Drugs and the Justice System - Drugs' Impact On Prisons

According to the BJS, on December 31, 2003, there were 2,085,620 prisoners held in federal or state prisons or in local jails. The total had increased 2.6% from year-end 2002. Of those held in state prisons in 2003, about one in five were in prison for drug offenses. Drug offenders outnumbered those held for burglary, larceny, auto theft, fraud, and all other property crimes. Between 1995 and 2001, 15% of the total growth in the number of prisoners was attributable to the increasing number of drug offenders, while 63% was attributable to violent offenders.

Prisoners incarcerated for drug violations have become the second-most-populous category over a period of twenty years at the state level and the largest group in the federal prison system, as illustrated in Figure 5.7 and Table 5.11. Persons incarcerated in state prison systems for drug offenses increased more than 1,000% between 1980 and 2001. Incarcerations for public order offenses, which include weapons violations grew nearly as fast. In the federal system, drug offenders make up more than half the prison population. Here, the number of drug offense cases handled quadrupled between 1980 and 2000.

According to the BJS, persons in prison for drug offenses were 6.5% of the state prison population in 1980. By 1990 they had topped 20% of the prison population and have remained at that level since then, reaching

TABLE 5.9
Drug charges, by type and sentence lengths, in U.S. District Courts, 1945–2003
[By type and length of sentence]

	Type of sentence
	Imprisonment
		Regular sentencesa									Average sentence to imprisonment (in months)d	Average sentence to probation (in months)e
	Total	Total regular	1 through 12 months	13 through 35 months	36 through 60 months	Over 60 months	Life sentences	Otherb	Probation	Fine and otherc
1945	861	X	308	360	140	53	NA	X	287	37	22.2	NA
1946	949	X	430	377	108	34	NA	X	369	20	18.7	NA
1947	1,128	X	471	452	161	44	NA	X	504	38	19.7	NA
1948	1,048	X	488	408	122	30	NA	X	411	23	18.6	NA
1949	1,187	X	541	451	152	43	NA	X	398	13	18.9	NA
1950	1,654	X	595	736	218	105	NA	X	471	11	21.9	NA
1951	1,659	X	473	671	328	187	NA	X	345	24	27.1	NA
1952	1,551	X	221	652	402	276	NA	X	312	6	35.2	NA
1953	1,586	X	108	789	358	331	NA	X	403	14	38.4	NA
1954	1,483	X	72	681	360	370	NA	X	411	16	41.3	NA
1955	1,457	X	47	648	360	402	NA	X	329	17	43.5	NA
1956	1,258	X	30	511	341	376	NA	X	250	13	45.8	NA
1957	1,432	X	16	326	248	842	NA	X	220	2	66.0	NA
1958	1,351	X	25	167	141	1,018	NA	X	282	8	69.4	NA
1959	1,151	X	43	126	95	887	NA	X	224	3	74.2	NA
1960	1,232	X	33	145	148	906	NA	X	271	3	72.8	NA
1961	1,258	X	42	126	105	985	NA	X	252	5	74.0	NA
1962	1,173	X	38	129	106	900	NA	X	217	13	70.5	NA
1963	1,085	X	39	144	113	789	NA	X	304	17	70.1	NA
1964	1,076	X	28	142	157	749	NA	X	309	23	63.7	NA
1965	1,257	X	53	186	197	821	NA	X	480	18	60.3	NA
1966	1,272	X	85	154	276	757	NA	X	589	13	61.3	NA
1967	1,180	X	83	139	245	713	NA	X	620	22	62.0	NA
1968	1,368	X	93	141	293	841	NA	X	728	33	64.4	NA
1969	1,581	X	110	179	500	892	NA	X	1,110	18	63.7	NA
1970	1,283	X	101	166	276	740	NA	X	1,156	22	64.8	NA
1971	1,834	X	249	300	428	857	NA	X	1,258	70	58.5	NA
1972	3,050	X	882	396	789	983	NA	X	2,068	130	46.4	NA
1973	5,097	X	1,445	744	1,343	1,565	NA	X	2,591	126	45.5	NA
1974	5,125	X	1,547	792	1,390	1,396	NA	X	3,039	81	43.7	NA
1975	4,887	X	1,366	706	1,441	1,374	NA	X	3,209	55	45.3	NA
1976	5,039	X	1,221	790	1,544	1,484	NA	X	2,927	75	47.6	NA
1977	5,223	X	1,505	886	1,366	1,466	NA	X	2,324	88	47.3	NA
1978	4,119	3,605	885	623	956	1,141	NA	514	1,630	68	51.3	38.6
1979	3,641	2,820	369	614	868	969	NA	821	1,379	47	50.8	37.8
1980	3,479	2,547	281	565	792	909	NA	932	1,232	38	54.5	38.7
1981	3,856	2,865	403	578	748	1,136	NA	991	1,371	119	55.5	36.6
1982	4,586	3,516	383	729	966	1,438	NA	1,070	1,617	133	61.4	34.1
1983	5,449	4,150	447	890	1,011	1,802	NA	1,299	1,893	148	63.8	33.7
1984	5,756	4,306	354	845	1,173	1,934	NA	1,450	1,584	119	65.7	43.2
1985	6,786	5,207	411	1,103	1,459	2,234	NA	1,579	2,039	238	64.8	36.2
1986	8,152	6,601	506	1,271	1,808	3,016	NA	1,551	2,353	259	70.0	38.7
1987	9,907	8,188	613	1,491	2,049	4,035	NA	1,719	2,680	112	73.0	39.9
1988	9,983	8,560	708	1,466	1,577	4,809	NA	1,423	3,042	137	78.0	33.4
1989	11,626	10,838	1,270	2,343	1,844	5,381	NA	788	2,358	155	73.8	32.8
1990	13,838	13,462	1,490	3,047	1,801	7,124	NA	376	2,135	215	79.3	32.3
1991	14,382f	14,286	1,687	2,828	3,063	6,708	34	61	1,896	68	95.7	53.4
1992	16,040	15,775	1,810	3,423	3,397	7,145	80	185	2,011	194	87.8	38.7
1993	16,995f	16,639	2,097	3,383	4,128	7,031	186	169	1,943	310	83.2	35.8
1994	15,623	15,130	1,836	3,074	3,798	6,422	238	255	1,908	73	84.3	34.4
1995	14,157	13,734	1,606	2,716	3,311	6,101	150	273	1,597	107	88.7	33.6
1996	18,333	16,684	1,643	3,334	4,025	7,113	197	372	1,534	112	82.5	35.0
1997	18,231f	17,456	1,687	4,166	4,445	7,158	228	546	1,523	79	79.3	34.9
1998	19,809	19,062	2,100	4,443	4,517	8,002	180	567	1,629	91	78.0	34.9
1999	22,443f	21,513	2,670	5,074	5,240	8,529	205	724	1,719	85	74.6	34.2

TABLE 5.9
Drug charges, by type and sentence lengths, in U.S. District Courts, 1945-2003 [CONTINUED]
[By type and length of sentence]
SOURCE: "Table 5.38. Defendants Sentenced for Violation of Drug Laws in U.S. District Courts by Type and Length of Sentence, 1945-2003," in Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics Online, U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2002, http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/pdf/t538.pdf (accessed February 15, 2005)

	Type of sentence
	Imprisonment
		Regular sentencesa									Average sentence to imprisonment (in months)d	Average sentence to probation (in months)e
	Total	Total regular	1 through 12 months	13 through 35 months	36 through 60 months	Over 60 months	Life sentences	otherb	Probation	Fine and otherc
2000	23,120	22,207	2,523	5,095	5,452	9,137	148	765	1,591	75	75.7	35.1
2001	24,011	23,127	2,780	5,350	5,670	9,327	122	762	1,671	133	73.8	34.5
2002	25,031	23,838	2,825	5,250	5,727	10,036	168	1,025	1,947	148	75.9	33.4
2003	25,060	23,937	2,632	4,781	5,967	10,557	157	966	1,781	145	80.2	32.2
Note: Data for 1945-91 are reported for the 12-month period ending June 30.Beginning in 1992, data are reported for the federal fiscal year, which is the 12-month period ending September 30.
aIncludes sentences of more than 6 months that are to be followed by a term of probation (mixed sentences). Beginning in 1991, includes sentences of at least 1 month that may be followed by a term of probation.
bFrom 1978-88, "other" includes split sentences, indeterminate sentences, and Youth Corrections Act and youthful offender sentences. In 1989 and 1990, the category includes split sentences and indeterminate sentences. Beginning in 1991, "other" includes deportation, suspended and sealed sentences, imprisonment of 4 days or less, and no sentence.
cIncludes supervised release, probation of 4 days or less, suspended sentences, sealed sentences, and no sentence.
dFrom 1978-90, split sentences, Youth Corrections Act and youthful offender sentences, and life sentences are not included in computing average sentence. Beginning in 1991, life sentences, death sentences, deportation, suspended and sealed sentences, imprisonment of 4 days or less, and no sentence also are not included in computing average sentence.
eFrom 1986-90, split sentences, indeterminate sentences, and Youth Corrections Act and youthful offender sentences are not included in computing average sentence. Beginning in 1991, supervised release, probation of 4 days or less, suspended sentences, sealed sentences, and no sentence also are not included in computing the average sentence.

TABLE 5.10
Sentence length and time served for first releases from state prisons, 1990 and 1999
SOURCE: Timothy A. Hughes, Doris James Wilson, and Allen J. Beck, "Table 5. Sentence Length and Time Served for First Releases from State Prison, 1990 and 1999," in Trends in State Parole, 1990-2000, in U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, October 2001

			Mean time served in—
	Mean sentence lengtha		Jailb		Prison		Total time servedc		Percent of sentence servedd
	1990	1999	1990	1999	1990	1999	1990	1999	1990	1999
All offenses	69 mo	65 mo	6 mo	5 mo	22 mo	29 mo	28 mo	34 mo	38.0%	48.7%
Violent offenses	99 mo	87 mo	7 mo	6 mo	39 mo	45 mo	46 mo	51 mo	43.8%	55.0%
Murdere	209	192	9	10	83	96	92	106	43.1	53.1
Manslaughter	88	102	5	6	31	49	37	56	41.0	52.5
Rape	128	124	7	6	55	73	62	79	45.5	58.3
Other sexual assault	77	76	5	6	30	42	36	47	43.8	57.0
Robbery	104	97	7	6	41	48	48	55	42.8	51.6
Assault	64	62	6	6	23	33	30	39	43.9	58.7
Property offenses	65 mo	58 mo	6 mo	5 mo	18 mo	25 mo	24 mo	29 mo	34.4%	45.6%
Burglary	79	73	6	5	22	31	29	36	33.9	44.3
Larceny/theft	52	45	6	4	14	19	20	24	35.5	46.9
Motor vehicle theft	56	44	7	5	13	20	20	25	33.1	52.5
Fraud	56	49	6	4	14	19	20	23	33.2	41.7
Drug offenses	57 mo	59 mo	6 mo	5 mo	14 mo	22 mo	20 mo	27 mo	32.9%	42.8%
Possession	61	56	6	5	12	20	18	25	29.0	42.4
Trafficking	60	64	6	5	16	24	22	29	34.8	42.0
Public-order offenses	40 mo	42 mo	5 mo	4 mo	14 mo	19 mo	18 mo	23 mo	42.6%	51.1%
Note: Based on prisoners with a sentence of more than 1 year who were released for the first time on the current sentence. Excludes prisoners released from prison by escape, death, transfer, appeal, or detainer. a Maximum sentence length for the most serious offense. Excludes sentences of life, life without parole, life plus additional years, and death.											bTime served in jail and credited toward the current sentence.
cBased on time served in jail and in prison. Detail may not add to total because of rounding.
dBased on total sentence length (not shown) for all consecutive sentences.
eIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.

FIGURE 5.7
Impact of drugs on state prison populations, 1980-2001
SOURCE: "State Prison Population by Offense Type, 1980-2001," in Drugs and Crime Facts, U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, July 2003, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/dcf/contents.htm (accessed February 14, 2005)

a peak of 21.8% in 1990, dropping slightly to 20.9% in 2000. Data for federal cases handled show that drug-related cases were already fairly high, 18.2%, in 1980. They more than doubled to 36.9% by 2000.

A more recent look at federal prisoners shows that as of March 2005 the number of drug offenders held in federal prison had grown to 88,960, or 53.8% of the total federal inmate population, according to data from the Bureau of Prisons. (See Table 5.11.)

The much larger state prison population of drug offenders (246,100 individuals in 2001) were overwhelmingly male, 90.2%. The majority of these prisoners were African-American, about a quarter were white, and nearly one fifth were Hispanic, according to BJS statistics.

TABLE 5.11
Federal prisoners by type of offense, 2004
SOURCE: "Type of Offenses," in Federal Bureau of Prisons Quick Facts, U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, March 2005, http://www.bop.gov//about/facts.jsp#2 (accessed February 15, 2005)

Drug offenses:	88,960	(53.8%)
Weapons, explosives, arson:	21,475	(13.0%)
Immigration:	18,325	(11.1%)
Robbery:	10,078	(6.1%)
Burglary, larceny, property offenses:	6,784	(4.1%)
Extortion, fraud, bribery:	6,856	(4.1%)
Homicide, aggravated assault, and kidnapping offenses:	5,326	(3.2%)
Miscellaneous:	3,478	(2.1%)
Sex offenses:	1,732	(1.0%)
Banking and Insurance, counterfeit, embezzlement:	1,013	(0.6%)
Courts or corrections:	709	(0.4%)
Continuing criminal enterprise:	603	(0.4%)
National security:	103	(0.1%)

Crowded Prisons and Growing Costs

State prisons have been operating at 100% of capacity for several years, and federal prisons are "over-booked." In 2001 the statistics were much the same; state prisons operated at 101% of capacity and federal prisons continued to operate at 131% of capacity. Pressures on correctional facilities are the result of growing rates of drug arrests that result in felony convictions combined with truth-in-sentencing policies that cause actual time served to increase.

According to the BJS (Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics 2001, Washington, DC: BJS, 2002), state expenditures on corrections were $4.55 billion in 1980 at a time when persons serving time for drug offenses were 6.5% of all state prisoners. In 1980, therefore, about $293 million was used to house, hold, guard, feed, clothe, and to provide medical care for drug-law offending prisoners. By 2001, costs of state corrections had risen to $35.8 billion. Drug offenders were nearly one quarter of state prison populations at this time, meaning that nearly $8.9 billion was spent to imprison them.