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Article: Prison population growth rate slowed in 1999; Drop in crime cited; Minnesota's incarceration rate was nation's lowest.(NEWS)
- Article from:
- Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
- Article date:
- April 20, 2000
- Author:
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State and federal prison populations grew last year by the smallest margin in two decades, evidence that the recent sharp declines in crime may be starting to temper incarceration rates in the nation's prisons.
The 4.4-percent increase marked the fourth consecutive decline in the rate of prison population growth, according to Justice Department data. The lowest growth rate was 2.3 percent in 1979.
Minnesota's incarceration rate was 121 per 100,000 residents, the lowest in the nation.
Still, the number of inmates - a record high of 1.86 million - grew much faster than the general population. And, by one measure, the increase brought the United ...