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Community corrections
The supervision of criminal offenders in the resident
population, as opposed to confining offenders in secure correctional facilities. The
two
main types of community corrections supervision are probation and parole. Community
corrections is also referred to as community supervision.
Custody
To have custody of a prisoner, a state or the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) must
physically hold that person in one of its facilities. A locality, state, or the BOP
may hold inmates over whom a different government maintains jurisdiction.
Custody count
The number of offenders in custody. To have custody of a prisoner, a state or the
Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) must physically hold that person in one of its
facilities. A locality, state, or the BOP may have custody of a prisoner over whom a
different government maintains jurisdiction.
Design capacity
The number of inmates that planners or architects intended for the facility.
Federal prisons
Prison facilities run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Prisoners housed in
these
facilities are under the legal authority of the federal government. This
excludes private facilities under exclusive contract with BOP.
Imprisoned population
The population of inmates confined in prison or other facilities under the
jurisdiction of the state or Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
Imprisonment rate
The number of prisoners under state or federal jurisdiction sentenced to more than one
year, per 100,000 U.S. residents.
Incarcerated population
Incarcerated population is the population of inmates confined in a prison or a jail.
This may also include halfway houses, boot camps, weekend programs, and other
facilities in which individuals are locked up overnight.
Institutional corrections
Persons housed in secure correctional facilities. There are many different types of
correctional facilities, operated by different government entities. Local jails are
generally operated under the authority of a sheriff, police chief, or county or city
administrator, and typically hold offenders for short periods ranging from a single
day to a year. A small number of jails are privately operated. Prisons serve as
long-term confinement facilities and are only run by the 50 state governments and
the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Private correctional facilities also operate
under contracts for a wide variety of local, state, and federal agencies. Other
correctional facilities are operated by special jurisdictions, including the U.S.
Armed Forces, U.S. territories, and federal agencies, such as U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Jail inmates
Offenders confined in short-term facilities that are usually administered by a local
law enforcement agency and that are intended for adults but sometimes hold juveniles
before or after adjudication. Jail inmates usually have a sentence of less than 1 year
or are being held pending a trial, awaiting sentencing, or awaiting transfer to other
facilities after a conviction.
Jurisdiction
A unit of government or the legal authority to
exercise governmental power. In corrections, it refers to the government that has
legal authority over an inmate (state or federal). Prisoners under a given state's
jurisdiction may be housed in another state or local correctional facility.
Jurisdiction count
Prisoners under legal authority of state or federal correctional authorities who are housed in
prison facilities (e.g., prisons, penitentiaries, and correctional institutions; boot camps; prison
farms; reception, diagnostic, and classification centers; release centers, halfway houses and road
camps; forestry and conservation camps; vocational training facilities; prison hospitals; and drug
and alcohol treatment facilities for prisoners), regardless of which government entity physically
holds them. This number also includes prisoners who are temporarily absent (fewer than 30 days),
out to court, or on work release; housed in local jails, private facilities, and other states or
federal facilities; and serving a sentence for two jurisdictions at the same time. This count
excludes prisoners held in a state or federal facility for another state or the Federal Bureau of
Prisons (BOP). However, prisoners housed in another state and under the legal authority of the
governing state are included.
Movement
In corrections, a movement refers to an admission or a release from a status, such as
prisoner, parolee, or probationer. Unless specifically noted, a transfer between
facilities does not count as a movement.
Operational capacity
The number of inmates that can be accommodated based on a facility's staff, existing
programs, and services.
Parole
Parole refers to criminal offenders who are conditionally released from prison to
serve
the remaining portion of their sentence in the community. Prisoners may be released
to
parole by a parole board decision (discretionary release/discretionary parole),
according to provisions of a statute (mandatory release/mandatory parole), through
other types of post-custody conditional supervision, or as the result of a sentence
to
a term of supervised release. In the federal system, a term of supervised release is
a
sentence to a fixed period of supervision in the community that follows a sentence
to a
period of incarceration in federal prison, both of which are ordered at the time of
sentencing by a federal judge. Parolees can have a number of different supervision
statuses, including active supervision, which means they are required to regularly
report to a parole authority in person, by mail, or by telephone. Some parolees may
be
on an inactive status, which means they are excluded from regularly reporting, and
that could be due to a number of reasons. For instance, some may receive a reduction
in
supervision, possibly due to compliance or meeting all required conditions before
the
parole sentence terminates, and therefore may be moved from an active to inactive
status. Other supervision statuses include parolees who have only financial
conditions
remaining, have absconded, or have active warrants. Parolees are also typically
required to fulfill certain conditions and adhere to specific rules of conduct while
in
the community. Failure to comply with any of the conditions can result in a return
to
incarceration.
Prison
Compared to jail facilities, prisons are longer-term facilities owned by a state or by
the federal government. Prisons typically hold felons and persons with sentences of
more than a year; however, the sentence length may vary by state. Six states
(Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, Delaware, Alaska, and Hawaii) have an integrated
correctional system that combines jails and prisons. There are a small number of
private prisons, which are facilities run by private prison corporations whose services
and beds are contracted out by state or federal governments.
Prisoners
Prisoners are inmates confined in long-term facilities run by the state or federal
government or private agencies. They are typically felons who have received a sentence
of incarceration of 1 year or more. (Sentence length may vary by state because a few
states have one integrated prison system in which both prison and jail inmates are
confined in the same types of facilities.)
Probation
Probation refers to adult offenders whom courts place on supervision in the
community
through a probation agency, generally in lieu of incarceration. However, some
jurisdictions do sentence probationers to a combined short-term incarceration
sentence
immediately followed by probation, which is referred to as a split sentence.
Probationers can have a number of different supervision statuses, including active
supervision, which means they are required to regularly report to a probation
authority
in person, by mail, or by telephone. Some probationers may be on an inactive status,
which means they are excluded from regularly reporting, and that could be due to a
number of reasons. For instance, some probationers may be placed on inactive status
immediately because the severity of the offense was minimal or some may receive a
reduction in supervision and therefore may be moved from an active to inactive
status.
Other supervision statuses include probationers who have only financial conditions
remaining, have absconded, or have active warrants. In many instances, while on
probation, offenders are required to fulfill certain conditions of their supervision
(e.g., payment of fines, fees or court costs, and participation in treatment
programs)
and
adhere to specific rules of conduct while in the community. Failure to comply with
any
conditions can result in incarceration.
Rated capacity
The number of beds or inmates assigned by a rating official to institutions within the
jurisdiction.
State prisons
Prison facilities run by state correctional authorities. Prisoners housed in these
facilities are under the legal authority of the state government and generally serving
a term of more than 1 year.
Total correctional population
Total correctional population is the population of persons incarcerated, either in a
prison or a jail, and persons supervised in the community, either on probation or
parole.
Total incarceration rate
The number of inmates held in the custody of state or federal prisons or in local
jails, per 100,000 U.S. residents.
Total inmates in custody count
To have custody of a prisoner, a state or the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) must
physically hold that person in one of its facilities. A state may have custody of a
prisoner over whom another state maintains jurisdiction. This count includes inmates
held in any public facility run by a state or the BOP, including halfway houses,
camps, farms, training/treatment centers, and hospitals. This number includes the
number of inmates held in local jails as reported by correctional authorities in the
Annual Survey of Jails.