Last updated: June 1997

1. Number of Institutions
2. Total Population
3. Inmates by Security Level
4. Inmates by Gender
5. Inmates by Race
6. Inmates by Ethnicity
7. Inmates by Citizenship
8. Average Inmate Age
9. Sentence Imposed
10. Type of Offense
11. BOP Population Over Time/Drug Offenders as a Percentage of All Sentenced Offenders
12. Staff by Gender
13. Staff by Race/Ethnicity
14. An Overview of the Federal Bureau of Prisons
    

NUMBER OF INSTITUTIONS: 90

TOTAL INMATE POPULATION: 110,160

    In BOP facilities:        99,175     
    In contract facilities:   10,985     

The total population includes all inmates in BOP custody: those in BOP facilities and those in contract facilities. BOP facilities -- Penitentiaries, Federal Correctional Institutions, Federal Prison Camps, Federal Medical Centers, and others -- are operated by the BOP. Contract facilities, usually Community Corrections Centers or detention facilities, are operated by non-BOP staff. The BOP contracts with these facilities to house Federal offenders on a per capita basis. The data presented here relate to offenders in BOP facilities only unless otherwise noted.

INMATES BY SECURITY LEVEL

Minimum:  26,734  (29.02%)     

Low:      31,557  (34.25%)    

Medium:   21,031  (22.83%) 

High:     12,814  (13.91%)

(7,039 inmates have not been assigned a security level)

INMATES BY GENDER

Male:    92,116  (92.88%) 

Female:   7,059   (7.12%) 

INMATES BY RACE

White:    56,200 (56.67%)     

Black:    39,836 (40.17%)    

Asian:     1,658  (1.67%)          

Native                 
American:  1,481  (1.49%)

ETHNICITY

Hispanic:      27,230  (27.46%)

Non-Hispanic:  71,945  (72.54%)

CITIZENSHIP

United States:  72,541  (74.52%)    

Mexico:          8,609   (8.84%)    

Colombia:        4,334   (4.45%)    

Cuba:            2,759   (2.83%)     

Other/Unknown:  11,024  (10.89%) 

AVERAGE INMATE AGE: 37

SENTENCE IMPOSED (calculated for those with sentencing information available)

Less than 1 year:    1,625   (2.01%)     

1-3 years:          11,122  (13.75%)     

3-5 years:          11,470  (14.19%)     

5-10 years:         19,875  (24.58%)     

10-15 years:        17,676  (21.86%)     

15-20 years:         7,781   (9.62%)     

More than 20 years:  8,934  (11.05%)     

Life:                2,375   (2.94%)     

TYPE OF OFFENSE (calculated for those with offense-specific information available)

Drug Offenses:                  52,956 (60.2%)    

Robbery:                         8,414  (9.6%)    

Firearms, Explosives, Arson:     7,950  (9.0%)    

Extortion, Fraud, Bribery:       4,962  (5.6%)    

Property Offenses:               5,194  (5.9%)    

Violent Offenses:                2,270  (2.6%)    

Immigration:                     2,988  (3.4%)    

Continuing Criminal Enterprise:    667  (0.8%)    

White Collar:                      644  (0.7%)    

Courts or Corrections:             560  (0.6%)    

National Security:                  74  (0.1%)    

Miscellaneous:                   1,339  (1.5%)    

FEDERAL PRISON POPULATION OVER TIME/DRUG OFFENDERS

Year	Total sentenced and unsentenced population	Total sentenced population	Total sentenced drug offenders	Percentage of sentenced prisoners who are drug offenders
1970	21,266	20,686	3,384	16.3%
1971	20,891	20,529	3,495	7.0%
1972	22,090	20,729	3,523	16.9%
1973	23,336	22,038	5,652	25.6%
1974	23,690	21,769	6,203	28.4%
1975	23,566	20,692	5,540	26.7%
1976	27,033	24,135	6,425	26.6%
1977	29,877	25,673	6,743	26.2%
1978	27,674	23,501	5,981	25.4%
1979	24,810	21,539	5,468	25.3%
1980	24,252	19,023	4,749	24.9%
1981	26,195	19,765	5,076	25.6%
1982	28,133	20,938	5,518	26.3%
1983	30,214	26,027	7,201	27.6%
1984	32,317	27,622	8,152	29.5%
1985	36,042	27,623	9,491	34.3%
1986	40,505	31,831	12,119	38.1%
1987	43,683	34,163	14,354	42.0%
1988	43,401	34,680	15,526	44.8%
1989	50,173	38,969	19,459	49.9%
1990	57,331	47,847	25,037	52.3%
1991	63,711	53,526	30,498	57.0%
1992	70,346	61,026	36,349	59.6%
1993	79,483	70,557	42,945	60.9%
1994	85,290	76,186	46,743	61.4%
1995	89,564	79,347	48,118	60.6%
1996	94,215	83,515	50,754	60.8%
1997*	99,175	88,018	52,956	60.2%

*Year to date. Note: Data for 1970 to 1976 are for June 30; data for 1977 onwards are for September 30. Data are for inmates in BOP facilities only (i.e., do not include inmates in contract facilities).

STAFF BY GENDER

Male:   21,828 (73.4%)

Female:  7,906 (26.6%)

STAFF BY RACE/ETHNICITY

White (Non-Hispanic):  20,091 (67.6%)    

African American:       5,700 (19.2%)    

Hispanic:               2,970 (10.0%)    

Other:                    975  (3.3%)     

Federal Bureau of Prisons Overview

The mission of the Bureau of Prisons is to protect society by confining offenders in the controlled environments of prison and community-based facilities that are safe, humane, and appropriately secure, and that provide work and other self-improvement opportunities to assist offenders in becoming law-abiding citizens.

All Federal inmates who are able must work and are paid a small wage, a portion of which some inmates use to make restitution to victims through the Inmate Financial Responsibility Program. About one-fourth of the inmates are employed by Federal Prison Industries, Inc., a Government corporation that produces a range of goods and services from office furniture to electronic cable assemblies for sale to Federal Government clients. Research has shown that inmates who work or receive vocational training adjust better to prison, are more likely to hold a job after release, and are less likely to commit new crimes.

Most inmates serve the last few months of their sentence in a community corrections center, or "halfway house," and often hold jobs in the community while preparing for their release. Several hundred halfway houses around the country are privately operated under contract and monitored by the Bureau.

The Bureau's Central Office in Washington, D.C., provides leadership, long-range planning, facility development, policy formulation, and coordination for the nationwide network of Federal correctional facilities and community resources.

For operational efficiency, the Bureau is divided into six geographical regions, each headed by a regional director, that provide technical support and on-site assistance to field locations. Regional Offices are located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Annapolis Junction, Maryland (near Baltimore); Atlanta, Georgia; Dallas, Texas; Kansas City, Kansas; and Dublin, California (near San Francisco).

The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) provides advisory and technical support to State and local correctional agencies throughout the country primarily through technical assistance, training, and information services. The NIC Director's Office, Deputy Director, Administrative Services, and Prisons and Community Corrections Divisions are located in Washington, D.C. Its Jails and Academy Divisions and the NIC Information Center are located in Longmont, Colorado.