US State Prison Population Falls for First Time in 38 Years

LOS ANGELES (March 17) -- As California goes, so goes the nation -- at least as far as state prison populations were concerned last year. In 2009, for the third straight year, California's prison population decreased, helping propel the first national decline in state prison populations in more than a generation, according to the Pew Center on the States.

As of January, 1,403,091 people were under the jurisdiction of state prison authorities, 5,739 fewer than at the end of 2008, the Pew report said. It was the first year-to-year decline since 1972, according to Pew.

The report did not include federal inmates, whose number increased, or people housed in local jails, where budget problems and confusion over a state law have led some California sheriffs to release prisoners before their sentences have been served.

California DOC / AP

This undated photo shows the crowded conditions at the California Institute for Men in Chino, Calif. Spurred by budget crises, California and Michigan reduced their prison populations by more than 7,500 last year, contributing to a nationwide decline.

The numbers swung widely by state, with Rhode Island dropping more than 9 percent and Indiana increasing by 5 percent. But in absolute numbers, California led the way, with nearly 4,300 fewer prisoners over the previous year. California has been struggling with massive budget deficits, and its prison system is under a federal court order to trim the number of inmates by 40,000. But the Pew report also cited California policy changes as the state tries to cut the number of parole revocations by using alternative penalties for violations.

A hard line on parole violations nationwide had helped propel the prison population to record levels, the report said. And changes in approaches similar to those in California helped reduce prison populations in 2009. Some 5 million convicted state criminals were on probation or parole in 2009, up 59 percent since 1990. And parole violations more than doubled during the period.

"It may be that the growing parole and probation population, and the recycling of these offenders back into prison for violations, kept the prison population increasing during a time when crime declined," the report said. A stabilization in the rate of parole and probation violations combined with a drop in prison sentences likely propelled the national decline, the report said.

Another factor: baby boomers committing fewer crimes. Criminal behavior peaks in late adolescence, then declines as the individual gets older. "As baby boomers age and the general population becomes older, crime rates can be expected to decrease as well," the report said.

The news isn't quite the same in federal prisons. In 2009, the number of federal inmates increased by 3.4 percent to 208,118. The federal prison population has grown because of tougher sentencing guidelines, less flexibility in alternative sentencing, and probation and parole. At the same time, federal crime jurisdiction has expanded, and policies governing illegal immigration have helped swell the rolls, the report said.

While it's impossible to tell whether the 2009 decline marked a national shift, the report suggested that continued policy changes -- from budget cuts to improvements in rehabilitation programs -- could further reduce the numbers of people incarcerated.

"That is a drastically different policy environment" from what propelled the growth in the nation's prison system, the report said.

But change is relative.

"No matter what happens in the short term, with more than 1.6 million people currently in state and federal prisons, and more than 700,000 additional people in local jails," the report said, "the United States will continue to lead the world in incarceration for the foreseeable future."