Ranking the Most Punitive States

By James Austin, Ph.D. and Steven Anuskiewicz

*c4THE NATIONAL COUNCIL ON CRIME

AND DELINQUENCY

FEBRUARY 1997

HIGHLIGHTS INTRODUCTION ( 105), Maine ( 111), West Virginia

( 136), and Vermont ( 143). 042The arriount of incarceration and This issue of NCCD FOCUS repre-

punisliment being administered by sents NCCD's second "Ranking the This method of calculating incarcera-

our society is far higher than previ- Nation's Most Punitive States." The tion rates is somewhat misleading in

ously reported. United States, now with approximate- terms of assessing which states are

ly ' 1.2 million inmates in state and more punitive. By focusing solely on 042The overall incarceration rate is

federal prisons, has long been recog- state prisoners, one excludes a farapproximately 60 percent higher

nized as a, country that imprisons a larger number of Americans who arewhen one takes into account the

large portion of its population, under the control of the criminal jus-number of persons confined in jails

However, there are significant varia- tice system. As shown in.Table 1, asand juvenile facilities.

tions among the states in terms of of 1993, there were 2.8 million 042For every 100 arrests, there are 12 their use of imprisonment, which has offenders on probation, 627,314 on

people incarcerated and a total of led some states to be characterized as parole, 459,804 in local jails, and

41 persons under the control of the more and less punitive in applying another 95,877 children in public

criminal justice system. criminal sanctions to convicted (60,254) and privately (35,623) oper-

offenders. ated secure facilities.' When one 042Based upon the number of personsincludes these additional figures, the

incal cerated per arrest made, Criminologists and government offi-degree of punishment being adminis-

Delaware, Vermont, Oklahoma, cials have traditionally ranked thetered by the criminal justice system

South Carolina, and Florida are the various states and regions on what isincreases dramatically. Given that themost punitive states. The least referred to as the incarceration rate.vast majority of these offenders and

puni tive states are North Dakota, This rate is based upon the number ofdefendants are between the ages of 15

Utah, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and persons sentenced to state prison for a

Hawai i. year or more on a given day dividedand 59, approximately 3% or one out

of every 33 Americans is under theby the number of residents. For

042States with the lowest crime and control of the criminal justice system.arrest rates tend to have the lowest example, the national incarceration

rate as of 1995 was 409 per 100,000The overall punishment rate, based on

incarceration rates. Conversely, these figures, is 3,122 per 100,000 orpopulation. States with the highest

states with the highest crime and nearly seven times the nation's prisonarrest rates tend to have the highest incarceration rate.rates are Texas (653), Louisiana

(568), Oklahoma (552), Southincarceration rates. Simply raisingCarolina (515) and Nevada (482). Moreover, punishment rates that areincarceration rates will not have a

major impact on crime. The five states with the lowest rates based upon the resident population

are North Dakota (85), Minnesota fail to take into account differences in

N C C D

042one 042

NCCDFOCUS

crime and arrest rates. It has been For example, based upon the total

well established that states which number of arrests (see Table 1 ) made

have higher incarceration rates tend to in 1993, the proportion of persons

have higher crime rates (see Table 4 as being punished is quite high. For

presented later in this report). A dif- every 100 total arrests in one year,

ferent and more appropriate ranking of there are 12 persons incarcerated and

a state's incarceration rate should be 41 persons under the control of the

based upon levels of crime and arrests, criminal justice system. Based on the

reflecting the fact that states have vary- number of arrests for serious crimes

ing crime rates. Such an analysis including drug arrests, punishment

would reshape our understanding of rates are considerably higher.2 For

which states have the most and least every 100 arrests for serious crimes,

punitive relative crime and arrest rates. there are 43 people incarcerated and

140 people under the control of the

criminal justice system.

For these reasons, NCCD has com-

pleted a ranking of the 50 states and

Washington, D.C. based upon alter-

native criteria which include other

forms of punishment and control, and

which incorporate U state's level of

crime and arrests. The analysis is

based upon 1993 data, the most

recent year for which complete adult

and juvenile correctional population

data are available for all states.

TABLE 1:TOTAL U.S. CORRECIONAL POPULATIONS AND CRIME DATA1993

Juveniles In Custody Public Facilities

Juveniles in Custody - Private Facilities

Total Community Supervision Population

Probation

Parole

3,427,664

2,800,350

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reports: Crime in the United States, 1993: U.S.Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1995; U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of JusticeStatistics, Prisoners in 1993; U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Probation and Parole Populations in'the United States,1993; U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Jails and Jail Inmates 1993- 1994; U.S Department of Justice, Office of JuvenileJustice and Delinquency Prevention, Children Taken into Custody,• 1993.

Total Incarceration Population

State Prison

1,504,563

859,295

Federal Prison 89,587

Jail 459,804

60,254

35,623

627,314

Grand Total 4,932,227

Population Age 15 - 59 158.0 million

% of Population Age 15 - 59 Under Criminal Justice System Control 3.1%

Total Serious (Index) Crimes Reported to Police 14.1 million

Total Arrests Made 11.9 million

Total Arrests for Serious Crimes Plus All Drug Crimes 3.5 million

042two 042

FOCUS

IMPRISONMENT VS. TOTAL of the criminal justice system, adults among the states relative to their

INCARCERATION RATES on probation and parole must be crime and arrest rates. In fact, if one

accounted for, in addition to those examines the relationship betweenAs indicated earlier, state imprison-

persons who are in prison, jail and incarceration rates and crime andment rates exclude individuals incar-

juvenile facilities (Table 3 ). The arrest rates, one finds a very strongcerated in other correctional systems.

1993 total control rate for all states is positive association. Based upon theTo correct for this bias, we created a

1,878 per 100,000 total population. 1993 data, the statistical correlations"total incarceration rate" which

includes prison and jail populationsThis statistic means that approxi- between incarceration rates and

and juveniles in custody (Table 2).mately two out of every 100 U.S. res- crime and arrest rates are +.80 and

When the states are ranked according ident persons are under some form of +.47 (see Table 4). This means that

to this criterion, Louisiana assumes criminal justice control. states with the lowest crime and

the number one state ranking (after Using this criterion, Texas leads the arrest rates tend to have the lowest

Washington, D.C.), followed by the country as having the highest propor- incarceration rates. It also demon-

states Georgia, Texas, Nevada, and tion of residents under some form of strates that simply increasing a state's

South Carolina: incarceration rate does not directlycorrectional supervision largelytranslate into a low crime rate.

There are other significant changes in because it has such a large probation

state rankings when based upon the population. Washington state and The data presented in Table 5 repre-

total incarceration rate. Tennessee, Maryland move up to the top five sent crime data from the FBI's 1993

for example, moves from 32nd to states also due to their large proba- Uniform Crime Report (UCR).4 lt18th in total incarceration, in part tion populations. The District of should be noted that the number of

because the state houses many state Columbia far exceeds the national police agencies reporting to the UCR

prisoners in local jails due to a con- average with an extraordinary rate of varies from year to year and within

sent decree restricting prison popula- 5,175. Put differently, this statistic each state. For example, in 1993,

tions. Connecticut and its jail sys- means that over five out of every 100 only 83 percent of the nation's popu-

tem, on the other hand, move down to residents in the District of Columbia lation was represented by the UCR

a rank of 28 for total incarceration are under the control of the criminal reports. In some states like

compared to a rank of eight in tradi- justice system. Another state that Delaware, Vermont, Montana,

tional imprisonment rate ranking. moves up the ladder is Connecticut, Illinois, Mississippi, and Kentucky,Similar declines for other states, such which ranked 28th in imprisonment approximately half or less of eachas Hawaii, Rhode Island and Vermont.' rates but 13th in total control. state's population was represented inwhich also have consolidated jail and Minnesota, which ranks 48th in impris- the 1993 UCR report.prison systems. In terms of regional

onment, goes up to 17th in total control. To correct for this problem of under-differences, the Northeast moves up

Both of these states place a very large reporting in the UCR data, we made aone notch largely because many of

proportion of their citizens under the number of adjustments. For all thethe Northeast states operate consoli-

control of the criminal justice system states not reporting full coverage ondated jail and prison systems. The

Southwest and West continue to lead via their probation systems. their UCR data, we estimated the

the nation in total incarceration rates. total reported crimes and arrests by

PUNISHMENT RATES BASED ON multiplying the reported crime andREPORTED CRIMES AND ARRESTS arrest numbers by the ratio of missing

TOTAL CRIMINAL JUSTICEcoverage. For example, for the state

All of the above rates are based on of Maine with a 53.3 percent cover-CONTROL RATES

the size of the total population in age ratio, we multiplied the known

In order to examine the true extent of each state. These rates ignore the fact number of arrests by 1.467. This

the number of people under control that there are major differences assumes that the rate of crime and

042three 042

N C C D

NCCDFOCUS

RegionSouthWestNortheastM dwest

Distr ct of1 Columb a

Lou sianaGeorg aTexasNevadaSouth Carol naArizonaCal forn aOklahomaFloridaAlabamaDelaware'MarylandVrgnaM ss ssippiM ch ganAlaskaTennesseeNew YorkNew JerseyOhoArkansasKentuckyColoradoNorth Carol naNew MexicoInd anaConnect cuts111 noisMissourPennsylvan aWyom ngKansasIdahoOregonWash ngtonWisconsinSouth DakotaNebraskaRhode Island'MassachusettsMontanaUtahNew HampshireHawa fIowaVermont'MinnesotaWest V rgnaMaineNorth Dakota

4 2956 917

18 0311 3893 6433 936

31 2113 231

13 6794187

7004 9656 4912 6439 478

5995 099

181977 879

11 0912 4243 7893 5666 9451 6165 7133 277

11 6975 234

12 048470

2 5311 0993 0325 2555 038

7151 6071 0006012

8391 8601 1251 1722 814

5764 5171 8201 239

635

89 43856 04451 35561 070

257 908

10 845

22 53227 78371 1036198

18 70417811

119 95116 40953 04818 6244,237

20 26422 8501011639 529

3 06812 82764 56923 83140 641

8 62810 440

9 46221 889

3 49814 47013 69134 4951617826 050

1 0815 7272 6066 560

104198 7831 5532 4082 782

10 0551 4542 8881 7753 1554 8981 22344151 8051469

498

352104188 151145 445173 595

1

TABLE 2: 1993 TOTAL INCARCERATION RATES

1 2,229.61

1 938.51 758.8

724.8718.5

1 704.7683.4

1 670.8666.9660.0642.6627.1625.8

1 11 617.311 586.011 583.7

578.6570.9550.3518.3

1 518.3492.8487.4485.3

1 463.9452.0

1 444.21 442.8

1 441.21 433.1

1 428.81 415.3

399.4390.6383.8

1 375.2373.7373.3322.5319.4315.4298.2290.1278.5

1 278.4277.3245.0217.1

1 11 216.2209.6174.3

656.9576.5460.4

1 438.8

548.6

' Total population in thousands.2 Smlistical Abstract of the United States. U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, Bureau of the Census.' Bureau of Justice Statistics.' Census of Public and Private Juvenile Detention. Correctional. and Shelter Facilities, 1993. U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.' Number of persons in prison, jail, and juvenile facilities per 100,000 total population.' In the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Vermont, which maintain combined prison and jail systems, all inmates are accounted for in the

prison figures.

042four 042

1993 Juveniles 1993 Juveniles Total1993 1993 1993 Persons In Custody In Custody Total Number Incarceration

Rank State Population" Prisoners' In Jail' ( Public)' ( Privater Incarcerated Rate'

1 687 250 105 12 887

16 208 1 266 303 40 30922 663 1 719 322 52 48755 395 2 795 1 402 130 695

2 987 509 286 9 9805 713 982 273 25 6727 231 1 052 804 26 898

69 298 17 061 3 047 209 3554102 421 615 21 547

34 183 1 987 1 068 90 2867 072 849 361 26 906

137 16 4 3909 358 699 751 31 072

14 623 1 960 638 40 0714 851 503 18 15 488

12 479 1 932 1 381 55 33931 184 183 3 466

14 375 925 983 2911029 809 2 635 3 134 100 14715122 1 708 179 40 84011 695 3 743 1 406 57 485

2 846 272 199 11 9456 813 629 587 18 4696 316 749 778 17 3058 939 941 450 32 2193 058 558 191 7 3058 297 1 387 1 225 25 379

325 494 1451014 549 2103 455 51 602

5 030 1 041 418 22 66719 231 1 215 5 169 51 665

495 119 257 1 9522 797 857 729 101101 485 137 65 4 2933 777 758 542 11 6377 435 1 626 236 197167 879 1 025 1 141 18 828

623 225 268 2 6691 680 316 778 5 182

174 238 31947 878 197 831 18 961

680 165 203 2 5021 895 350 263 5 3961 127 106 125 3133

71 37 3 2631 602 408 896 7 804

26 162 1 4113 654 722 1 016 9 8071 771 156 202 3 934

704 192 232 2 597361 87 161 1 107

1 578

23456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051

Totals 859 295

210 599 16491 8 293 587 487104 688 23 339 6 892 323 07073 871 13 846 3 296 236 45870 646 6578 17142 267 961

459 804 60 254 35 623 1 414 976

DFOCUS

Distrct of Columb aTexasGeorg aDelawareWash ngtonMarylandNew JerseyFloridaM ch ganOregonRhode IslandLou sianaConnect cutNorth Carol naInd anaSouth Carol naM nnesotaCal forniaPennsylvaniaArzonaNew YorkKansasAlabamaNevadaTennesseeColoradoOklahomaOhoVermontArkansasW scons nM ssouriNebraskaHawai111 no sAlaskaMassachusettsVrgnaWyomingM smss ppNew Mex coSouth DakotaMa neKentuckyIdahoMontanaIowaUtahNew Hampsh reWest V rg n aNorth Dakota

1993Adults on Probation'

10 434378 523145 230

15 57111401880 208

109 576199 275139 68237 90216 60432 43450 90486 21282 80438 85574 186

280 74988 18036 815

15661724 08333 721

8 82640 46335 49425 68998 2116 058

17 5274312532 91614 5941010073 550

3 2144715023 619

2 9589 9437 6733 7818 650

11 4584 7494107

14 5057 3254 1226 0061 954

1 805 22 099 32 099 62 224 4216971 615 51 390 71 456 81 473 71 25011 660 4

755 21 553 41 241 41 449 41 066 61 642 4

899 5731 9935 3860 7951 5805 4635 4793 6995 3795 1885 5

1 051 7723 1856 0628 9908 2861 8628 8536 6784 3363 9629 4376 2474 8528 86981302 44321489 55155393 8366 4330 0307 7

AdultProbation Rate'

6 59111602120 790

9143 720

13 85835 77517 3261401513 687

53814 463

62417284

2 8915 6712 094

87 01872 100

4 01752186

7 1417 2843 398

118192 7312 5036 997

5553 9406 615

13 643815

1 60424 177

6854 370

11 504379

2 0031 281

67634

4 144837708

1 8872 213

6241 073

91

1993Adults on Parole'

AdultParole Rate'

1 140 3643 5300 6130 670 8

27914541126 7147 9451 4

53 8336 7190

248 950 6

155 746 4

278 8598 4102 1286 8282 1174 0244 6231 8

76 677 563196 4

162 5131 3260 7

50 7136 9206 71144

72 7177 280 675 879 394 527

109476 284 4671

119055 559 0143

TotalControl Rate'

5,175.13,467.63,159.02,982.12,615.72,520.42,363.12,243.52,205.52,085.32,033.62,030.42.015.21,954.11,944.21,926.91,905.81,849.11,759.21,720.81,697.81,633.11,622.01,598.61,596.21,557.21,539.4·1,466.91,393.11,378.41,361.01,322.61,281.31,277.01,276.61,229.51,172.3

' 1,158.41,125.31,038.01,006.1

996.6910.5899.2898.9872.1859.8802.9700.4605.1496.4

N C C

TABLE 3: 1993TOTAL CONTROL PER 100,000

1 1

1

11

11

11

11

1

1

1

1 11

111

1 11

1 111

1

11 11

' Bureau of Justice Statistics.2 Number of persons on probation per 100,000 total population.' Number of persons on parole per 100,000 total population.' Per 100,000 total population. Total Control Rate includes all persons in prison and jail. juveniles in custody, and adults on probation and parole.

042five 042

Rank Slate

123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051

RegionSouth 1 155 168 1 291 6 257 188 287 6 2,236.0West 553 930 988 4 122 278 218 2 1,783.0Northeast 487 861 950 0 166 806 324 8 1,735.2Midwest 603 391 988 0 81 042 132 7 1,559.5

Totals 2 800 350 1 085 8 627 314 243 2 1,877.7

NCCDFOCUS

TABLE 4: CORRELATIONS BETWEEN INCARCERATION AND PUNISHMENT RATESAND REPORTED CRIME RATES

A positive coefficient indicates a positive relationship between the amount of incarceration and punishment, and crime rates.

arrests in the missing jurisdictions sons under the control of the criminal

within a state is similar to the rates in justice system to reported crimes

the reporting jurisdictions. While we (Table 5 ). Using this criterion,

did not do a comprehensive analysis Delaware assumes the number one

of this assumption, our knowledge of ranking with a rate of 61.2 per 100

some of the states suggested that the reported crimes followed by Texas

missing jurisdictions tend to be rural (53.9), Pennsylvania (53.8), Georgia

areas with low crime and arrest rates. (51.0) and New Jersey (49.2). In

Consequently, states with large pro- other words, for every 100 index

portions of missing data will have crimes reported to police in Delaware

higher crime and arrest rates based and Texas, there were approximately

upon this methodology. Despite this 61 and 54 people under some form of

potential bias, the adjustments do criminal justice control. At the other

iinprove the comparative analysis extreme are Utah ( 15.3), New Mexico

with states that have full reporting ( 16.1), North Dakota ( 17.6), Montana

coverage. (18.2) and Hawaii (20.3) according to

Table 5.

TOTAL PUNISHMENT PER The District of Columbia, for the firstREPORTED CRIME time, drops out of the top five with a

ranking of seven simply because itThe first analysis based on crime has a relatively high crime rate. The

rates assesses the proportion of Northeast assumes the number one

reported serious crimes which result regional ranking while the West dropsin a person being placed under some to last largely because California

form of control or punishment. To do drops to the 30th ranking.this, we calculated the ratio of per-

TOTAL INCARCERATION PERARREST

The final punishment measurement

criterion is based upon arrests. In our

opinion, this ratio is the most appro-

priate in assessing the level of pun-ishment as it reflects the proportion

of persons arrested who are impris-

oned, which is the most severe form

of punishment. Table 6 reports rates

of incarceration per 100 arrests (adult

and juvenile) for all types of arrests.

Table 7 produces state rankings but

only for index crime arrests. In bothof these examples, the rankings of

various states change significantly.

For example, Vermont, a state with a

very low imprisonment rate per

100,000 population, assumes the

number three ranking based upon

arrests under this measure. When one

includes only the more serious

crimes, the ratio of incarceration to

arrests jumps to 48 percent, with

Oklahoma, Alabama and Michigan

entering the top five.

042Six 042

Item Associated with Crime Rate Correlation Coefficient

Imprisonment Rate

Total Incarceration Rate

Total Punishment/Control Rate

+.7614

+.7980

+.7329

DFOCUS

RegionNortheastSouthM dwestWest

TOTALS

DelawareTexasPennsylvan aGeorg aNew JerseyRhode IslandD str ct of Columb a'Wash ngtonInd anaM nnesotaConnect cutMarylandM chigan6OregonVermontNorth Carol naSouth DakotaW scons nAlabamaKansas'OhoSouth Carol naNebraskaNew YorkTennesseeLou s anaOklahomaMa neArkansasCal forniaColoradoVirg n aKentuckyWyom ngFlor daMissourNevadaNew Hampsh reMassachusettsWest V rg n aM ss ss ppIdahoArizona111 no sIowaAlaskaHawaMontanaNorth DakotaNew Mex coUtah

34 1051161 031

394 136428 367378 257

44 99067 979

312 793255 090198125152 392303 187516 788174 812

22 881392 55521151

204 244204 274125 924497 465215 060

66 1621 010 176

267164294 061171 05839 077

1166122 015 265

197 085267135123 509

19 5661142 338

266 69485 84232 681

294 22446 093

116 77542 258

292 513661 386108 23933 35273 56640 18817 909

101 26097 415

2 368 8145 351 3032 9391773 485 915

14 145 209

4 872 16 43913 271 4619304 800 84 499 0

11 761 15 952 34 46514 386 24 650 4610655 452 55 765 63 972 45 652 32 958 24 054 14 878 84 975 34 485 35 903 4411715 551 35 239 56 846 65 294 3315394 810 76 456 95 526 8411553 259 7416308 351 05 095 4618012 905 04 894 02 532 644183384517 431 75 654 33 846 55 568 06 277 04 790 02 820 36 266 15 237 4

461265 983 3481286 220 0

54846

14111812811713189

24 886

1107598

1631458729

1207065

16010011217382

19314615512040

12316710390

14269

14414614247

16582987396

19085

137423729

14858

155134130136

12911313112310871

19063994995

102107676282

12692

13280

1161197899

10913712666

10210488

1501501007985

116966485

133102927872

1044462627255

1001109193

61 253 953 851 049 245 244 043 943 543 543 041 340 436 235134 633 733 633 232 832 732 631 130 630 529 729128 928 728 628 228127 627 026 926 025 924 124 023 923 523 423 222 622 422120 3182176161153

37 637 432 428 7

34 2

N C C

TABLE 5: RATES OF INCARCERATION AND TOTAL CONTROLPER 100,000 CRIMES REPORTED

1

11 11

11

1

11

11 1

1

1

11

11

1 1

1

1 11lili

1

1

1

' Crime in the United States, 1993. UCR, U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation.2 Total Crime Index consists of violent crimes (murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery. aggravated assaillt) and propeny crimes (burglary, larceny-

theft, motor vehicle theft ).' Incarcerations made up of total prisoners in jail, and juveniles taken into custody.4 Total Control Rate including all persons in prison and jail, juveniles in custody, and adults on probation or parole.' Includes offenses reported by zoological police.' Forcible rape totals were estimated for Minnesota and Michigan.' Estimated crime counts.

042seven 042

1993 Crime Index Incarceration Total ControlTotal Crime 1 Rale Per 100 000 Percent Per 100 Total Per 100 Total

Rank State Index ' Population Violent Crimes3 Crimes'

123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051

13 7 10 0

NC DFOCUS

RegionSouthWestNortheastM dwest

D str ct of Columb aDelawareVermontOklahomaSouth Carol naFloridaAlabamaLou s anaM ch ganCal formaTexasPennsylvan aMontanaMarylandGeorgiaNew JerseyOhoVirg n aArizonaInd ana111 no s'MassachusettsTennesseeNevadaAlaskaNew YorkNew HampshireMiss ss ppRhode IslandIowaOregonIdahoKentuckyWyom ngArkansasConnect cutNew Mex coNebraskaWest Virg n aNorth Carol naWash ngtonColoradoKansas'MaineSouth DakotaM ssounHawaM nnesotaW sconsinUtahNorth Dakota

51 80510 0264 235

143 221173 194613 331186 681181 388367 814

1 621 9701 032 728

327 5679 677

270 465382 825363 846335 272387 552251159156 497224100146 305177 697

91 69637 959

1 004 52124 63861 59139 90071 555

150 58446 760

124 55623 648

177 421182 472

54 26372 94459 769

484 583231 989236 309130 654

37 66232 380

261 93463 805

195 717402 49111051121105

4 518 8332 930 3302 131 1462 272 463

100053 347 298197 693 794560 088 599 696874744 999 981 096 960 0

100 094 860 441 974 058 186 694 785 465 632 397171 096 678 948186 499 684 649 992 799 697 373 083 476 984 969 763 1

100 098 399392 3843

51 80518816

8 968145 977177 531654 836197 582302 079415 660

1 628 8061 067 174

438 79621 536

270 629472 857375 572558 837387 731265 030259 000535 396197615306 107105 87340 101

1 176 87837 558

190 61541 092

100 779155 82659 272

258 88227 376

178 082215 637108 79578 72560 033

498 066317 723283 348169 84344 35746 489

415 06663 805

199111405 30711971525 050

8 962 82 688 01 556 9451804 873 24 787 2471897 033 34 385 552187591863 64212 566 95 450 76 836 2476675 038 75 973 46 733 54 533 54 577 23 287 06 003 37 622 26 694 76 467 43 338 572121410923 581 3513945 393 36 832 55 824 7734666 580 36 732 44 898 93 298 57 171 6604617 945 86 710 53 58016 502 07 930 2544414 408 08 045 06 436 339449

24 923 315714 81451381361331331291221181161151111091031031019896969594868583817877757271716767676666656261605957555149464544

83 3 14 229 771 5 517 4

C

TABLE 6: RATES OFTOTAL INCARCERAT1ON PER 100 ARRESTS REPORTED

11 1

1

1 1111

1

1

111

111

111

1

11

111

1

111

11

11.410.29.2

1 8.2

9.9

' Crime in the United States, 1993. UCR, U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau,of Investigation.2 Does not include traffic arrests.' Percent reporting is the state population relative to the number of agencies reporting arrest over total state population..Estimated arrests assuming 100 percent of the state agencies reporting.' Incarcerations made up of total prisoners in jail, and juveniles taken into custody.6 Crime in the United States. 1992. UCR, U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation.

042eight 042

Total Adjusted Incarceration1993 1993 1993 Adlusled Arrest Per Per 100 Adjusted

Rank Stale Total Arrests" Percent Reporting' Arrest Total' 100 000 Population Anests'

123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051

Totals 11 852 772

87 4 5172 063 5 782 8922 3 178 636 5 671 782 6 2 580 276 5 024 469 8 3 257 577 5 334 2

NCCDFOC

RegionSouthNortheastM dwestWest

D strict 01 Columb aDelawareOklahomaAlabamaSouth Carol naM ch ganTexasMontanaV rginiaLou starlaGeorgiaOhoVermontWyom ngNew JerseyNevadaPennsylvaniaArkansasNew YorkTennesseeCal fom aFlor daMarylandInd anaNew Hampsh reArzonaWest V rgin aIowaM ss ss ppiAlaskaKentuckyIdahoIllinoisRhode IslandNebraskaNorth Carol naMassachusettsSouth DakotaNew Mex coKansas'ColoradoMssourConnect cutWashingtonOregonW scons nMa neHawatNorth DakotaMinnesotaUtah

897 371421 060432 919704 200

11 6762 305

26 91534 94235 13571 946

189 2571 738

63 54339 89370 17657 480

1 1413 021

74 43516 76175 98723 476

170 31333 724

422 796171 87764 49232 204

4 33155 035

9 29313 45312 5718 300

22 4868 725

56 1618 199

13 09785 61038 596

5 2341051823 54945 30045 26739 70150 98040 04068 042

8 35712 632

3 97342 51328 354

100053 398194 597 688 596 844 9

100 060 081 060 047 286 496 986 674799 685 458199 693 799 960 465 694 899 671 032 394 748178 941 997192 797 374 069 749 976 983 463 184673 096 699 384 9

100084 398 392 3

87 482 669 892 2

1 027 093509 797

| 620 590763 871

2 947 995

11 6764 326

27 43336 9823601581 305

195 5703 868

63 57266 43786 68095 80924163 497

76 83419 352

101 78923 563

199 53658 094

424 578183 50864 53153 297

6 60258 074

9 33418 94738 905

8 76846 73611 060

1341748 444

1413587 99252132

7 51521 08830 6125431771 73146 91769 82041 43468 518

9 84312 632

4 716

• 1 11 148 4

992 71 016 213630

2 020 1618 0849 1883 3988 6857 8

1 084 6461 0979 4

1 546 81 2531

863 84194744 0975 2

1 393 2844 99721

1 096 51 139 31 360 31 341 51 299 7

932 9586 8

1 475 5512 9673 3

1 472 01 463 81 233 51 006 411471

844 4879 6

1 267 0867 1

1 051 01 305 01 209 51 523 21 370 51 431 71 328 61 366 61 360 0

794 41 077 8

742 7957 5

1 651 3

26 433 021 226 7

47 033 121 832 528 731 620 911220128 228 824 316215927 917928 321 839 626 334 630 422 426 413517516219617119334 313119629 211431 842 611017617019322 622 2131113117999844

20191

1104101 578 572 871 368166 864 763 060 760 660 058 455 853 251 650 850 750 250 149 349 248 247 647 546 342 141 239 839 539 538 838 537 836 736 636 435 534 633 031 931 630 928 228 127 526 425 823 522 7176

57 246 443242 3

U S

1

1

TABLE 7: RATES OFTOTAL INCARCERATION PER 100 CRIME INDEX ARRESTS REPORTED

1 1

111

11

1

1 11

11

111

111

1

1

1 11

1 11

1

1

' ('rime in the United States. 1993. UCR. U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation., '1'otal arrests consist of violent crimes (murder and non-negligent manslaughter. forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault) and property crimes (burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft ).' Percent reporting is the state population relative to the number of agencies reporting arrests over total state population.4 Estimated arrests. assuming 100 percent of the state agencies reporting.1 1 ncarcerations made up of total prisoners in jail, and juveniles taken into custody.6 ('dme in the United States, 1992. UCR, U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation.

042nine 042

Total Adiusted Incarceration1993 1993 Adlusled Crime Indexed Percent Per 100 Total

Crime Indexed 1993 Percent Crime Indexed Anests Per 100 000 Violent Adlusted CrimeRank Slate Arrests' Reporting' Arrest Total' Population Arrests Indexed Arrests'

123456189101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051

t- 4 tTotals 2 455 550 83 3 11430 26 7 480

FOCUSN C C D

TABLE 8: SUMMARY OF STATE RANKINGS1993

STATE RATE0 - --

Top 6

1 District of Columbia 2,3421.

I Delaware 807-,

Alaska 7484

1 Louisiana 738

South Carolina - j 695t' Nevada 482

1---Lowest 5 i

. 1 North Dakota - - 7084- 1

• West Virginia 1 130+ ·tMinnesota , 134-

1, Maine 1 15• - --

1--' Nebraska 207

042ten 042

Prison Per Total Total Control Per Total100,000 Incarceration Per 100 Reported Incarceration

Population 100 000 Population Crimes Per 100 Arrests

STATE RATE RATE STATE RATE

Distnct of Columbia 2 230 District of Columbia 24.9

Louisiana 939 Delaware 23.3

Georgia 759 Vermont 15.7

Texas 725 Delaware 2,982 Oklahoma 14.8-----

Nevada 719 Washington 2,616 South Carolina 14.5

South Carolina 705 r Maryland 2,520 Florida 13.84- --1 -- -- -

-t . 4North Dakota 174 North Dakota e Norm D• keta 1 4.4

STATE

Distnct of Columbia 5 175

Texas 3 468

Georgia 3 159

Maine 210 West Virginia 605 i Utah 1 4.51

West Virginia 216 New Hampsliire 700-4 Wiiconsin • 4.6--

Minnesota 217 Utah 8031 Minnelota 4.9*- _1.____ 1

Vermont 245 Iowa 860 1 Hawaii 5.1

F CUS

SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS among the states, as do the forms that cally based on what measure one uses

control takes. These differences is Vermont, which can be viewed asSeveral important findings emerge

clearly reflect variances in how state very punitive or lenient dependingfrom this analysis. First, in many

officials allocate public resources and upon one's measure of punishment.states and regions of the country, sig-

adopt unique sentencing and correc-nificant portions of our population Finally, commonly-held views of the

tional policies even when arrest andare under some form of correctional level of punishment in different states

crime levels have been taken intosupervision and control, many more based on rates of imprisonment will

account.than the simple number of people in change significantly where different

prison would indicate. In some Table 8 summarizes the various mea- measures of social control and pun-

states, between two and three percent sures of punishment presented in this ishment are used and if crime rates

of the population is under some form report. There are a number of states are included in the analysis.

of criminal justice control. Based that consistently show up as the most Measures of punishment based upon

upon tlie number of persons arrested, and least punitive regardless of the crime and arrest rates show that juris-

the proportion receiving some form measure employed. Delaware, dictions traditionally thought of as

of punishment is quite high. These Louisiana, and South Carolina are "conservative" or "liberal" in their

numbers contradict the typical politi- among the most punitive regardless criminal justice policies are often

cal mantra that the criminal justice of the measure employed. The least misclassified. In our view, the most

system is too lenient and "soft on punitive state is North Dakota, with accurate measure is based upon

crime". Maine, West Virginia, and Minnesota arrests as that measure reflects the

Secondly, the extent to which controltypically in the bottom five. The state "universe" of individuals taken into

that changes ranking most dramati- custody.is exercised varies considerably

042eleven 042

N C C D 0

END NOTES

' 1993 is used in this report as it is the most recent year for which complete data

are available for prison, jail, probation, parole, and juvenile facilities.

2 Serious crimes are the index crimes of murder, rape, assault, robbery, theft, and

burglary.

3 Washington, D.C. should not be compared to other states as it is a city without

suburban and rural populations which typically lower a jurisdiction's crime,

arrest, and incarceration rates.

4 For the states Kansas and Illinois, 1993 UCR data were not available for arrests,

therefore 1992 Uniform Crime Report arrest data were used.

NCCDFOCUS

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