Last updated on: 1/28/2015 12:25:47 PM PST

Incarcerated Felon Population by Type of Crime Committed

Prison tower As of 2012, there were 1,511,497 people incarcerated in US state and federal prisons and 744,500 people incarcerated in US county jails.

Felons with a sentence of one year or less normally serve their term of incarceration in county jails along with other inmates convicted of misdemeanors.

I. Combined State & Federal: Number of Sentenced Prisoners


Percentage of State and Federal Prisoners
Offense	1974	1986	1997	2000	2008	2010	2012
Violent	52.5%	64.2%	46.4%	47.2%	47.3%	47.7%	47.7%
Property	33.3%	22.9%	14%	19.1%	17.0%	16.7%	17.1%
Drug	10.4%	8.8%	26.9%	25.3%	22.4%	21.7%	20.5%
Public-order	1.9%	3.3%	8.9%	7.8%	11.9%	13.4%	13.8%
Other/unspecified	2.0%	0.9%	3.7%	0.4%	1.2%	0.6%	0.7%

Total Number of State and Federal Prisoners
Offense Category	2000 (% of total)	2008 (% of total)	2010 (% of total)	2012 (% of total)
Violent	633,740 (47.2%)	730,833 (47.3%)	740,000 (47.7%)	721,200 (47.7%)
Property	256,135 (19.1%)	262,880 (17.0%)	259,800 (16.7%)	258,300 (17.1%)
Drug	338,076 (25.3%)	346,479 (22.4%)	336,300 (21.7%)	309,100 (20.5%)
Public-order	104,725 (7.8%)	185,198 (11.9%)	207,500 (13.4%)	209,000 (13.8%)
Other/unspecified	5,363 (0.4%)	19,194 (1.2%)	9,000 (0.6%)	11,200 (0.7%)

Totals:	1,338,039	1,544,634	1,552,600	1,511,497

II. State Jurisdiction: Number of Sentenced Prisoners

Offense Category	2000	2008	2010	2012
Violent a	620,000 (51.4%)	715,400 (52.4%)	725,000 (53.2%)	707,500 (53.8%)
Property b	246,000 (20.4%)	251,800 (18.4%)	249,500 (18.3%)	247,100 (18.8%)
Drug	263,800 (21.9%)	251,400 (18.4%)	237,000 (17.4%)	210,200 (16.0%)
Public-order c	72,400 (6%)	125,900 (9.2%)	142,500 (10.5%)	140,200 (10.7%)
Other/unspecified d	4,100 (0.3%)	17,800 (1.3%)	7,900 (0.6%)	10,000 (0.8%)

Total State Prisoners:	1,206,300	1,362,300	1,361,900	1,314,900

Notes:

a Includes murder, manslaughter, non-negligent manslaughter, rape, other sexual assault, robbery, assault, and other violent crimes.

b Includes burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, fraud, and other property crimes.

c Includes weapons, drunk driving, court offenses, commercialized vice, morals and decency offenses, liquor law violations, and other public-order offenses.

d Includes juvenile and other unspecified offense categories.

III. Federal Jurisdiction: Number of Sentenced Prisoners

Offense Category	2000	2008	2010	2012
Violent a	13,740 (10.4%)	15,483 (8.5%)	15,000 (7.9%)	13,700 (10.2%)
Property b	10,135 (7.7%)	11,080 (6.0%)	10,300 (5.4%)	11,200 (7.4%)
Drug	74,276 (56.4%)	95,079 (52%)	95,079 (52%)	98,900 (56.0%)
Public-order c	32,325 (24.5%)	59,298 (32.5%)	59,298 (32.5%)	68,800 (25.8%)
Other/unspecified d	1,263 (1.0%)	1,394 (1.0%)	1,394 (1.0%)	1,200 (0.6%)

Total Federal Prisoners:	131,739	182,334	190,700	193,861

Notes:

a Includes murder, negligent, and non-negligent manslaughter, robbery, and other violent crimes.

b Includes burglary, fraud, and other property crimes.

c Includes immigration, weapons, and other public-order offenses.

d Includes offenses not classified.

IV. Sources

Jeff Manza, PhD, and Christopher Uggen, PhD, Locked Out: Felon Disenfranchisement and American Democracy, 2006
The United States Department of Justice (USDOJ), "Prisoners in 2009" (777 KB) , bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov, Dec. 2010
The United States Department of Justice (USDOJ), "Prisoners in 2011" (863 KB) , bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov, Dec. 2012
The United States Department of Justice (USDOJ), "Prisoners in 2013," (1.8 MB) , bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov, Sep. 2014
The United States Department of Justice (USDOJ), "Correctional Populations in the United States, 2011" (702 KB) , bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov, Dec. 2012
The United States Department of Justice (USDOJ), "Correctional Populations in the United Stated, 2013" (417 KB) , bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov, Dec. 2014

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