJ'84015, 4/83 

1979 (flOal reporl). NCJ.76710. 12/61 

BJS special reports; 

Preventing domestic violence against women, 

NCJ·l02037.8/86 

Crime prevention measureS, NCJ·l 00438, 3/86 

The use of weapons In commlttlng crimes, 

NCJ·99643. 1/86 

Reporting crimes to the police, NCJ·99432 

12/85 

Locating city, suburban, and rural crime, NCJ99535. 12/85 

The risk of violent crime, NCJ·97119, 5/85 

The economic cost ot crlmo to victims, NCJ93450.4/84 

Family Violence. NCJ·93449, 4/84 

BJS bulletins: 

Households touched by crime, 1985, 

NCJ·101685.6/86 

Criminal Victimization, 1984. NCJ·98904. 10/85 

The crime of rape, NCJ·96777. 3/85 

Household burglary, NCJ·96021. 1/85 

Criminal victimization. 1983, NCJ·93869. 6/84 

Violent crime by strangers, NCJ·80B29, 4/82 

Crime and the elderly, NCH9614. 1/82 

Measuring crlmlll, NCH5710. 2181 

Response to screening questions In the National 

Crime Survey (BJ$ technical reporl), NCJ' 

97624,7185 

Vlc\lmlza\lon and fear of crlmo: World 

perspectives, NCJ·93872. 1/85 

The National Crime Survey: Workmg papers. 

vol, I: Current and hlstoneal perspectives. 

NCH5374.8/82 

vol. II. Methol091cal studies. NCJ·90307. 12/84 

Issues In the measurement 01 crime, 

NCJ-74682. 10/81 

The cost ot negligence: Losses tl'om preventable 

household burglaTies. NCJ053527. 12n9 

Rape Victimization In 26 American cities, 

NCJ·55B7B. Bn9 

Criminal victimization In urban schools, 

NCJ·5S396. 8ng 

An Introduction to the National Crime Survey, 

NCJ-43732,4n8 

Local victim surveys: A review of the Issues. 

NCJ-39973.8n7 

Parole and probation 

8JS bulletins: 

Probation and parotIl1984, NCJ·l00t8t. 

2/86 

Setting prison terms, NCJ.76218. 8/83 

Parole In the U.S., 1980 and 1981, NCJ·87387. 

3/88 

Characteristics of persons entering parole 

" during 1978 and 1979. NCJ-87243, 5/83 

Characterilltics of the parole population, 1978, 

NCJ-66479.4/81 

Parole In the U.S •• 1979, NCJ·69582. 3/81 

Corrections 

BJS bullotins and speCial reports: 

State and Federal prisoners, 1926-85, 

NC'.J·102494. 10/B6 

Prisoners In 1985, NCJ-l01384. 6/86 

Prison admission and releases, 1983, 

NCJ·l00582,3/86 

Capital punishment 1984. NCJ'98399, 8/85 

Examining recidiVism, NCJ·96501. 2/85 

Returning to prison, NCJ·95700. 11/84 

Time servod In prison, NCJ·93924. 6/84 

Historical corrections statlsllcs In the U.S., 1850· 

1 984, NCJ·l02529. 10/86 

Prisoners In State and FederallnstltuUons on Dec, 31,1983, NCJ'99861, 6/86 

Capital punlshmllnt 1 984 {tIna I). NCJ-:l9562. 5/86 

Capital punlshment1983 (final). NCJ·99561, 4/86 

1979 surveyol inmafes 01 Sfatecorreclf()nallac/I//les 

and 1979 census 01 Siafe correctional facilities: 

BJS spoclal reporls: 

The prevalence of Imprisonment, NCJ·93657. 

7/85 

Career patterns In crime, NCJ·88672, 6/83 

BJS bulletins: 

Prisoners alld dru9s, NCJ·87575. 3/83 

Prisoner" and alcohol, NCJ·86223. 1/83 

Prisons and prisoners, NCJ·80697. 2/82 

Veterans In prlaon, NCJ·79232, 11/81 

Census of jails and surve}' of jail Inmates: 

Jail Inmates, 1984, NCJ-101094. 5{86 

Jail Inmates, 19B3 (BJS bulletin). NCJ·99175. 

11/85 

The 1983 Jail census (BJS bulletin). NCJ·95536, 

11/84 

Census ot Jails, 1978: Data tot indiVidual Jails. 

vols I-IV. Northeast. North Central. South, West. 

NCJ-72279-72282. 12/81 

Protlle 01 jail Inmates, 1978, NCJ·65412, 2/81 

Children In custody: 

Public: juvenile laellilles, 1985 (bulletin), 

NCJ·l02457.10/8e 

1982-83 census of juvenile detention and 

correctional tacilitles, NCJ·l01686. 9/66 

Expenditure and employment 

BJS Bul/etlns: 

Justice expenditure and employment: 

1983, NCJ·l01776. 7/86 

1982, NCJ·98327.8/85 

Justice expenditure and employment In the U.S.: 

1980 and 1981 extracts, NCJ·96007. 6/85 

1971-79, NCJ-92596, 11/84 

Courtfl 

BJS bulletins; 

The growth of appeals: 1973·83 trends, 

NCJ·96381.2/85 

Case filings In State courts 1983, NCJ-95111. 

10/84 

BJS speolal reports; 

Felonycasll'"proco8slng time, NCJ-l01985,8/86 

Felony sontenclng In 18 local 

Jurisdictions, NCJ·97681. 6/85 

The prevalonce of guilty pleas, NCJ'96018, 

12/84 

Sentencing practices In 13 Stotes, NCJ'9S399, 

10184 

Criminal defense systems: A national 

survey, NCJ'94630, 8/84 

Habeas corpus, NCJ·92948, 3/84 

Stato court casllload statistics, 1971 and 

1981, NCJ·87587. 2/83 

National criminal defense systems study,NCJ94702. 10/86 

The prOSell\IUOn of felony arrests: 

1981, NCJ-l01380, 9186 

1980, NCJ·97684, 10/65 

1979, NCJ-86482. 5/84 

State court model statistical dlctionalY. 

Supplement, NCJ·98326, 9/85 

1 st edition, NCJ·62320, 9/80 

State court organization 1980, NCJ-76711, 7/82 

A cross-city comparison of felony case proceSSing, NCJ·55171, 7179 

Federal offenses and offenders 

BJS specllli reporls: 

Pretrial rele/lSe and misconduct, NCJ.96132, 

1/85 

BJS bulletins: 

Sonk robbery, NCJ-94463, 8/84 

Federal drug law Violators, NCJ-92692, 2/84 

Federal Justice statistics, NCJ-80814. 3/82 

"U.S. GOVEhNMEN't PRINTING OFFICE, 1ge6-181~4?8,4001? 

7 

Privacy and security 

Computer crime: 

BJS spec/a I reporls: 

Electronic fund transfer trraud, NCJ-9S666, 3/85 

Electronic fund transfer and crime, 

NCJ'92650, 2/84 

Electronic fund transfer froud, NCJ·l00461. 

4/86 

Computer security tochnlques, 

NCJ-84049,9/82 

Electronic fund transfer systems and crime, 

NCJ·B3736, 9/B2 

Expert witness manual, NCJ-77927,9/81 

Criminal Justice rosourcll manual, NCJ·61550. 

12ns 

Privacy and security of criminal history 

Information: 

Compendium of State leglslollon, 1984 

overview, NCJ·98077, 9/85 

Criminal jusllce Information policy: Crime control lind criminal records (BJ$ speCial 

report). NCJ'99176, 10/B5 

State criminal records roposltorles (BJS 

technical report), NCJ'99017, 10185 

Dalo quality ot criminal hlstolY records, NOJ· 

98079. 10/85 

Intelligence and Investigative rocords, 

NCJ'95787, 4/85 

Victim/witness loglslatlon: An over/lew, 

NCJ-94365, 12/84 

Information policy and crime control strategies (SEARCHlBJS conference). NCJ·93926. 

10/84 

Research access to criminal just/ce data, 

NCJ·84154, 2/83 

Privacy and JUVenile justice records, 

NCJ·84152, 1/83 

Survey of State laws (BJS bulletin), 

NCJ'80836, 6/82 

Privacy snd the private employer, 

NCJ.79651. 11/81 

General 

8JS bulletins: 

Police omployment and expenditure, 

NCJ-l00117,2/86 

Tracking offenders: The child Victim, NCJ· 

95785, 12/84 

The severity ot crime, NCJ.92326, 1/84 

The American response to crime: An overview 

of criminal justice systems, NCJ·91936, 12/83 

Tracking offenders, NCJ-91572. 11(83 

Victim and witness assistance: New State 

laws and the systam's response, NCJ·87934. 

5/83 

1986 directory of automated crlmlnBIJustlce 

Information systems, NCJ-l02260, 10/86 

Sourcebook of criminal Justice statistics, 1985, 

NCJ'I00899, 10/86 

Crime and Justice facts, 1985, NCJ·loo757, 5/86 

Bureau 01 Justice Statistics annual report, tiscal 

1986, NCJ-1 00182, 4/86 

National survey ot crime severity, NCJ-96017, 

10/85 

Criminal victimization of District ot Columbia 

residents and Capitol Hili employaos, 1982-83, 

NCJ-979B2;Summary, NCJ-98567; 9/85 

The DC crime victimization study Implementation, NCJ·98595, 9/85. $7.60 domestlc/$9.20 Canadl· 

en/$12.80 torelgn 

The DC household vlcth'nlzotion survey data base: 

Documentation, NCJ'98S96, $6.40/$8.40/$11 

User manual, NCJ·98597, $8,20/$9.80/$12.80 

BJS telephone contacts '85, NCJ'98292, 8/85 

How 10 gain access to BJS data (brochUre). BC·000022, 9/84 

Proceedings of the 2nd workshop on law and 

Justice statistics, 1984, NCJ·93310, B/84 

Raport to the nation on crime and jusllce: 

The data, NCJ·81068, 10/83 

Dictionary of criminal Justice data terminology: 

2nd ed .• NCJ·76939. 2/82 

Technical standards for machlne-readablo data 

supplied to BJS, NCJ-75318, 6/81 

See order form 

on last page 

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Justice expenditure and employment reports 

Annual spending and staffing by Federal, 

State, and local governments and by function 

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Computer c.t'ime reports 

Electronic fund transfer system crimes 

Privacy and security of criminal history 

information and information policy 

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from investigation through prosecution, 

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Courts reports 

State court case load surveys, model annual 

State reports, State court organization surveys 

Correctiorui reports 

Results of sample surveys and censuses of jails, 

prisons, parole, probation, and other data 

National Crime Survey reports 

The only regular national survey of crime 

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Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics 

Annual data from 153 sources in an easy-touse, comprehensive format (400+ tables, 

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