Over 40 Percent Of Prison Inmates Had Five To Ten Prior Incarcerations

Highlights

Seventy-eight percent of inmates had previous incarcerations.

Forty-two percent had 5-10 or more incarcerations.

The vast majority of prison inmates have multiple previous arrests and incarcerations. The vast majority have histories of violence.

Author

Article

The data below from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is from 2016. It was released in December 2021. It establishes the characteristics of prison inmates.

Readers are encouraged to view the full report; I added the most relevant numbers.

I offer two sections of background data before I summarize the report.

Background-Research Issues

I use “Editor’s Notes” throughout this article to add context. However, the majority of what’s below uses BJS verbiage.

It’s not unusual for researchers to use older data sets to gain insight into current conditions. Because of large numbers, statistics from BJS don’t change that much from year to year (with some exceptions).

Statistics in this report are primarily based on self-report data collected through face-to-face interviews with a national sample of state and federal prisoners. There are times where interviews of offenders conflict with other data (i.e., drug use of inmates an undercount when compared to blood tests of those arrested). Inmates are suspicious of researchers and their assurances that the information they collect won’t be used against them. Some of those issues are addressed in the report.

As concerning as the statistics are as to arrests, it’s a vast undercount of criminality. Only 40 percent of violent crimes are reported to law enforcement and the great majority of reported crimes do not end in arrest.

There are events that alter the characteristics of the state and federal prison populations; there is a 40 percent decrease in admissions to state and federal prisons in 2020 due to COVID and criminal justice reform. I assume that those with repeat violent histories were given priority for prison admissions. If the survey below was conducted today, you would have different results.

Most of my focus is on state inmates because of the numbers when compared to the much smaller federal system and percentages arrested for violent crimes (few in federal prisons are there for violent crimes).

Recidivism data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics is necessary for context. Regardless of the characteristics of prison inmates, the vast majority recidivate.

Background-The Most Common Understanding Of Inmate Recidivism

The most common understanding of recidivism is based on state data from the US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, stating that two-thirds (68 percent) of prisoners released were arrested for a new crime within three years of release from prison, and three-quarters (77 percent) were arrested within five years.

Within 3 years of release, 49.7% of inmates either had an arrest that resulted in a conviction with a disposition of a prison sentence or were returned to prison without a new conviction because they violated a technical condition of their release, as did 55.1% of inmates within 5 years of release.

A ten-year study from the Bureau of Justice Statistics shows that 82% were arrested at least once during the 10 years following release. Offenders committed well over two million new crimes. About 61% of prisoners released in 2008 returned to prison within 10 years for a parole or probation violation or a new sentence, Inmate Recidivism.

Summation of the BJS Report (details below):

The overwhelming number of inmates are not first-time offenders.

Over 40 percent of inmates had five to ten prior incarcerations which substantiates prior findings that a minority of offenders commit the majority of crimes.

The vast majority had multiple arrests, approximately 13 percent were in prison for their first arrest.

37 percent were on parole or probation at the time of their crime.

Males make up the great majority of inmates.

Most in state prisons were convicted of violent crimes.

The average age of state prisoners was 39.

State prisoners were likely to be black (34%) or white (32%).

Most didn’t graduate from high school.

Most were not married.

Most serve less than two years. Editor’s note: Recent data from BJS indicate that most violent offenders serve less than three years.

94 percent had homes at the time of the arrest.

Most came from single-parent homes.

Thirty percent of state and federal prisoners reported that they had 5 or more incarcerations prior to the offense for which they were being held, including 12% who had 10 or more prior incarcerations.

Less than a quarter of prisoners reported no history of prior incarcerations (22%).

Among state and federal prisoners, males were more likely than females to have extensive incarceration histories prior to the offense for which they were held. About 31% of male prisoners reported 5 to 9 (19%) or 10 or more (12%) prior incarcerations. In comparison, 24% of female prisoners reported 5 to 9 (14%) or 10 or more (10%) prior incarcerations.

Sex and Age

The majority of all prisoners in the United States (93%) were male, and this finding was consistent among both state (93%) and federal (94%) prisoners.

In state prisons, the distribution of male and female prisoners remained unchanged between 2004 and 2016.

The average age of all prisoners in the United States was 39.

The majority of state prisoners were ages 25 to 44 (58%): about a third were ages 25 to 34 (32%) and a quarter were ages 35 to 44 (26%).

Another 19% of state prisoners were ages 45 to 54.

Prisoners held in state prison in 2016 were older than those held in state prison in 2004.

The average age of state prisoners was 39 in 2016, compared to 35 in 2004. During that time, the percentage of state prisoners who were age 44 or younger declined from 81% to 69%.

The largest decline occurred among state prisoners ages 18 to 24, from 17% in 2004 to 10% in 2016.

While prisoners age 65 or older (3%) accounted for the smallest age group in 2016, the percentage was about three times that observed in 2004 (1%).

The average age of federal prisoners was 40. More than a third of federal prisoners were ages 35 to 44 (34%), about 5% were ages 18 to 24, and about 3% were age 65 or older.

Race and Ethnicity

State prisoners were likely to be black (34%) or white (32%). One in 5 state prisoners were Hispanic (21%). About 2% of state prisoners were either American Indian or Alaska Native (1%) or Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander (1%).

More than 1 in 10 state prisoners identified with two or more races (11%).

Among federal prisoners, nearly 4 in 10 were Hispanic (37%), while 3 in 10 were black (32%) and 2 in 10 were white (21%). Less than 5% of federal prisoners were either American Indian or Alaska Native (2%) or Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander (2%).

Nearly 7% of federal prisoners identified as two or more races.

Sexual Orientation And Gender Identity

The majority of prisoners in the United States (96%) identified as straight, which was consistent among state (95%) and federal (97%) prisoners.

Among state prisoners, about 1.4% identified as gay or lesbian, and another 2.5% identified as bisexual. Findings among federal prisoners were similar: 1.1% identified as gay or lesbian, and 1.1% identified as bisexual.

Education

Among all prisoners in the United States in 2016, more than 6 in 10 had completed less than a high school degree prior to their admission to prison.

Marriage

The majority of all prisoners in the United States reported that they had never married (58%). State prisoners were more likely to report that they had never married (59%) than to report being divorced (19%), married (14%), separated (5%), or widowed (3%).

Those Violent

State prisoners were more likely to be incarcerated for a violent offense (56%). 58 percent of male state inmates were incarcerated for a violent offense. 13 percent of federal inmates are in for a violent offense.

Almost 4 in 10 State Prisoners Had A Criminal Justice Status

More than a third of all prisoners in the United States in had a criminal justice status at the time of the arrest for the offense for which they were incarcerated. Criminal justice status at arrest includes being on probation, being on parole, or having escaped from custody.

Almost 4 in 10 state prisoners had a criminal justice status at the time of the arrest.

Editor’s note: If you added offenses committed while on bail, the percentage would be much higher.

Time Served

State prisoners were most likely to report that they served 2 years or less in prison since their admission.

In state prisons, more than half of females (55%) had been incarcerated for 2 years or less, compared to more than a third of males (35%). Male state prisoners (21%) were twice as likely as female state prisoners (10%) to have been held for more than 10 years at the time of the interview.

Special Conditions Of Sentences

More than three-quarters of state prisoners had at least one special condition that was required as part of their prison sentence (77%).

Courts can order special conditions at the time of sentencing, such as monetary, programmatic, or behavioral requirements. State prisoners most commonly reported payment of court costs (60%) as a special condition, followed by fines (37%) and victim restitution (33%). Drug or alcohol treatment (16%) and drug testing (12%) were less commonly reported. Less than 10% of state prisoners were required to participate in sex offender treatment (8%) or psychiatric or psychological counseling (8%) as a special condition.

Editors note: Most of the imposed conditions follow the inmate after release on parole or mandatory release.

Housing

Prisoners in the United States most commonly reported living in a house or an apartment (94%) during the 30 days prior to the arrest for the offense for which they were incarcerated.

Editor’s note: There are advocates who state that homelessness is a major correlate of crime.

Family

Most prisoners reported growing up in a home with at least one parent: 35% reported that they primarily lived with both parents, while 47% grew up in a single-parent home, primarily with their mother (41%).

Conclusions

The vast majority of prison inmates have multiple previous arrests and incarcerations. The vast majority have histories of violence. Candidate Biden and advocates state that they want to cut the prison population in half (future articles). They claim that this can be done without impacting public safety. The data presented challenges their assertions.

See More

See more articles on crime and justice at Crime in America.

Most Dangerous Cities/States/Countries at Most Dangerous Cities.

US Crime Rates at Nationwide Crime Rates.

National Offender Recidivism Rates at Offender Recidivism.

An Overview Of Data On Mental Health at Mental Health And Crime.

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