WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The adult U.S. correctional population reached a record high at the end of 2001, with 3.1 percent of the nation's adult population incarcerated or under community supervision, federal statistics show

Almost 6.6 million men and women made up the correctional population at the end of 2001, an increase of 147,000 from the end of 2000, according to a report titled "Probation and Parole in the United States, 2001." The Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics compiled the report.

One in every 32 adult residents were on probation or parole or were held in a prison or jail, the report said.

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Someone on probation has been convicted of a crime but has not been incarcerated and can avoid jail or prison time so long as he or she does not violate conditions of probation. A parolee is someone who has been incarcerated but has been released and can stay free so long as he or she meets conditions of parole.

The adult probation population increased 2.8 percent during 2001, or by 106,542 probationers. The nation's parole population grew by 1 percent in 2001, increasing by 7,249 men and women.

Other results in the report included the following:


About three in four probationers were under active supervision and were required to report regularly to a probation authority in person, by mail or by telephone.


An estimated 53 percent of all probationers had been convicted of a felony, 45 percent of a misdemeanor and 1 percent of other infractions. About 25 percent were on probation for a drug law violation and 18 percent for driving while intoxicated.


Of the almost 2 million adults discharged from probation in 2001, more than three out of five successfully met supervision conditions. About 13 percent were reincarcerated because of a violation of parole conditions or a new criminal offense.


Of the more than 464,500 parolees discharged from supervision last year, 46 percent had successfully met the conditions of their supervision, 40 percent were returned to incarceration because of a rule violation or a new offense and 9 percent had absconded. Two percent failed to meet their supervision requirements successfully but were discharged without additional incarceration.


Women were 22 percent (870,000) of the adults on probation during 2001 -- up from 18 percent in 1990. At the end of last year, 2,175,600 probationers were white, 1,228,700 were black, 469,800 were Hispanic and 58,600 were of other races or ethnic backgrounds.


Among parolees, about one in every eight (12 percent) during 2001 were women -- up from 8 percent in 1990.

Wow - this is sobering, isn't it? One in 32 adults in the "system." Hard to believe in the "land of the free" isn't it?

I'll certainly second those comments Danielle...

Mstryzone@aol.com

That is unreal!!!! I knew the numbers of inmates and probationers/parolees was high, but never would I have guessed 1 in 32.... WOW!
You think this would be some sort of an eye opener!!!!!!!
Jodygirl

Here's some more and check out the stats on Texas at the end.

Record 6.6 Million Convicted
By JONATHAN D. SALANT The Associated Press
Published: Aug 26, 2002

WASHINGTON - One in every 32 adults in the United States was behind bars or on probation or parole by the end of last year, according to a government report Sunday that found a record 6.6 million people in the correctional system.
The number of adults under supervision by the criminal justice system rose by 147,700, or 2.3 percent, between 2000 and 2001, the Justice Department reported. In 1990, almost 4.4 million adults were incarcerated or being supervised.

In Florida, 424,500 people were in the correctional system, with 297,400 on probation or parole and 127,000 imprisoned.

``The overall figures suggest that we've come to rely on the criminal justice system as a way of responding to social problems in a way that's unprecedented,'' said Marc Mauer, assistant director of the Sentencing Project, an advocacy and research group that favors alternatives to incarceration. ``We're setting a new record every day.''

Almost 4 million people were on probation, 2.8 percent more than in 2000, and the number of people in prison grew by 1.1 percent to 1.3 million, the smallest annual increase in nearly three decades. More than half of those on probation - 53 percent - had been convicted of felonies, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics report.

But arrests for murder, rape and other violent crimes declined. Many of those on probation were convicted of using illegal drugs or driving while intoxicated, the report showed.

Also, some states have eliminated mandatory minimum sentences for certain crimes. California's Proposition 36, passed in 2000 , requires treatment rather than incarceration for nonviolent drug offenders. ``The collection of reforms, from drug courts to treatment in lieu of incarceration to sentence reforms like getting rid of mandatory minimums and expanding community correction options, have the effect of redirecting people from prison to probation,'' said Nick Turner, director of national programs at Vera Institute of Justice, a nonprofit research group.

The report said 46 percent of those discharged from parole in 2001 had met the conditions of supervision, and 40 percent went back to jail or prison for violations.

Texas had more adults under correctional supervision than any other state: 755,100. Whites accounted for 55 percent of those on probation, and blacks made up 31 percent, statistics show.