Sentenced Prisoners

Rate, per 100,000 Resident Population, of Sentenced Prisoners under Jurisdiction of State and Federal Correctional Authorities on Dec. 31.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics. Prisoners in 2010: Appendix Table 9.
Imprisonment rates of sentenced prisoners under jurisdiction of state and federal correctional authorities, December 31, 2009 and 2010. Also earlier years.

Comments on the table entitled “Rate of sentenced prisoners under jurisdiction of state and federal authorities.”

Between 2000 and 2010 the number of sentenced prisoners in Virginia increased by 46 per 100,000 resident population but did decline in the past year. The increase was 14th highest in the nation. West Virginia, Indiana, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Florida and Arkansas had the highest growth in the number of sentenced prisons per 100,000 inhabitants. During the same period 17 States lowered their imprisonment rate per 100,000 resident population including New York -95, Texas – 82, New Jersey -76, Georgia -71, Delaware -70 and Nevada -52. Overall Virginia in 2010 ranked 14th nationally in numbers of prisoners per 100,000 resident population.

By using data on rate or incarceration per 100,000 resident population the table provides comparisons of the relative number of sentenced prisoners independent of changes in the population.

The U.S. Total figures for 1930-1970 are in line with trends back to 1880. For roughly 100 years for which some data was available the rate of imprisonment per 100,000 resident population was relatively flat.
Major increases in the relative number of sentenced prisoners occurred across the nation between 1980 and 2000. Improved data reporting by 1970, the “War on Drugs” starting in the late 70’s, expanded definitions of what are crimes and changes in sentencing for some crimes from misdemeanours to felonies and a tendency towards mandated sentences and restrictions on granting of parole all impacted on the marked increase in rates.

The rate of sentenced prisoners in Virginia was below the average for all states in 2000. Implementation of “Truth-in-Sentencing” legislation including no parole for newly sentenced prisoners, and other reforms in January 1995 including changes in Commonwealth criminal codes with generally longer periods of confinement have more than exceeded some realignment of sentencing guidelines in other states. As result the 2010 incarceration rate in Virginia exceeded the average for all states by 7 per cent in contrast to being 2 percent below the national average in 2000.

Between 2000 and 2010 the average increase for the top 25 states (including Virginia) in their rate of incarceration was 67 prisoners per 100,000 population and the average violent crime rate decreased by 87 per 100,000 population.*

Between 2000 and 2010 the average change for the 25 states that did not increase(19 states) or just slightly increased their rate of incarceration was a decrease of 38 sentenced prisoners per 100,000 population and the average violent crime rate decreased by 112 per 100,000 population.

From the above comparison it is not clear that there is any particular relationship between increasing the rate of incarceration of inhabitants and lower crime rates. Overall states that lowered incarceration rates between 2000 and 2010 had greater success in reducing violent crime rates than did states that increased incarceration rates.

Many factors other than incarceration including effective state and local policing, protective defensive actions by citizens and numerous community based programs improving the quality of life in neighbourhoods can be cited as reasons for declining crime rates across the country and in Virginia. See statements on Alternatives to Imprisonment and on Observations on Crime Rates per 100,000 in the United States and Virginia, 1970-2010 on this website.

*Weighted averages based on state population developed by Virginia CURE based on FBI Uniform Crime Reports data on crime rates and rate of sentencing and Bureau of Justice Statistics on Prisoners in 2000 and 2010.