                         FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS

                                QUICK FACTS



                          Last Updated: March 1996



  1.  Number of Institutions

  2.  Total Population

  3.  Capacity

  4.  Inmates by Security Level

  5.  Gender

  6.  Race

  7.  Ethnicity

  8.  Citizenship

  9.  Average Inmate Age

 10.  Sentence Imposed

 11.  Type of Offense

 12.  Personnel

 13.  Staff by Gender

 14.  Staff by Race

 15.  An Overview of the Federal Bureau of Prisons



---------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Image]  Back to the Federal Bureau of Prisons Home Page



[Image]  BOP Office of Research Home Page



---------------------------------------------------------------------------



      NUMBER OF INSTITUTIONS                                   86



Return to the top of this page.



  TOTAL POPULATION*                                 101,655



  In BOP Facilities                                 91,048



  In Contract Facilities                            10,607



  *The total population (i.e., sentenced and detained) includes all

  inmates in BOP custody: those in BOP facilities and those in contract

  facilities. All other numbers pertain to inmates in BOP facilities

  only. BOP facilities - Penitentiaries, Federal Correctional

  Institutions, Federal Prison Camps, Metropolitan Correctional Centers,

  Federal Medical Centers, and others - are "traditional" prisons,

  operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Contract facilities, usually

  Community Corrections Centers or detention facilities, are operated by

  non-Bureau staff. The Bureau contracts with these facilities to house

  Federal offenders on a per capita basis.



Return to the top of this page.



  SENTENCED POPULATION                                89,671



Return to the top of this page.



  INMATES BY SECURITY LEVEL (data collected from BOP facilities only)



  Minimum                                 31.5%



  Low                                     29.3%



  Medium                                  25.3%



  High                                    13.9%



Return to the top of this page.



  INMATES BY GENDER



  Male                                93.0%



  Female                              7.0%



Return to the top of this page.



  INMATES BY RACE



  White                                           58.0%



  Black                                           39.1%



  Asian                                           1.5%



  American Indian                                 1.4%



Return to the top of this page.



  ETHNICITY



  Hispanic                                 26.3%



Return to the top of this page.



  CITIZENSHIP



  United States                                   75.2%



  Mexico                                          7.6%



  Colombia                                        4.7%



  Cuba                                            3.0%



  Other                                           9.5%



Return to the top of this page.



  AVERAGE INMATE AGE                                      37



Return to the top of this page.



  SENTENCE IMPOSED (data refers to offenders in BOP facilities only)



  Less Than 1 year                                     2.1%



  1-3 Years                                            13.1%



  3-5 Years                                            13.7%



  5-10 Years                                           25.4%



  10-15 Years                                          21.8%



  15-20 Years                                          9.8%



  More Than 20 Years                                   11.4%



  Life                                                 2.7%



Return to the top of this page.



  TYPE OF OFFENSE (Data refers to sentenced offenders in BOP facilities

  only)



  Drug Offenses                                             60.5%



  Robbery                                                   9.9%



  Firearms, Explosives, Arson                               9.5%



  Extortion, Fraud, Bribery                                 6.1%



  Property Offenses                                         5.3%



  Violent Offenses                                          2.8%



  Immigration                                               2.1%



  Continuing Criminal Enterprise                            0.8%



  White Collar                                              0.8%



  Courts or Corrections                                     0.6%



  National Security                                         0.1%



  Miscellaneous                                             1.5%



Return to the top of this page.



  PERSONNEL                              28,805



Return to the top of this page.



  STAFF BY GENDER



  Male                               73.4%



  Female                             26.6%



Return to the top of this page.



  STAFF BY RACE/ETHNICITY



  White (Non-Hispanic)                                 68.3%



  African American                                     18.8%



  Hispanic                                             9.8%



  Other                                                3.1%



Return to the top of this page.



---------------------------------------------------------------------------



Federal Bureau of Prisons Overview



Prior to the 1930 Act of Congress creating the Federal Bureau of Prisons,

there were seven Federal prisons, each separately funded and operated under

local policies and procedures established by each warden. The 1930 Act

directed the development of an integrated system of prisons to provide

custody and programs based on the individual needs of offenders.



The mission of the Bureau of Prisons is to protect society by confining

offenders in the controlled environments of prison and community-based

facilities that are safe, humane, and appropriately secure, and that

provide work and other self-improvement opportunities to assist offenders

in becoming law-abiding citizens.



All Federal inmates who are able must work and are paid a small wage, a

portion of which some inmates use to make restitution to victims through

the Inmate Financial Responsibility Program. About one-fourth of the

inmates are employed by Federal Prison Industries, Inc., a Government

corporation that produces a range of goods and services from office

furniture to electronic cable assemblies for sale to Federal Government

clients. Research has shown that inmates who work or receive vocational

training adjust better to prison, are more likely to hold a job after

release, and are less likely to commit new crimes.



Most inmates serve the last few months of their sentence in a community

corrections center, or "halfway house," and often hold jobs in the

community while preparing for their release. Several hundred halfway houses

around the country are privately operated under contract and monitored by

the Bureau.



The Bureau's Central Office in Washington, D.C., provides leadership,

long-range planning, facility development, policy formulation, and

coordination for the nationwide network of Federal correctional facilities

and community resources.



For operational efficiency, the Bureau is divided into six geographical

regions, each headed by a regional director, that provide technical support

and on-site assistance to field locations. Regional Offices are located in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Annapolis Junction, Maryland (near Baltimore);

Atlanta, Georgia; Dallas, Texas; Kansas City, Kansas; and Dublin,

California (near San Francisco).



The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) provides advisory and technical

support to State and local correctional agencies throughout the country

primarily through technical assistance, training, and information services.

The NIC Director's Office, Deputy Director, Administrative Services, and

Prisons and Community Corrections Divisions are located in Washington, D.C.

Its Jails and Academy Divisions and the NIC Information Center are located

in Longmont, Colorado.



---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Return to the top of this page.



[Image]  Back to the Federal Bureau of Prisons Home Page

