Rate of growth of U.S. prison population slows

In the United States, a record number of people are behind bars

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Cooling a two-decade trend, the U.S. prison population rose in 1999 at its lowest annual rate since 1979, according to a study released Wednesday by the Justice Department.

The national prison population grew by 3.4 percent last year, reaching 2,026,596 people behind bars and slowing from the average growth rate of 6.5 percent between 1990 and 1999.

Allen Beck, a statistician with the bureau and the author of the report, said the slowdown could be attributed to earlier sentencing reforms that have "worked their way through the system."

He said various state and federal sentencing changes in the early 1990s effectively lengthened prison stays.

"Basically, the changes are in place," Beck said. "Now we're starting to see a slight increase in release rates."

The report said the nation's prison population had grown by almost 600,000 inmates since 1990, representing a 77 percent increase between 1990 and 1998. That growth was fueled mainly by parole violators returning to prisons, longer prison sentences and a crackdown on early releases.

The study found prisons were operating far above capacity by the end of last year, with levels reaching 32 percent above capacity at federal institutions and as high as 17 percent above capacity at state prisons.

Texas was operating the largest prison system at the end of 1999, the study found, with 163,190 people behind bars. It was followed closely by California, with 163,067 inmates, and the federal prison system, with 135,246.

Louisiana and Texas had the highest incarceration rates. Minnesota and Maine had the lowest.

Nine states more than doubled their prison populations between 1990 and 1999, led by Texas, which had a 173% rise. Idaho was second with a 147 percent rise, followed by West Virginia, up 126 percent.

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