1. Violence and Safety in American Corrections: What the Research Shows
A Briefing for……

2. How do we measure safety in Corrections?
Follow principles of good social science research (large, random samples).
Gather data on a wide variety of performance measures.
Standardize the occurrence of violence by population, to understand its relative frequency/prevalence.
Take into account the national trends that affect prison populations and facility operation.
·        It is a basic principle of social science that individual stories cannot, by themselves, provide an accurate picture of the frequency and prevalence of any social phenomenon or behavior.
·        To understand the relative occurrence of a social behavior, crime for example, what matters is systematic evidence, often best expressed as rate information. This is the principle the BJS uses in its research in local, state and federal corrections, and the principle the FBI uses to gather information for the Uniform Crime Report/UCR, which is based on crimes per 100,000 residents. Without rate information based on actual counts of crime or violence behind bars, there is no way to understand the prevalence of violence on the streets or in prisons.
·        Corrections Professionals acknowledge that bad things happen, and it is a tragedy when they do. To determine the state of safety in Prisons and Jails, however, it is essential to collect data on how often bad things happen. If violence occurs occasionally in a small number of places that suggests very different actions than if it is systemic across many jurisdictions.

3. Macro Trends in American Corrections
Dramatic Population Increases fueled by sentencing reforms and political environment.
De-institutionalization of the mentally ill resulting in Corrections becoming the primary custodians.*
The increasing power of Corrections Unions.
National efforts to collect and share performance data—thus boosting research capabilities.
A National discussion on inmate reentry and its implications for public safety.
A number of research studies estimate that on any give day between 13-19% of the incarcerated adult population suffers from a serious mental illness (this estimate does not include anxiety disorders or substance abuse).
American Psychiatric Association. (2004). Mental illness and the criminal justice system: Redirecting resources toward treatment, not containment. RESOURCE DOCUMENT. Retrieved on May 25, 2006, from:

4. What the Current Research Shows: America’s Prisons and Jails are Safe and Getting Safer.
Over the last twenty-five years, the incarcerated population has increased 330%.
Over the same time period, a host of key indicators of safety and order have improved dramatically.
The use of restrictive measures (like administrative segregation) has also decreased.
Thus, as several researchers have shown, these gains are likely the result of correctional leadership and innovative management.*
Bottoms , Anthony (1999). Interpersonal Violence and Social Order in Prisons Crime and Justice, pp Vol. 26
Diiulio, John J. (1991). No Escape: The Future of American Corrections. Perseus Books Group
Useem, Bert & Piehl, Anne (2006). Prison Buildup and Disorder. Punishment & Society. pp Vol. 8(1)

5. Population Growth
The number of individuals incarcerated in the United States has increased 330% from 1980 to 2004.
The United States has gone from 503,586 individuals (1% of the adult population) in prison or jail back in 1980 to 2,135,901 individuals in prison or jail (3.2% of the adult population) in prison or jail in 2004.

6. Homicide and Suicide
Homicide and Suicide in Prisons and Jails occur very infrequently and have declined dramatically, even while the incarcerated population has exploded.
From 1973 to 2003, the homicide rate in prisons has decreased 92%, (from more than 60 per 100,000 inmates to less than 5 per 100,000 inmates).
Similarly, the suicide rate in jails has decreased 70% from 1983 to 2003 and has decreased 50% in prisons over the same time period.
Suicide was the leading cause of jail inmate deaths in 1983, but the death rate from illnesses and natural causes (69 per 100,000 inmates) was higher in 2002.

7. Prison Riots
Riots: The number and rate of prison riots has declined dramatically from a peak in 1973 to a rare event in recent years, despite the increase in prison population.
Both the absolute number of riots and the ratio of inmates to riots declined from a peak in 1973 to an increasingly rare event in recent years, despite the increase in prison population (Useem 2006). What we see here is a peak of 94 riots per 1,000,000 inmates in 1970, declining to a rate of less than 3 per 1000,000 inmates in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s.

8. Staff Homicides: have declined 100% from 1982 to 2001.
Staff Homicides and Escapes: Staff homicides have declined dramatically (figure 2), from 22 in 1982 to 0 in 2000 and 2001*.

9. Prison Escapes: have declined 95% from 1981 to 2001.
This trend also holds for prison escapes (Figure 3), from 12.4 escapes per 1,000 inmates in 1981 to .5 per 1,000 in 2001 (-95%).

10. Inmate-on-Inmate assaults have decreased 29% from 1984 to 2000
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Census of State and Federal Correctional Facilities, various years. Note that the ratios reported here are slightly different than those in BJS publications because BJS revises its population counts and we rely on the revised populations estimates. Regardless, the differences are slight and do not affect the overall trends. (From Useem and Piehl (2005), Prison Buildup and Disorder.)

11. Assault and Sexual Assault (Cont’d)
Assaults: In his testimony before the Prison Commission, BJS statistician Allen Beck stated that the likelihood of an individual inmates experiencing assault is 7%.
Sexual Assault: The recent BJS study on sexual assault found 3.15 allegations of sexual violence per 1,000 inmates held in In State prisons, fewer than 20% of allegations of non-consensual sexual acts were substantiated.*
It is difficult to compare aggregate assault statistics, because of differences in the definition of assault across jurisdictions—a problem that is being proactively engaged by ASCA’s work to standardize Performance Measurement across jurisdictions (See appendix X).
However, according to The Criminal Justice Institute’s Corrections Yearbook, from the ratio of assaults to inmates declined from 41.1 per 1,000 inmates in 1984 to 29.2 by 2000 (-30%) so individual inmates are less likely to experience assault. (Corrections Yearbook 1984 and 2000).
Beck, Allen & Hughes, Timothy (2005). Sexual Violence Reported by Correctional Authorities, Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

12. Comparing Correctional Facilities and the Community-At-Large:
[1] In his testimony before the Prison Commission on Safety and Abuse, BJS statistician Allen Beck stated, based on his research regarding the victimization rates of inmates, the likelihood of an individual inmate experiencing assault while incarcerated is 7%.
 [2] Catalano, Shannan, M. (2005) Crime Victimization, National Crime Victimization Survey. Washington DC: US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
 [3] Beck, Allen & Hughes, Timothy (2005). Sexual Violence Reported by Correctional Authorities, Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. This number is based on reports of inmate-on-inmate nonconsensusal sexual acts, the more serious of the two types of sexual violence included in this study, the other being abusive sexual contacts, which included non-consensual touching. The overall rate of allegations of sexual violence was 3.15 allegations/1,000 inmates.
 [4] Catalano, Shannan, M. (2005) Crime Victimization, National Crime Victimization Survey. Washington DC: US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. This number represents the aggregation of rape, attempted rape and sexual assault, as reported in the national victimization survey.

13. The rate of inmates held in protective custody has declined 69% from 1986 to 2001.
We see a rate of approximately 27 inmates in protective custody per 1,000 inmates in 1986 declining to a rate of approximately 8 per 1,000 in Interestingly we see a spike in the use of protective custody from 1984 to 1986, followed by a steady decline from 1986 onward—this may indicate an initial reliance on protective seg as the incarceration rate first jumps, then a development of facility, staff and inmate management that allowed for decreased reliance even as the population continued to grow.

14. The use of administrative segregation has not increased with population growth.
We see a dramatic decline in the use of administrative segregation in state prisons between 1983 and 1995, and then an increase in its use between 1995 and 2000, with a drop after Overall, the use of administrative segregation is lower at all points in time following 1983 than before, even though from 1983 to 2000 is when we see the most dramatic population growth.

15. The percentage of inmates held in maximum security facilities has decreased 30% from (excludes federal prisons).
Sources: Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, Census of Sate Correctional Facilities, Advance Report. (Washington, D.C. U.S. Department of Justice, LEAA, July 1975); Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1984 Census of State Adult Correctional Facilities. (Washington, D.C. US. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, August 1987); Sources: James J. Stephan, Census of State and Federal Correctional Facilities, (Washington, D.C. U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, August 1997); James J. Stephan and Jennifer C. Karberg, Census of State and Federal Correctional Facilities, (Washington, D.C. U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, August 2003, revised October 15, 2003).

16. What has happened in American Corrections in the past 25 years?
The incarcerated population has increased dramatically.
Homicides, suicides, riots, staff homicides and prison escapes have all decreased dramatically.
Available data indicates a decline in assaults; assault and sexual assault are not considerably higher in jail and prison than the community at large.
These gains have been achieved alongside a decrease in the use of restrictive measures like protective custody and administrative segregation.

17. What does this tell us?
In conclusion, America’s prisons and jails are safe and getting safer.
Many factors contribute to safety and effectiveness, including resources, staff training, programming for inmates, transparency and accountability.
To achieve safety gains in this context, high quality correctional leadership and effective management are absolutely essential.