BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics

  Advanced
Search
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
Home | Corrections | State and federal prisoners and prison facilities | State and federal prison facility characteristics
State and federal prison facility characteristics
On This Page
About this Topic

Data on state and federal prison facility characteristics are gathered primarily through the Census of State and Federal Correctional Facilities (CSFCF), a national census of adult correctional facilities operating under state or federal authority. Data on state prison capacity and the number of prisoners housed in private facilities and local jails is collected annually in the National Prisoner Statistics data collection series. The Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Facilities also collects data on facility environment and characteristics.

Back to Top
Data Collections & Surveys

Back to Top
Publications & Products


Terms & Definitions

Federal prisons Prison facilities run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Prisoners housed in these facilities are under the legal authority of the federal government. This definition excludes the private facilities that are under exclusive contract with BOP.
 
Prisoners Prisoners are inmates confined in long-term facilities run by the state or federal government or private agencies. They are typically felons who have received a sentence of incarceration of 1 year or more. (Sentence length may vary by state because a few states have one integrated prison system in which both prison and jail inmates are confined in the same types of facilities.)
 
Private prisons Prison facilities run by private prison corporations whose services and beds are contracted out by state governments or the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
 
State prisons Prison facilities run by state correctional authorities. Prisoners housed in these facilities are under the legal authority of the state government and generally serving a term of more than 1 year.
 
Back to Top