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Article: Prison Population Still Rising, but More Slowly; 1.8 Million People Incarcerated in Federal, State or Local Facilities
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- March 15, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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The nation's incarcerated population continues to climb, although
at a slower rate than earlier in this decade, and now numbers more
than 1.8 million people, the Justice Department reported yesterday.
The report, compiled by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, recorded
changes in the population of federal and state prisons and local
jails between June 30, 1997 and June 30, 1998. It said the overall
prison population grew by 4.4 percent. This was less than the
average annual increase of 6.2 percent since 1990 but still
represented an average of 1,475 new inmates every week during that
12-month period.
From 1985 to 1998, according to the report, the nation's prison
population more than doubled, ...