State, Federal Prison Populations Decline Simultaneously for First Time in 36 Years

Article Read time:
Projects: Public Safety Performance
State, Federal Prison Populations Decline Simultaneously

WASHINGTON—State and federal prison populations both declined in 2014, marking the first tandem decrease since the Bureau of Justice Statistics began tracking the numbers in 1978, according to a report the bureau released Thursday. The combined decrease of more than 15,000 inmates—the second-biggest annual reduction on record—brings the nation’s prison population to its lowest level since 2005 and accompanies a nationwide reduction in crime.

The overall state prison population began declining in 2010 before rising slightly in 2013. In 2014, it fell in 24 states by a total of 10,100 inmates, according to the report. For the second consecutive year, the federal inmate count also decreased, by 5,300 prisoners.

The 2014 decline also was the sixth consecutive reduction in the nation’s imprisonment rate, which fell to 471 inmates per 100,000 residents, or 7 percent below its 2007 and 2008 peak (506 inmates per 100,000 residents). Crime trends have paralleled this reduction in imprisonment. Violent and property crime rates declined in 2014 for the fifth time in seven years and are now 26 and 24 percent, respectively, below their 2007 levels, according to an annual crime victimization survey released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics in August.1

Since 2007, more than half the states have enacted policy reforms to control corrections growth, contain taxpayer costs, and improve public safety using evidence-based policies. These reforms—known collectively as “justice reinvestment”—vary from state to state, but all aim to use limited prison space for violent and career criminals, move lower-level offenders into less-costly and more-effective alternatives, and invest the savings into programs that reduce recidivism.

The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of knowledge to solve today’s most challenging problems. Learn more at www.pewtrusts.org.

Endnote

  1. The federal government issues two annual reports on national crime trends: the National Crime Victimization Survey, which includes reported and unreported crimes and is produced by the Bureau of Justice Statistics; and the Uniform Crime Report, which includes only reported crimes and is produced by the FBI. In this analysis, Pew cited the National Crime Victimization Survey because it includes data from 2014. The Uniform Crime Report for 2014 is scheduled for release in late September.
America’s Overdose Crisis
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Quick View
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
RELATED
Tags
Public safety
Projects
Public Safety Performance
Places
United States

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

A presentation being given by a businesswoman to a group of participants at a business conference.

Fact Sheet

April 12, 2024 Four Plan Features Can Boost 'Retirement Readiness'
An illustration of a couple holding hands walking away from an outline of houses behind them

Podcast

March 22, 2024 Pathways to Homeownership: Housing in America
A landscape with mountains and clouds. BLM Rule Puts Conservation, Other Land Uses on Equal Footing

MORE FROM PEW

An aerial view of a vast wetland, with scattered vegetation visible on sandy islands. In Western Australia, a Conservation Model for the World
A presentation being given by a businesswoman to a group of participants at a business conference. Four Plan Features Can Boost 'Retirement Readiness'
A large group of people in formal or traditional attire stands together on a stage, with a digital background depicting marine life and the large text “WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.” WTO Needs to Redouble Its Effort on Fishing Subsidies
A man in a winter hat and sunglasses kneels on a rocky shoreline in front of a campfire, holding a metal mug with gloved hands. Behind him, in the water, a motorboat is moored to the shore. Cliffs rise on both sides of the water. Why Newfoundland’s South Coast Fjords Are Sacred
Composite image of modern city network communication concept

Learn the Basics of Broadband from Our Limited Series

Sign up for our four-week email course on Broadband Basics
Quick View

How does broadband internet reach our homes, phones, and tablets? What kind of infrastructure connects us all together? What are the major barriers to broadband access for American communities?

Pills illustration
Pills illustration

What Is Antibiotic Resistance—and How Can We Fight It?

Sign up for our four-week email series The Race Against Resistance.
Quick View
Pills illustration

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also known as “superbugs,” are a major threat to modern medicine. But how does resistance work, and what can we do to slow the spread? Read personal stories, expert accounts, and more for the answers to those questions in our four-week email series: Slowing Superbugs.