The report states that from 2017 to 2018 prison population declined from 1,489,200 to 1,465,200. Although some states have shown a decrease in population like New York (down 2,800), Tennessee (down 2,700), California (down 2,400), the states of Texas (up 1,100), Indiana (up 850), and Colorado (up 430) has increased their population. Population sentencing to more than a year has also decreased by 2%. The report also presented characteristics of prisoner demographics like age and ethnic group. The age group most likely to be imprisoned is those in their 30s (over 1,000 men or women imprisoned per 100,000 U.S. residents). At year-end 2018, an estimated 6% of sentenced white males in state and federal prisons were aged 18 to 24, compared to 12% of black and 10% of Hispanic male prisoners. In 2018, black residents' imprisonment rate (1,134 sentenced black prisoners per 100,000 black residents) was the lowest since 1989 (1,050 per 100,000).

The Bureau of Justice Statistics was first established on December 27, 1979 under the Justice Systems Improvement Act of 1979, Public Law 96-157 (the 1979 Amendment to the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, Public Law 90-351).To collect, analyze, publish, and disseminate information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government. These data are critical to federal, state, and local policymakers in combating crime and ensuring that justice is both efficient and evenhanded.

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^{Keywords: Federal and State Research, Prison Statistics, Department of Justice, April 2020}

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