Related Guides
United States
Prisoners & Prisons
- Corrections Statistical Analysis Tool - Prisoners (BJS) The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) compiles comprehensive information on persons sentenced to state and federal prisons, through the National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) survey and the National Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP). BJS has made these data available through the CSAT-Prisoners tool, an interface that can generate various statistics, figures and maps on prison admissions, prison releases, and year-end prison populations between 1978 and 2019.
- Correctional Populations in the United States, 2021 – Statistical Tables (BJS) This report summarizes data on populations supervised by probation or parole agencies and those incarcerated in state or federal prisons or in the custody of local jails. It presents data on the number of persons supervised by adult correctional systems from 2011 to 2021 and on their correctional status (i.e., in prison, in local jail, on parole, or on probation). The report also has new tables on sex and race and ethnicity of persons supervised by correctional systems.
- National Prisoner Statistics (BJS) Produces annual national- and state-level data on the number of prisoners in state and federal prison facilities. Aggregate data are collected on race and sex of prison inmates, inmates held in private facilities and local jails, system capacity, noncitizens, and persons age 17 or younger
- Historical Corrections Statistics in the United States, 1850-1984 (BJS) This work presents summary tables and commentary for published national government reports on corrections statistics for the period of U.S. history from 1850 (the date of the first national reports on the topic) to 1984.
- Adults in Correctional Facilities from Decennial Census, 2000-2020 (The Marshall Project) Downloadable dataset of the number of adults in correctional facilities per county from the 2000, 2010 and 2020 Decennial Census.
- Population Statistics (Federal Bureau of Prisons) By region, state, and facility.
- Prisoners in U.S. National Decennial Censuses, 1850-2010 An important, under-appreciated source of historical statistics on prisoners in the U.S. is the national decennial censuses. They include counts of all persons, including persons held in prisons and jails, on the day of the census. Those data are crucial for constructing statistics showing trends in U.S. imprisonment since 1850. We have made the census prisoner data available in computable forms in datasets of 19th-century U.S. prisoner statistics and U.S. prisoner statistics since 1900.
- Inmate Statistics (Federal Bureau of Prisons) Age, Citizenship, Ethnicity, Gender. Offenses, Prison Safety, Prison Security Levels, Programs, Race, Release Numbers, Restricted Housing, Sentences Imposed
- State Corrections Statistics (National Institute of Corrections) This web page provides lists of resources related to local, state, and federal statistics displayed to help you see the current state of the corrections industry as of the last set of reported data. We do our best to find as much information as we can about each state, however, because reporting standards are not currently uniform across the nation, there may be gaps in the data you see presented.
- Jail Data Initiative (NYU Public Safety Lab) Welcome to the Jail Data Initiative population dashboard. On this page, you will find overall jail population trends that can be filtered by demographics of those incarcerated, geography, and/or time frame. Depending on the selected date range, the number of rosters included may vary due to fluctuations in the start dates of data collection and the availability of accessible roster data. The Jail Profiles page provides in-depth data on individual jails that can be filtered by county, and the Glossary of Terms tab on the Documentation page provides detailed definitions of terms used throughout the site.
- Longitudinal Dataset of Private Prisons (Anna Gunderson) Variables in this dataset include: Political Scientist Anna Gunderson's original data on the location and capacity of private prisons in the United States from 1986 to 2016, proportion of inmates held in private facilities (post 1999), the year each state privatized, an original measure of the approximate number of corrections officers that are unionized in each state, among other demographic, political, and social variables. Some of these variables are available from 1984
- Incarceration Trends Dataset (Vera Institute) County- and jurisdiction-level jail data (1970-2018) and prison data (1983-2016). State-level prison data (2019-2021).
- State of Phone Justice 2022 (Prison Policy Initiative) Prison and jail phone rates for inmate phone calls.
- NACJD: Corrections (ICPSR) The National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) archives and disseminates data on crime and justice for secondary analysis. The archive contains data from over 2,700 curated studies or statistical data series. NACJD is home to several large-scale and well known datasets, including the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports (UCR), the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), and the Project on Human Development in Chicago
- Annual Survey of Jails (BJS) Administered to a sample of approximately 950 local jails (city, county, regional, and private) nationwide, the Annual Survey of Jails (ASJ) provides national estimates on the number of inmates confined in jails, demographic characteristics and criminal justice status of the jail population, holds for federal and state prison authorities, counts of admissions and releases, number of jail employees, and rated capacity.
- Annual Survey of Jails in Indian Country (BJS) Collects detailed information on confinement facilities, detention centers, jails, and other facilities operated by tribal authorities or the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Information is gathered on inmate counts, movements, facility operations, and staff.
- Census of Jails (BJS) The 2019 Census of Jails (COJ) is part of a series of data collections that studies the nation's local jails and the 12 Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) detention facilities that function as jails. The 2019 COJ collected data necessary for producing estimates on local jail populations, including one-day custody counts by sex, race and Hispanic origin, conviction status, and severity of offense (felony and misdemeanor); counts of non-U.S. citizens by conviction status; juvenile counts; holds
- Staff Statistics (Federal Bureau of Prisons) By Ethnicity/Race, Gender, Prison Safety, Staffing Ratios
- Justice Expenditure and Employment Extracts Series (BJS) Every year since 1980, BJS has extracted justice expenditure and employment data from the Census Bureau's Annual Government Finance Survey and Annual Survey of Public Employment. BJS publishes these data in the Justice Expenditure and Employment Extracts series, which presents estimates of government expenditures and employment for the following justice categories: police protection, all judicial and legal functions (including prosecution, courts, and public defense), and corrections.
- JEET: Justice Expenditure and Employment Tool (BJS) The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) extracts justice expenditure and employment data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Annual Government Finance Survey and Annual Survey of Public Employment and Payroll. BJS has made these data available through the Justice Expenditure and Employment Tool (JEET), an interface that can generate expenditure and employment statistics for different justice categories (Total Justice, Police Protection, Judicial and Legal, Corrections) and different levels of government (National, State, County, City). The JEET will be updated annually with subsequent years and historical data from 1982 onward.
- Data Toolbox (Prison Policy Initiative) The non-profit, non-partisan Prison Policy Initiative produces cutting edge research to expose the broader harm of mass criminalization. All of our reports and many of our briefings compile previously unavailable or incompatible data. For the benefit of other advocates and researchers who want to do new things with our data, we’ve compiled our unique datasets on this page.
COVID-19
- UCLA Law CBBDP Custodial Mortality Project Data The UCLA Law Behind Bars Data Project, launched in March 2020, tracks the spread and impact of COVID in U.S. carceral facilities and advocates for greater transparency and accountability for the pandemic response behind bars. To better monitor the public health conditions behind bars, the project began gathering data on all-cause deaths in U.S. prisons in June 2020.
- Mortality in Correctional Institutions (BJS) Collects inmate death records from each of the nation's 50 state prison systems, Federal Bureau of Prisons, and approximately 2,800 local jail jurisdictions. Between 2003 and 2014, BJS also collected data on persons who died while in the process of arrest.
- Jail deaths in America (Reuters) The U.S. government does not release jail by jail mortality data, keeping the public and policy makers in the dark about facilities with high rates of death. In a first-of-its-kind accounting, Reuters obtained and is releasing that data to the public.
- South Carolina Jail Deaths No state agency comprehensively tracks deaths in the custody of locally-run jails and detention facilities in South Carolina, and data compiled by the federal government isn't made public on the facility level. The Island Packet compiled the most comprehensive public count of these deaths, dating back to 2009, from several sources.
- Louisiana Deaths Behind Bars (Incarceration Transparency) Project undertaken by law students and faculty at Loyola University New Orleans, has compiled data on more than 830 deaths in Louisiana jails, prisons, and juvenile detention centers, primarily between 2015 and 2019, based on 130+ public records requests. The information includes each decedent’s name, age, sex, race, and trial status; the date, facility, and cause of death; and other factors
Jail Deaths
- National COVID-19 Statistics (The COVID Prison Project) The site will offer analysis and resources to better understand how coronavirus is impacting people who are incarcerated. We track data from all 50 US states, Puerto Rico, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Content will focus on data collection and analysis using a public health-oriented framework.
- UCLA Law COVID Behind Bars Data Project The UCLA Law COVID Behind Bars Data Project, launched in March 2020, tracks the spread and impact of the novel coronavirus in American carceral facilities and advocates for greater transparency and accountability around the pandemic response of the carceral system.
- Tracking Covid-19 in Prisons, Jails and Detention Facilities (New York Times) From March 2020 until the end of March 2021, The New York Times collected data about coronavirus infections, deaths and testing for state and federal prisons; immigration detention centers; juvenile detention facilities; local, regional and reservation jails; and those in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. The Times gathered information about infections, deaths, facility populations and tests administered to inmates and correctional officers for 2,805 facilities, and systemwide totals
Death Penalty
- Executions in the United States, 1608-2002 (ICPSR) This collection furnishes data on executions performed under civil authority in the United States between 1608 and 2002. The dataset describes each individual executed and the circumstances surrounding the crime for which the person was convicted. Variables include age, race, name, sex, and occupation of the offender, place, jurisdiction, date, and method of execution, and the crime for which the offender was executed.
- Capital Punishment (BJS) Prisoners Executed (2021) and Capital Punishment - Statistical Tables.
- Capital Punishment in the United States Series (NACJD) These data collections provide annual data on prisoners under a sentence of death and on those whose offense sentences were commuted or vacated during the years indicated. Information is supplied for basic sociodemographic characteristics such as age, sex, race, ethnicity, marital status at time of imprisonment, level of education, and state of incarceration. Criminal history data include prior felony convictions for criminal homicide and legal status at the time of the capital offense. Additional information is available for inmates removed from death row by yearend of the last year indicated and for inmates who were executed. The universe is all inmates on death row since 1972 in the United States. The inmate identification numbers were assigned by the Bureau of the Census and have no purpose outside these data collections.
- Executions (Death Penalty Information Center) Database of all executions in the U.S. since 1976. The database tracks the date, method, county, and state of each execution; the name, age, gender, and race of the person executed; and the race and gender of the victims they were convicted of killing.
- The Condemned Dataset (The Intercept) The Intercept set out to compile a comprehensive dataset on everyone sentenced to die in active death penalty jurisdictions since 1976. As of November 30, 2019, the dataset contains information on 7,335 individual death sentences handed down since July 1976. Of these, 2,752 individuals are currently on death row and 1,448 have been executed, while 3,135 people have been removed from death row for a reason other than execution. More than 2,000 have had their sentences reduced. Hundreds have died
Parole / Probation
- Annual Probation Survey and Annual Parole Survey (BJS) Collect administrative data from probation and parole agencies in the United States. Data collected include the total number of adults on state and federal probation and parole on January 1 and December 31 of each year, the number of adults entering and exiting probation and parole supervision each year, and the characteristics of adults under the supervision of probation and parole agencies.
- Corrections Statistical Analysis Tool (CSAT) - Parole (BJS) This dynamic analysis tool allows you to examine data collected by the Annual Parole Survey on persons sentenced as adults. It includes parolees who were conditionally released to parole supervision by parole board decision, by mandatory conditional release, through other types of post-custody conditional supervision, or as the result of a sentence to a term of supervised release.
- Corrections Statistical Analysis Tool (CSAT) - Probation (BJS) This dynamic analysis tool allows you to examine data collected by BJS's Annual Probation Survey on all adults, regardless of conviction status, who have been placed under the supervision of a probation agency as part of a court order.
Recidivism
- Recidivism and Reentry (BJS) The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) collects criminal history data from the FBI and state record repositories to study recidivism patterns of various offenders, including persons on probation or discharged from prison. In addition to recidivism statistics based on criminal history records, BJS collects administrative data through the Annual Surveys of Probation and Parole to examine the rate at which offenders are at risk of being incarcerated for a new offense or for violating the
- NACJD: Recidivism (ICPSR) Established in 1978, the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) archives and disseminates data on crime and justice for secondary analysis. The archive contains data from over 3,100 curated studies or statistical data series. NACJD is home to several large-scale and well known datasets, including the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports (UCR), the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), and the Project on Human
- COMPAS Recidivism Risk Score Data and Analysis (ProPublica) Across the nation, judges, probation and parole officers are increasingly using algorithms to assess a criminal defendant’s likelihood to re-offend. There are dozens of these risk assessment algorithms in use, including two leading nationwide tools offered by commercial vendors. Our story, "Machine Bias," set out to assess one of the commercial tools, called COMPAS (which stands for Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions), made by Northpointe, Inc.
- Prisoner Recidivism Analysis Tool 1994 (BJS) This analysis tool allows users to calculate recidivism rates for persons released from state prisons. Recidivism rates may be generated for the entire sample of released prisoners or for released prisoners with specific demographic, criminal history, and sentence attributes. The tool uses data collected by BJS on a sample of persons released from state prisons in 1994 and followed for a 3-year period.
- Prisoner Recidivism Analysis Tool 2005 (BJS) This dynamic data analysis tool allows you to calculate recidivism rates of persons released from state prisons in 2005. The tool defines recidivism as an arrest for a new crime following release. You may generate recidivism rates for the entire sample of released prisoners or customize your search to view rates of released prisoners with specific demographic, criminal history, and sentence attributes.
International
- World Prison Brief The World Prison Brief is an online database providing free access to information on prison systems around the world. It is a unique resource, which supports evidence-based development of prison policy and practice globally.
- World Prison Population Lists Published by the Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research, the World Prison Population List details of the number of prisoners held in prison systems in independent countries and dependent territories.
- Prison population, regional and global estimates (UNODC) Data are collected from national authorities through the annual United Nations Crime Trends Survey (UN-CTS). Before publication, data are sent to UN Member States for their review. Regional and global estimates are produced by UNODC on the basis of available national data.
- Prison population, national vs regional estimates (UNODC) Data are collected from national authorities through the annual United Nations Crime Trends Survey (UN-CTS). When necessary, additional data are derived from other available sources. Sources for national data are shown when hovering with the cursor over the data point and can be retrieved under “Bulk data download” on this page. Before publication, data are sent to UN Member States for their review. Regional and global estimates are produced by UNODC on the basis of available national data.
- Persons Held in Prison, by Sex and Age Group (UNODC) Data are collected from national authorities through the annual United Nations Crime Trends Survey (UN-CTS). All data are sent to UN Member States for review and validation.
- Persons held in prison foreigners as percent of total (UNODC) Data are collected from national authorities through the annual United Nations Crime Trends Survey (UN-CTS). All data are sent to UN Member States for review and validation.
- Persons Held by Status (Sentenced/Unsentenced) unsentenced (UNODC) Data are collected from national authorities through the annual United Nations Crime Trends Survey (UN-CTS). Additional data are sourced from the World Prison Brief - Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research (WPB-ICPR). All data are sent to UN Member States for review and validation.
- Persons held unsentenced by length of detention (UNODC) Data are collected from national authorities through the annual United Nations Crime Trends Survey (UN-CTS). All data are sent to UN Member States for review and validation.
- Mortality in Prison (UNODC) Data are collected from national authorities through the annual United Nations Crime Trends Survey (UN-CTS).
- Persons entering Prison (UNODC) Data are collected from national authorities through the annual United Nations Crime Trends Survey (UN-CTS). All data are sent to UN Member States for review and validation.
- Persons held unsentenced by sex, counts, and percentage of total persons held unsentenced (UNODC) Data are collected from national authorities through the annual United Nations Crime Trends Survey (UN-CTS). All data are sent to UN Member States for review and validation.
- Prison Capacity and Overcrowding (UNODC) : Data are collected from national authorities through the annual United Nations Crime Trends Survey (UN-CTS). Additional data are sourced from the World Prison Brief - Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research (WPB-ICPR). All data are sent to UN Member States for review and validation.
- Prison Capacity by Sex (UNODC) Data are collected from national authorities through the annual United Nations Crime Trends Survey (UN-CTS). Additional data are sourced from the World Prison Brief - Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research (WPB-ICPR). All data are sent to UN Member States for review and validation.
- Prison capacity by age group (UNODC) Data are collected from national authorities through the annual United Nations Crime Trends Survey (UN-CTS). Additional data are sourced from the World Prison Brief - Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research (WPB-ICPR). All data are sent to UN Member States for review and validation.
- Special Data Collections on Persons held in Prisons (2010-2014) (UNODC) Persons held without sentencing decisions, with non-final and final sentencing decisions; number of persons held with a final sentencing decision, by length of their sentence.
- Prison facility (UNODC) Total number of prison facilities and persons held.
- Nearly twelve million people imprisoned globally, nearly one-third unsentenced with prisons overcrowded in half of all countries - July 2021 , Data Matters 1 (UNODC) UNODC estimates that approximately 11.7 million people were detained globally in 2019, a population comparable in size to entire nations such as Bolivia, Burundi, Belgium, or Tunisia.1 The current estimate represents an increase of more than 25% from the year 2000, when there were around 9.3 million people imprisoned globally.
- Death Sentences and Executions 2020 (Amnesty International) This report covers the judicial use of the death penalty for the period January to December 2020.
Europe
- Eurostat: Crime and Criminal Justice Since 2008, the crime statistics published by Eurostat cover: Prisoners by offence category and sex - number and rate for the relevant sex group; Prison capacity and number of persons held; Prisoners by age and sex - number and rate for the relevant sex and age groups; Prisoners by citizenship; Prisoners by legal status of the trial process
- Annual Reports; Prison Populations (Council of Europe) Annual statistical reports on prison populations and facilities, based on surveys sent to its member states. PDF reports from 1998 to present.
- Annual Penal Statistics: Prison Populations and Institutions (Council of Europe) Total number of inmates (including pre-trial detainees(, total capacity of penal institutions, prison density, and prison population rates per 100,000, by country.
- Annual Probation Statistics (Council of Europe) Total number of probationers and probation population rate per 100,000, by country, from 2019.
- Percentage of Prisoners in Pre-trial Detention in 2020 (Civio.es) More than one in five people in European prisons were, at the beginning of 2021, in pretrial detention. Some 22 of every 100,000 inhabitants in the European Union (EU) were deprived of their liberty before final conviction. We’ve extracted the data from tables 8 and 24 from the SPACE I 2021 report produced by the Council of Europe. Using the total number of inmates, and the number in preventive detention, as well as the number of suicides among pre-trial and general inmates, we could
China
- Xinjiang Internment Camps (Buzzfeed) A database containing the locations of internment camps and prisons in Xinjiang, China.
- Xinjiang Data Project (Australian Strategic Policy Institute) ASPI researchers have identified and mapped over 380 sites in this network across Xinjiang, counting only re-education camps, detention centres and prisons that were newly built or significantly expanded since 2017. This represents the largest database of camps in existence, and we estimate it covers the majority of all detention facilities in Xinjiang.
Hong Kong
India
- Prison Statistics India Prison Statistics India is the latest in the series of annual statistical reports being brought out by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). In fact, this is the only annual statistical publication started by NCRB, other publications having been started prior to the constitution of NCRB and continued by NCRB. The data for the report is collected from Prison Headquarters of all States / UTs. Arunachal Pradesh did not have any jail prior to 2009. The first edition of the report pertains to the year 1995 and the latest edition of the report pertains to the year 2020.
- Hong Kong Political Prisoners Database (Hong Kong Democracy Council) Information on 1,000+ protesters, opposition politicians, activists, journalists and national security law defendants incarcerated since the beginning of pro-democracy mass protests in June 2019.
