Abstract |
There were 6.98 million offenders under the supervision of the adult correctional systems at yearend 2011, a decrease of more than 98,900 offenders during the year (figure 1). The adult correctional systems supervise offenders in the community under the authority of probation or parole agencies and those held in the custody of state and federal prisons or local jails. The 1.4% decline in the correctional population during 2011 was the third consecutive year of decline and by yearend, the population dropped below the level observed in 2004 (6,995,900). At yearend 2011, about 1 in every 34 adult residents in the U.S. was under some form of correctional supervision, down from 1 in 31 in 2007. This report provides summary data on offenders supervised by the adult correctional systems. (See Methodology for more information.) It also highlights significant changes in the components of the correctional populationprobationers, parolees, state and federal prisoners, and local jail inmates. |