As with any specialized field, criminal justice has specific terms to convey specific ideas. Persons under correctional supervision are those on probation or parole or held in prison or jail – this definition casts the widest net when seeking the number under some sort of correctional surveillance.

Persons incarcerated include those in state or federal prisons or local jails – this is the population most often cited when asked how many people in the U.S. are behind lock and key. We publish an imprisonment rate for the number of persons per 100,000 U.S. residents held in state or federal prison and an incarceration rate for the number per 100,000 U.S. residents held in state or federal prisons or local jails.

BJS also has a total incarceration count that includes those held in state and federal prisons, local jails, Indian country jails, U.S territory facilities, military facilities, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities, and juvenile facilities.

Links to most recent data on correctional populations:

• Prison inmates
• Jail inmates
• Indian country jails
• U.S. territory facilities
• Military facilities
• Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
• Probationers and parolees