SJC Exchange Library

Originally posted by Wanda Bertram on 12-19-2023

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Hi all,

Today, the Prison Policy Initiative released a new briefing that looks at the recently released data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics showing increases in prison and jail populations in 2022. This data has received plenty of headlines, so we wanted to explain what's driving these increases (and what's not), and whether they're likely to continue in the years to come.

We highlight several important points in the data:

• Prison and jail populations are undoubtedly growing again. Prison populations increased by 2% in 2022, and jail populations increased by 4% between June 2021 and June 2022. At the end of 2022, 42 states and the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) incarcerated more people than at the end of 2021. Notably, 91% of prison population growth in 2022 came from just nine states (mostly in the South) and the BOP.
• Changes in crime rates are not responsible for increases in incarceration. Many in media and politics have pushed a narrative that crime is skyrocketing, but the data just doesn't support that. In fact, violent crime victimization rates in 2022 are almost exactly what they were five years ago, and have remained fairly steady over the last fifteen years. 
• Court backlogs drove pandemic-related population decreases, and they're responsible for prison and jail population increases, too. The pandemic forced delays and cancellations of many court proceedings, and, in many ways, brought the legal system to a halt. As the gears of the justice system began grinding again in late 2020 and 2021, courts have slowly worked through those backlogs, sending more people to prison. This was something we predicted two years ago, and we're now seeing it play out in the data. 
• Prison and jail populations will likely continue to grow. According to reports from 22 states and the federal BOP, after years of decline, the prison and jail populations will almost certainly continue to grow in future years. Part of this is due to the court system getting back to "business as usual," as mentioned above. However, much of it is also caused by a rash of misguided legislation that pushed stiffer prison sentences. 

You can find the full briefing at: https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2023/12/19/bjs_update_2022/

Also, if you are interested, we also released a briefing today that evaluates the effectiveness of California's discretionary parole system: https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2023/12/19/california-parole/

We hope this information is useful in your work as you help people understand what is actually happening with prison and jail populations in the U.S. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Take care,

Wanda

Prison Policy Initiative 

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Wanda Bertram
Communications Strategist
Prison Policy Initiative
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