Changes in the Characteristics of Admissions to State Correctional Facilities: 1974-2004

• In Event: Causes and Consequences of Prison Population Growth

Abstract

We examine how the massive increases in incarceration since the 1970s affected the characteristics of inmates admitted to state correctional facilities. Our analyses are based on six waves of data gathered in the Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities from 1974 to 2004. We examine whether increases in admission, particularly increases in the admission of drug offenders, increased the proportion of offenders who had limited criminal records and no history of violence. We also examine whether increased admissions produced changes in the proportion of offenders who were African-American, who were impoverished, and who were young. A multivariate framework will allow us to disentangle the effects of interrelated variables and to look for statistical interactions. For example, it may be that there was an increase in the proportion of offenders with limited criminal records among African-Americans, but not among whites.

Authors

• Andrew Krajewski, Pennsylvania State University

• Richard Felson, Pennsylvania State University

• Matthew DeMichele, Center for Justice, Safety and Resilience, RTI