U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics

December 2020, NCJ 251772

Mark Motivans, Ph.D., BJS Statistician

T

his report describes criminal caseprocessing in the federal justice system
in 2016, including arrest and booking
through sentencing and corrections.1 These
statistical tables present the number of suspects
arrested and booked by the U.S. Marshals
Service (USMS), suspects in matters investigated
and prosecuted by U.S. attorneys, defendants
adjudicated and sentenced in U.S. district courts,
and characteristics of federal prisoners and
offenders under federal supervision.
Data are from the Federal Justice Statistics
Program (FJSP), which is managed by the
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The FJSP
collects comprehensive information about
suspects and defendants processed in the
federal criminal justice system and annual
data on workload, activities, and outcomes
associated with federal criminal cases. Data
presented in these tables were collected from the
USMS, the Drug Enforcement Administration,
the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, the
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the
U.S. Sentencing Commission, and the Federal
Bureau of Prisons.
Organization of the statistical tables
The statistical tables are organized into three
sections. Each section describes a major stage in
processing criminal suspects and defendants:
1. federal law enforcement and prosecution
2. federal pre-trial, adjudication, sentencing,
and appeals
3. federal corrections and supervision.
1In this report, data are for the fiscal year, which is from

October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016.

These tables are part of the Federal Justice
Statistics series. See Federal Justice Statistics,
2015-2016 (NCJ 251770, BJS, January 2019) for
additional information and analyses.
Section 1 of this report provides data on
federal law enforcement and prosecution,
which includes arrests made by federal law
enforcement agencies for violations of federal
law and characteristics of arrestees. It also
includes data on warrants cleared by the
USMS and describes suspects investigated by
U.S. attorneys. (See Terms and definitions.)
This section covers decisions made by federal
prosecutors in screening criminal matters and
the type of offense for which suspects were
prosecuted or declined for prosecution.
Section 2 provides data on federal arrests,
adjudication, sentencing, and appeals. It
presents pre-trial release and detention practices
of the federal judicial system, including the
characteristics of defendants detained or
released pending trial. It also covers actions
taken by the federal judiciary in adjudicating
defendants in cases filed by U.S. attorneys and
the sentences imposed by the federal judiciary
on convicted defendants. This section provides
data on appeals of criminal convictions and
sentences imposed in the federal courts,
including the original offense charged.
Section 3 covers offenders under federal
correctional supervision. This section includes
the outcome of the supervision of those under
probation, parole, or other supervision (i.e.,
the offender either completed the term of
supervision or was returned to prison or jail
for violating the conditions of supervision).
For offenders in federal prisons, this section
provides data on the offense at commitment and
the demographic characteristics of the offender.

Bureau of Justice Statistics · Statistical Tables

Federal Justice Statistics,
2016 – Statistical Tables

YEARS OF STATISTICS

Section 1: Federal law enforcement and prosecution
Federal arrests
TABLE 1.1 Federal arrests, by most serious offense, FY 2016
TABLE 1.2 Federal arrests, by arresting agency, FY 2016
TABLE 1.3 Demographic characteristics of federal arrestees, FY 2016
TABLE 1.4 Demographic characteristics of suspects arrested by Drug Enforcement Administration
agents, by type of drug, FY 2016
MAP 1.1 Number of federal arrests for a drug offense, by federal judicial district, FY 2016
TABLE 1.5 Warrants cleared and median days from initiation to clearance, by warrant type, FY 2016
TABLE 1.6 Warrants cleared and median days from initiation to clearance, by warrant characteristic,
FY 2016

Federal investigations and prosecutions
TABLE 2.1 Suspects in matters opened by U.S. attorneys, by offense, FY 2016
MAP 2.1 Percent of suspects in drug matters referred to U.S. attorneys by the Drug Enforcement
Administration, by federal judicial district of investigation, FY 2016
TABLE 2.2 Disposition of suspects in criminal matters concluded, by offense, FY 2016
TABLE 2.3 Reasons U.S. attorneys declined to prosecute suspects in criminal matters, FY 2016

Section 2: Federal pre-trial, adjudication, sentencing,
and appeals
Federal pre-trial
TABLE 3.1 Defendants released at initial hearing or detention hearing, by offense, FY 2016
TABLE 3.2 Defendants released prior to case disposition, by defendant characteristics, FY 2016
MAP 3.1 Percent of drug defendants with one or more prior felony convictions at case disposition, by
federal judicial district of disposition, FY 2016
TABLE 3.3 Behavior of federal defendants released to the community pending trial, by offense, FY 2016

Federal case filings and adjudication
TABLE 4.1 Defendants in criminal cases filed, by offense, FY 2016
TABLE 4.2 Disposition of criminal cases terminated in U.S. district court, by offense, FY 2016
MAP 4.1 Percent of adjudicated defendants receiving a bench or jury trial, by federal judicial district of
adjudication, FY 2016
TABLE 4.3 Criminal cases disposed of by U.S. magistrates, by offense, FY 2016
TABLE 4.4 Characteristics of convicted offenders, FY 2016

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

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Federal sentencing
TABLE 5.1 Offenders sentenced in criminal cases terminated, by offense, FY 2016
TABLE 5.2 Type and length of sentence imposed for convicted offenders, by offense, FY 2016
TABLE 5.3 Characteristics of convicted offenders sentenced to incarceration, FY 2016
TABLE 5.4 Average incarceration sentence length, by offense and offender characteristics, FY 2016
MAP 5.1 Percent of convicted drug defendants receiving a non-prison sentence, by federal judicial
district of conviction, FY 2016

Federal appeals
TABLE 6.1 Criminal appeals terminated, by type of criminal case and offense, FY 2016
TABLE 6.2 Disposition of criminal appeals terminated, by offense, FY 2016

Section 3: Federal corrections and supervision
Federal supervision, probation, and parole
TABLE 7.1 Offenders under federal supervision, by offense and type of supervision, FY 2016
MAP 7.1 Percent of total drug offenders in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, by federal judicial district of
adjudication, FY 2016
TABLE 7.2 Demographic characteristics of offenders under federal supervision, FY 2016
TABLE 7.3 Outcomes of offenders terminating probation supervision, by offense, FY 2016
TABLE 7.4 Outcomes of offenders terminating probation supervision, by offender defender
characteristics, FY 2016
TABLE 7.5 Outcomes of offenders terminating supervised release, by offense, FY 2016
TABLE 7.6 Outcomes of offenders terminating supervised release, by offender demographic
characteristics, FY 2016
TABLE 7.7 Outcomes of offenders terminating parole, by offense, FY 2016
TABLE 7.8 Outcomes of offenders terminating parole, by offender demographic characteristics,
FY 2016

Federal imprisonment
TABLE 8.1 Admissions and releases of federal prisoners, by offense, FY 2016
TABLE 8.2 Demographic characteristics of offenders in the federal prison population, FY 2016
TABLE 8.3 Average time to first release and percent of sentence served for federal prisoners released by
standard methods, FY 2016
TABLE 8.4 Demographic characteristics of offenders first released from prison, by offense, FY 2016

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

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Section 1: Federal law enforcement and prosecution
Federal arrests
TABLE 1.1
Federal arrests, by most serious offense, FY 2016
Most serious offense at arrest
Total arrests
Violent offenses
Murder
Assault
Robbery
Sexual abuse
Kidnapping
Threatening communication
Other violent offenses
Property offenses
Fraudulent
Embezzlement
Fraud
Forgery
Counterfeiting
Other
Burglary
Larceny
Motor-vehicle theft
Arson/explosives
Transportation of stolen property
Other property offenses
Drug offenses
Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Antitrust
Food/drug
Civil rights
Other regulatory offenses
Other
Tax-law violations
Bribery
Perjury/contempt/intimidation
National defense
Escape
Racketeering/extortion
Gambling
Child-support recovery
Other sex offensesa
Obstruction of justice
Traffic
Conspiracy/aiding and abetting/jurisdictional offenses
Wildlife
Environmental
All other offenses

Number
151,460
3,463
312
910
1,532
440
129
100
40
10,913
9,213
254
8,475
58
426
1,700
56
1,273
51
52
174
94
23,566
7,599
276
6
98
71
101
7,323
841
212
169
16
538
196
133
67
2,942
445
1,267
0
73
109
315

Percent
100%
2.3%
0.2
0.6
1.0
0.3
0.1
0.1
<0.1
7.2%
6.1
0.2
5.6
<0.1
0.3
1.1
<0.1
0.8
<0.1
<0.1
0.1
0.1
15.6%
5.0%
0.2
<0.1
0.1
<0.1
0.1
4.8
0.6
0.1
0.1
<0.1
0.4
0.1
0.1
<0.1
1.9
0.3
0.8
...
<0.1
0.1
0.2

Continued on next page

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

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TABLE 1.1 (continued)
Federal arrests, by most serious offense, FY 2016
Most serious offense
Weapons offenses
Immigration offenses
Supervision violations
Material witnessb

Number
8,008
68,315
24,000
5,594

Percent
5.3%
45.1%
15.8%
3.7%

Note: Murder includes non-negligent manslaughter; sexual abuse includes only violent sexual offenses; fraud excludes tax fraud; larceny excludes transportation of
stolen property; other property offenses excludes fraudulent property offenses and includes destruction of property and trespassing; tax-law violations includes tax
fraud; and all other offenses includes unclassifiable offenses. Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. Total includes two records where offense type was missing.
...Not available. No cases of this type occurred.
aExcludes sexual abuse. See Terms and definitions.
bSee Terms and definitions.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the U.S. Marshals Service, Justice Detainee Information System, fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

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TABLE 1.2
Federal arrests, by arresting agency, FY 2016
Arresting agency
All agencies
Department of Agriculture
Department of Defense
Department of Homeland Security
Customs and Border Protection
Immigration and Customs
Enforcement
Secret Service
Other
Department of the Interior
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Park Police
Other
Department of Justice
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms,
and Explosives
Drug Enforcement Administration
Federal Bureau of Investigation
U.S. Marshals Service
Other
Department of State
Department of the Treasury
Federal Judiciary
U.S. Postal Service
State/local law enforcement
Other

TABLE 1.3
Demographic characteristics of federal arrestees, FY 2016

Number
151,460
351
250
83,615
56,714

Percent
100%
0.2%
0.2%
55.5%
37.6

24,722
859
1,320
1,100
209
757
134
59,194

16.4
0.6
0.9
0.7%
0.1
0.5
0.1
39.3%

5,471
8,579
10,190
34,680
274
200
1,068
1,239
1,318
1,463
849

3.6
5.7
6.8
23.0
0.2
0.1%
0.7%
0.8%
0.9%
1.0%
0.6%

Note: The Homeland Security Act of 2002 took effect in March 2003, establishing
the Department of Homeland Security and reorganizing several federal agencies
into new or different departments. As a result, counts of arrests and bookings by
the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, and Department
of the Treasury are not comparable to counts found in 2003 and prior compendia.
Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. Total includes 813 records where
arresting agency was missing. The arresting agency may differ from the federal
agency that initiated the investigation involving the arrestee.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the U.S. Marshals Service,
Justice Detainee Information System, fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

Arrestee characteristic
All arrestees
Sex
Male
Female
Race
White
Black/African American
American Indian/Alaska Native
Asian/Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific
Islander
Age
17 or younger
18-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-59
60-64
65 or older
Citizenship
U.S. citizen
Non-U.S. citizen

Number
151,460

Percent
100%

133,277
18,148

88.0%
12.0

121,135
25,098
3,189

80.3%
16.6
2.1

1,503

1.0

133
6,343
24,139
27,960
27,662
23,569
16,421
10,772
6,854
4,019
1,985
1,568

0.1%
4.2
15.9
18.5
18.3
15.6
10.8
7.1
4.5
2.7
1.3
1.0

58,328
81,844

41.6%
58.4

Note: Details may not sum to totals due to missing data. Data were missing for
the following: sex (35), race (535), age (35), and citizenship (11,288).
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the U.S. Marshals Service,
Justice Detainee Information System, fiscal year 2016.

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TABLE 1.4
Demographic characteristics of suspects arrested by Drug Enforcement Administration agents, by type of drug, FY 2016
Arrestee characteristic
All arrestees
Sex
Male
Female
Race
White
Black/African American
American Indian/Alaska
Native
Asian/Native Hawaiian/
Other Pacific Islander
Ethnicity
Hispanic
Non-Hispanic
Age
17 or younger
18-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-59
60-64
65 or older

Number Percent
arrested arrested
29,486
100%

Powder cocaine
Number Percent
5,484 100.0%

Crack cocaine
Number Percent
1,455 100.0%

Marijuana
Number Percent
4,213 100.0%

Drug type
Methamphetamine
Number Percent
8,068 100.0%

Heroina
Number Percent
5,926 100.0%

Other opioidsb
Number Percent
1,553 100.0%

Other/non-drugc
Number Percent
2,787 100.0%

23,517
5,291

81.6%
18.4

4,758
607

88.7%
11.3

1,211
217

84.8%
15.2

3,604
503

87.8%
12.2

6,069
1,826

76.9%
23.1

4,765
1,024

82.3%
17.7

988
526

65.3%
34.7

2,122
588

78.3%
21.7

19,785
7,613

70.1%
27.0

3,455
1,748

65.8%
33.3

329
1,068

23.5%
76.3

2,966
803

73.3%
19.8

6,845
593

88.5%
7.7

3,414
2,184

60.4%
38.6

969
484

65.2%
32.6

1,807
733

68.3%
27.7

197

0.7

19

0.4

1

0.1

31

0.8

111

1.4

15

0.3

7

0.5

13

0.5

617

2.2

27

0.5

1

0.1

246

6.1

185

2.4

38

0.7

26

1.7

94

3.6

12,596
14,336

46.8%
53.2

3,342
1,719

66.0%
34.0

244
1,090

18.3%
81.7

2,088
1,788

53.9%
46.1

3,634
3,772

49.1%
50.9

2,264
3,102

42.2%
57.8

196
1,195

14.1%
85.9

828
1,670

33.1%
66.9

120
862
4,380
5,411
5,462
4,601
3,207
2,138
1,506
889
454
292

0.4%
2.9
14.9
18.5
18.6
15.7
10.9
7.3
5.1
3.0
1.5
1.0

11
111
648
933
1,066
947
676
456
302
170
76
48

0.2%
2.0
11.9
17.1
19.6
17.4
12.4
8.4
5.5
3.1
1.4
0.9

2
39
279
309
251
219
108
90
72
55
23
4

0.1%
2.7
19.2
21.3
17.3
15.1
7.4
6.2
5.0
3.8
1.6
0.3

68
289
958
727
666
541
360
240
143
86
65
35

1.6%
6.9
22.9
17.4
15.9
12.9
8.6
5.7
3.4
2.1
1.6
0.8

16
192
1,000
1,459
1,553
1,384
1,014
660
428
210
79
28

0.2%
2.4
12.5
18.2
19.4
17.3
12.6
8.2
5.3
2.6
1.0
0.3

13
142
937
1,225
1,122
937
597
360
279
153
87
51

0.2%
2.4
15.9
20.8
19.0
15.9
10.1
6.1
4.7
2.6
1.5
0.9

2
13
152
254
297
212
155
135
113
96
63
56

0.1%
0.8
9.8
16.4
19.2
13.7
10.0
8.7
7.3
6.2
4.1
3.6

8
76
406
504
507
361
297
197
169
119
61
70

0.3%
2.7
14.6
18.2
18.3
13.0
10.7
7.1
6.1
4.3
2.2
2.5

Note: Details may not sum to totals due to missing data. The unit of count is an arrest by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Each arrest for an individual is counted separately. Includes state and federal arrests made by the DEA. Data were missing
for the following: sex (678), race (1,274), ethnicity (2,554), and age (164).
aIncludes heroin, morphine, and opium base.
bOpioids refer to synthetic compounds that emulate the effects of natural compounds found in the opium poppy. Synthetic opioids are commonly available by prescription but can also be manufactured in labs.
cIncludes non-opioid pharmaceutical controlled substances, other depressants, sedatives, ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, hallucinogens, synthetic cannabinoids, other steroids, equipment to manufacture controlled substances, and drug-use
paraphernalia.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Defendant Statistical System, fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

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MAP 1.1
Number of federal arrests for a drug offense, by federal judicial district, FY 2016

Number of suspects arrested
for a federal drug offense
601-1,700
□ 149 or fewer
□ 150-300
■ 1,701 or more
301-600
Note: There were a total of 23,566 suspects arrested for a federal drug offense during fiscal year 2016. Not shown: Guam (149 or fewer), Puerto Rico (601-1,700), District
of Columbia (150-300), and U.S. Virgin Islands (149 or fewer).
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the U.S. Marshals Service, Justice Detainee Information System, fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

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TABLE 1.5
Warrants cleared and median days from initiation to clearance, by warrant type, FY 2016
Warrant type
All warrants cleared
Federal
Felony
Escape
Bond violation
Parole violation
Probation violation
Drug Enforcement Administration-related
Federal agency without arrest power
Other federal agency with arrest power
Other
Non-felony
Traffic
Misdemeanor
State/local

Number
131,143
60,604
59,485
913
3,270
1,833
18,751
6,711
151
27,070
786
1,119
264
855
70,539

Percent
100%
46.2%
45.4
0.7
2.5
1.4
14.3
5.1
0.1
20.6
0.6
0.9
0.2
0.7
53.8%

Median days from
initiation to clearance
15 days
10 days
9
12
6
63
14
9
7
7
10
233
781
154
22 days

Note: Table includes all warrants handled by the U.S. Marshals Service and excludes those handled by the Drug Enforcement Administration or another federal agency
with arrest power. Analysis based on the group of all warrants cleared during fiscal year 2016. Details may not sum to totals due to rounding.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the U.S. Marshals Service, Warrant Information Network, fiscal year 2016.

TABLE 1.6
Warrants cleared and median days from initiation to clearance, by warrant characteristic, FY 2016
Warrant characteristic
All warrants cleared
Warrant execution type
Warrants cleared by arrest
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
Customs and Border Protection
Drug Enforcement Administration
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
U.S. Marshals Service
Self-surrender
Other federal
State/local
Warrants cleared by other means
Detainer
Dismissed
Other
Offense type
Violent offenses
Property offenses
Fraudulent
Other
Drug offenses
Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Weapons offenses
Immigration offenses
Supervision violations
Material witness*

Number
131,143

Percent
100%

Median days from
initiation to clearance
15 days

117,024
3,268
446
3,788
6,128
3,313
75,527
5,034
5,568
13,952
13,994
10,240
3,716
38

89.3%
2.5
0.3
2.9
4.7
2.5
57.6
3.8
4.2
10.6
10.7
7.8
2.8
<0.1

13 days
7
1
6
5
5
14
13
10
48
57
41
308
6

22,530
10,998
5,168
5,830
23,165
13,030
133
12,897
9,235
3,866
48,139
178

17.2%
8.4
3.9
4.4
17.7
9.9
0.1
9.8
7.0
2.9
36.7
0.1

14 days
14
11
20
12
13
18
13
11
4
26
5

Note: Analysis based on the group of all warrants cleared during fiscal year 2016. Details may not sum to totals due to missing data. Total includes 125 warrants cleared
with a missing arresting agency and 2 warrants missing offense type.
*See Terms and definitions.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the U.S. Marshals Service, Warrant Information Network, fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

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Federal investigations and prosecutions
TABLE 2.1
Suspects in matters opened by U.S. attorneys, by offense, FY 2016
Most serious offense investigated
All offensesb
Violent offenses
Murder
Assault
Robbery
Sexual abuse
Kidnapping
Threats against the President
Property offenses
Fraudulent
Embezzlement
Fraud
Forgery
Counterfeiting
Other
Burglary
Larceny
Motor-vehicle theft
Arson/explosives
Transportation of stolen property
Other property offenses
Drug offenses
Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Agriculture
Antitrust
Food/drug
Transportation
Civil rights
Communications
Customs laws
Postal laws
Other regulatory offenses
Other
Tax-law violations
Bribery
Perjury/contempt/intimidation
National defense
Escape
Racketeering/extortion
Gambling
Other sex offensesc
Liquor offenses
Traffic
Wildlife
Environmental
Conspiracy/aiding and abetting/jurisdictional offenses
All other offenses
Weapons offenses
Immigration offenses

Number
151,994
4,575
383
1,849
1,112
999
158
74
18,952
16,220
2,649
13,071
352
148
2,732
283
773
422
461
70
723
29,086
19,766
4,761
47
42
185
177
595
18
284
122
3,291
15,005
684
223
294
1,377
1,217
4,079
76
3,701
150
848
305
11
1,033
1,007
10,544
68,640

Percenta
100%
3.0%
0.3
1.2
0.7
0.7
0.1
<0.1
12.5%
10.7
1.7
8.6
0.2
0.1
1.8
0.2
0.5
0.3
0.3
<0.1
0.5
19.2%
13.0%
3.1
<0.1
<0.1
0.1
0.1
0.4
<0.1
0.2
0.1
2.2
9.9
0.5
0.1
0.2
0.9
0.8
2.7
0.1
2.4
0.1
0.6
0.2
<0.1
0.7
0.7
7.0%
45.3%

Note: Murder includes non-negligent manslaughter; sexual abuse includes only violent sex offenses; fraud excludes tax fraud; larceny excludes transportation of stolen
property; other property offenses excludes fraudulent property offenses and includes destruction of property and trespassing; tax-law violations includes tax fraud; and
all other offenses includes unclassifiable offenses. Details may not sum to totals due to rounding.
aExcludes matters for which offense was unknown.
bIncludes 431 suspects for whom an offense category could not be determined.
cExcludes sexual abuse. See Terms and definitions.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, National Legal Information Office Network System database, fiscal year 2016.

MAP 2.1
Percent of suspects in drug matters referred to U.S. attorneys by the Drug Enforcement Administration, by federal judicial district
of investigation, FY 2016

Percent of suspects referred to
U.S. attorneys by the DEA
□ Fewer than 1.0% ■ 3.0%-3.9%
□ 1.0%-1.9%
■ 4.0% or more
2.0%-2.9%
■
Not shown: Guam (fewer than 1%), Puerto Rico (fewer than 1%), District of Columbia (fewer than 1%), and U.S. Virgin Islands (fewer than 1%).
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, National Legal Information Office Network System database, fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

11

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TABLE 2.2
Disposition of suspects in criminal matters concluded, by offense, FY 2016
Most serious offense investigated
All offensesa
Violent offenses
Murder
Assault
Robbery
Sexual abuse
Kidnapping
Threats against the President
Property offenses
Fraudulent
Embezzlement
Fraud
Forgery
Counterfeiting
Other
Burglary
Larceny
Motor-vehicle theft
Arson/explosives
Transportation of stolen property
Other property offenses
Drug offenses
Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Agriculture
Antitrust
Food/drug
Transportation
Civil rights
Communications
Customs laws
Postal laws
Other regulatory offenses
Other
Tax-law violations
Bribery
Perjury/contempt/intimidation
National defense
Escape
Racketeering/extortion
Gambling
Other sex offensesb
Liquor offenses
Traffic
Wildlife
Environmental
Conspiracy/aiding and abetting/
jurisdictional offenses
All other offenses
Weapons offenses
Immigration offenses

Number
155,615
4,746
402
1,875
1,156
1,054
168
91
20,382
17,962
3,223
14,146
464
129
2,420
261
751
450
382
37
539
31,346
18,539
3,732
24
18
263
202
571
18
257
115
2,264
14,807
775
269
310
1,054
1,405
3,721
105
3,838
46
822
278
12
1,422
750
10,316
70,237

Percent of suspects in criminal matters concluded
Prosecuted in
Disposed of by
U.S. district court
U.S. magistrates
Declined to prosecute
46.4%
37.2%
16.4%
59.1%
8.6%
32.3%
46.3
6.0
47.8
54.5
14.1
31.4
76.5
5.3
18.3
57.8
3.8
38.4
51.8
8.9
39.3
17.6
4.4
78.0
50.5%
7.7%
41.9%
50.1
6.7
43.2
46.9
14.8
38.3
50.4
5.0
44.6
61.6
4.7
33.6
51.9
1.6
46.5
53.5
14.6
31.9
80.5
2.7
16.9
58.9
8.8
32.4
52.9
4.2
42.9
39.3
7.6
53.1
45.9
2.7
51.4
44.2
43.0
12.8
70.7%
12.1%
17.2%
43.8%
16.9%
39.3%
34.9
14.6
50.5
41.7
20.8
37.5
100
...
...
35.0
6.1
58.9
45.1
4.0
51.0
14.5
0.4
85.1
11.1
...
88.9
53.7
10.5
35.8
67.8
16.5
15.7
34.9
20.6
44.5
46.0
17.5
36.5
58.8
0.9
40.3
34.2
1.5
64.3
35.8
4.5
59.7
17.5
6.5
76.1
52.9
26.1
21.1
52.2
4.0
43.9
48.6
...
51.4
60.9
4.5
34.6
54.3
32.6
13.0
35.8
61.8
2.4
42.8
14.0
43.2
50.0
...
50.0
20.5
21.2
74.4%
30.2%

76.2
22.3
3.7%
69.2%

3.3
56.5
21.9%
0.7%

Note: Murder includes non-negligent manslaughter; sexual abuse includes only violent sex offenses; fraud excludes tax fraud; larceny excludes transportation of stolen
property; other property offenses excludes fraudulent property offenses and includes destruction of property and trespassing; tax-law violations includes tax fraud; and all
other offenses includes unclassifiable offenses. Details may not sum to totals due to rounding.
...Not available. No cases of this type occurred.
aIncludes 49 suspects for whom an offense category could not be determined: 26 prosecuted in U.S. district court, 8 disposed of by U.S. magistrates, and 15
declined prosecutions.
bExcludes sexual abuse. See Terms and definitions.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, National Legal Information Office Network System database, fiscal year 2016.

TABLE 2.3
Reasons U.S. attorneys declined to prosecute suspects in
criminal matters, FY 2016
Reason for declination
Total declinations
No bill
Rule 40 removal
Legally barred
Insufficient evidence
Defendant unavailable
Matter referred to another jurisdiction
Alternative to federal prosecution
Prioritization of federal interests
Opened in error

Number
25,486
6
798
535
16,469
393
2,642
1,567
2,617
459

Percent
100%
<0.1
3.1
2.1
64.6
1.5
10.4
6.1
10.3
1.8

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Executive Office for
U.S. Attorneys, National Legal Information Office Network System database, fiscal
year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

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Section 2: Federal pre-trial, adjudication, sentencing, and appeals
Federal pre-trial

TABLE 3.1
Defendants released at initial hearing or detention hearing, by offense, FY 2016
Most serious offense charged
All offensesb
Violent offenses
Murder
Assault
Robbery
Sexual abuse
Kidnapping
Threats against the President
Property offenses
Fraudulent
Embezzlement
Fraud
Forgery
Counterfeiting
Other
Burglary
Larceny
Motor-vehicle theft
Arson/explosives
Transportation of stolen property
Other property offenses
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession/other drug offenses
Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Agriculture
Antitrust
Food/drug
Transportation
Civil rights
Communications
Customs laws
Postal laws
Other regulatory offenses
Other
Tax-law violations
Bribery
Perjury/contempt/intimidation
National defense
Escape
Racketeering/extortion
Gambling
Liquor offenses
Other sex offensesc
Traffic

All defendants
84,865
3,033
333
912
710
968
97
13
10,248
8,192
423
7,382
20
367
2,056
48
1,632
140
104
72
60
23,604
17,399
6,205
7,444
1,187
1
9
70
340
68
7
127
85
480
6,257
401
109
166
119
577
1,581
8
14
2,199
687

Number
25,301
874
76
446
108
227
17
0
7,513
6,094
404
5,448
17
225
1,419
16
1,247
14
40
55
47
7,118
4,930
2,188
3,733
774
1
9
69
225
56
4
76
78
256
2,959
382
99
94
51
73
456
6
8
871
657

Released defendantsa
Percent
29.8%
28.8%
22.8
48.9
15.2
23.5
17.5
^
73.3%
74.4
95.5
73.8
85.0
61.3
69.0
33.3
76.4
10.0
38.5
76.4
78.3
30.2%
28.3
35.3
50.1%
65.2
^
^
98.6
66.2
82.4
^
59.8
91.8
53.3
47.3
95.3
90.8
56.6
42.9
12.7
28.8
^
57.1
39.6
95.6

Continued on next page

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

14

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TABLE 3.1 (continued)
Defendants released at initial hearing or detention hearing, by offense, FY 2016
Most serious offense charged
Wildlife
Environmental
All other offenses
Weapons offenses
Immigration offenses

All defendants
107
22
267
7,198
32,663

Number
95
21
146
1,576
4,217

Released defendantsa
Percent
88.8
95.5
54.7
21.9%
12.9%

Note: Murder includes non-negligent manslaughter; sexual abuse includes only violent sex offenses; fraud excludes tax fraud; larceny excludes transportation of stolen
property; other property offenses excludes fraudulent property offenses and includes destruction of property and trespassing; tax-law violations includes tax fraud; and
all other offenses includes unclassifiable offenses.
^Too few cases to provide a reliable estimate.
aIncludes defendants who were detained at some time prior to trial and defendants for whom release status data were unavailable.
bIncludes offenders for whom an offense category could not be determined: 675 for all admissions; and 270 for releases.
cExcludes sexual abuse. See Terms and definitions.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Probation and Pretrial Services Automated Case Tracking System,
fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

15

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TABLE 3.2
Defendants released prior to case disposition, by defendant characteristics, FY 2016
Defendant characteristic
All defendantsb
Sex
Male
Female
Race
White
Black/African American
American Indian/Alaska Native
Asian/Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander
Ethnicity
Hispanic
Non-Hispanic
Citizenship
U.S. citizen
Non-U.S. citizen
Legal alien
Illegal alien
Age
17 or younger
18-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-59
60-64
65 or older
Education
Less than high-school graduate
High-school graduate
Some college
College graduate
Marital status
Never married
Divorced/separated
Married
Common law
Other
Employment status at arrest
Unemployed
Employed
Criminal record
No conviction or arrestc
Misdemeanor conviction only
Felony conviction
Non-violent
Violent

Released defendantsa

All defendants
83,649

Number
27,212

Percent
32.5%

72,199
11,034

20,020
6,972

27.7%
63.2

63,842
15,337
1,449
1,190

18,216
6,579
645
838

28.5%
42.9
44.5
70.4

48,316
31,638

9,172
16,489

19.0%
52.1

42,200
39,940
3,535
36,405

21,856
4,694
1,466
3,228

51.8%
11.8
41.5
8.9

56
2,028
11,366
14,310
15,071
13,381
9,765
6,808
4,629
2,876
1,557
1,406

27
476
3,171
3,914
3,986
3,841
3,093
2,657
2,217
1,573
1,004
1,040

48.2%
23.5
27.9
27.4
26.4
28.7
31.7
39.0
47.9
54.7
64.5
74.0

27,075
18,356
1,442
4,136

7,352
8,469
993
3,281

27.2%
46.1
68.9
79.3

26,349
9,405
16,569
8,358
22,030

9,612
4,505
8,052
2,858
1,735

36.5%
47.9
48.6
34.2
7.9

23,039
18,654

9,932
13,446

43.1%
72.1

36,003
14,745

14,164
4,968

39.3%
33.7

19,247
13,317

5,043
2,856

26.2
21.4

Continued on next page
Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

16

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TABLE 3.2 (continued)
Defendants released prior to case disposition, by defendant characteristics, FY 2016
Defendant characteristic
Number of prior convictions
1
2-4
5 or more
Court appearance history
No prior arrests
Failure to appear
None
1
2 or more
Drug abuse
No known abuse
Drug history

Released defendantsa

All defendants

Number

Percent

12,192
18,039
17,078

3,751
5,018
4,098

30.8%
27.8
24.0

25,954

10,547

40.6%

44,765
5,175
7,418

12,794
1,712
1,978

28.6
33.1
26.7

8,798
29,613

7,266
14,129

82.6%
47.7

aIncludes defendants who were detained at some time prior to trial, and defendants for whom release status data were unavailable.
bIncludes defendants for whom characteristics could not be determined. Data were missing for the following: sex (416), race (1,831), ethnicity (3,695), citizenship (1,509),

age (396), education (32,640), marital status (938), employment status at arrest (41,956), criminal record (337), number of prior convictions (36,340), court appearance
history (337), and drug abuse (45,238).
cIncludes only defendants whose Probation and Pretrial Services records explicitly show no prior arrest or conviction.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Probation and Pretrial Services Automated Case Tracking System,
fiscal year 2016.

MAP 3.1
Percent of drug defendants with one or more prior felony convictions at case disposition, by federal judicial district of disposition,
FY 2016

Percent of drug defendants with one or
more prior felony convictions at disposition
□ 30.0% or fewer ■ 50.1%-60.0%
□ 30.1%-40.0%
■ 60.1% or more
40.1%-50.0%
■
Note: The map contains data on defendants processed by federal pre-trial service agencies. The District of Columbia is excluded because defendants receive pre-trial
services through a local, federal agency. Not shown: Guam (30.0% or fewer), Puerto Rico (30.1-40.0%), and U.S. Virgin Islands (30.0% or fewer).
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the U.S. Office of Probation and Pretrial Services database, fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

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TABLE 3.3
Behavior of federal defendants released to the community pending trial, by offense, FY 2016

Most serious offense charged
All offenses*
Violent offenses
Property offenses
Fraudulent
Other property
Drug offenses
Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other public order
Weapons offenses
Immigration offenses

Number of
released
defendants
27,212
883
8,163
6,685
1,478
8,200
3,851
744
3,107
1,667
4,196

No violation
80.0%
71.7%
85.0%
85.6
82.5
70.1%
87.0%
89.7
86.3
64.4%
90.5%

Percent of released defendants who had—
New offense charged
Violations while on release
Technical
At least one Failed to
violations of
Release
violation
appear
Felony Misdemeanor bail conditions revoked
20.0%
0.5%
0.6%
0.6%
18.5%
11.4%
28.3%
0.6%
0.5%
1.0%
26.2%
19.4%
15.0%
0.4%
0.5%
0.5%
13.3%
7.8%
14.4
0.4
0.5
0.6
12.8
7.3
17.5
0.3
0.2
0.3
15.4
9.7
29.9%
0.8%
0.8%
1.0%
28.0%
17.0%
13.0%
0.3%
0.4%
0.3%
12.1%
6.9%
10.3
0.1
0.4
0.7
9.7
6.0
13.7
0.4
0.4
0.2
12.7
7.1
35.6%
0.4%
1.1%
0.8%
33.0%
20.7%
9.5%
0.3%
0.3%
0.1%
8.7%
6.3%

Note: Data describe defendants whose pre-trial services were terminated during fiscal year 2016. A defendant with more than one type of violation appears in more than
one column. A defendant with more than one of the same type of violation appears only once in that column. Therefore, the sums of individual violations exceed the
totals. Not all violations resulted in revocation.
*Includes 252 defendants for whom an offense category could not be determined.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Probation and Pretrial Services Automated Case Tracking System, fiscal
year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

18

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Federal case filings and adjudication
TABLE 4.1
Defendants in criminal cases filed, by offense, FY 2016
Most serious offense charged
All offenses
Felonies
Violent offenses
Murder
Assault
Robbery
Sexual abuse
Kidnapping
Threats against the President
Property offenses
Fraudulent
Embezzlement
Fraud
Forgery
Counterfeiting
Other
Burglary
Larceny
Motor-vehicle theft
Arson/explosives
Transportation of stolen property
Other property offenses
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession/other drug offenses
Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Agriculture
Antitrust
Food/drug
Transportation
Civil rights
Communications
Customs laws
Postal laws
Other regulatory offenses
Other
Tax-law violations
Bribery
Perjury/contempt/intimidation
National defense
Escape
Racketeering/extortion
Gambling
Liquor offenses
Other sex offenses*
Traffic
Wildlife
Environmental

Number
76,276
69,451
2,967
135
784
900
1,024
114
10
9,257
7,774
353
6,992
8
421
1,483
37
1,134
11
162
84
55
23,451
23,405
46
6,030
739
0
40
27
126
83
14
62
29
358
5,291
378
96
268
55
502
1,632
69
0
1,674
6
40
25

Percent
100%
91.1%
3.9
0.2
1.0
1.2
1.3
0.1
<0.1
12.1
10.2
0.5
9.2
<0.1
0.6
1.9
<0.1
1.5
<0.1
0.2
0.1
0.1
30.7
30.7
0.1
7.9
1.0
...
0.1
<0.1
0.2
0.1
<0.1
0.1
<0.1
0.5
6.9
0.5
0.1
0.4
0.1
0.7
2.1
0.1
...
2.2
<0.1
0.1
<0.1

Continued on next page

TABLE 4.1 (continued)
Defendants in criminal cases filed, by offense, FY 2016
Most serious offense charged
Other offenses
Weapons offenses
Immigration offenses
Misdemeanors
Fraudulent property offenses
Larceny
Drug possession
Immigration offenses
Traffic
Other misdemeanors

Number
546
7,192
20,554
6,825
383
749
2,159
40
2,076
1,418

Percent
0.7
9.4
26.9
8.9%
0.5
1.0
2.8
0.1
2.7
1.9

Note: Murder includes non-negligent manslaughter; sexual abuse includes only violent sex offenses; fraud
excludes tax fraud; larceny excludes transportation of stolen property; other property offenses excludes
fraudulent property offenses and includes destruction of property and trespassing; tax-law violations includes
tax fraud; other felonies and other misdemeanors include unclassifiable offenses; and drug possession includes
other drug misdemeanors. Details may not sum to totals due to rounding.
...Not available. No cases of this type occurred.
*Excludes sexual abuse. See Terms and definitions.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Criminal
Master File, fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

20

■

TABLE 4.2
Disposition of criminal cases terminated in U.S. district court, by offense, FY 2016

Most serious offense charged
All offenses
Felonies
Violent offenses
Murder
Assault
Robbery
Sexual abuse
Kidnapping
Threats against the President
Property offenses
Fraudulent
Embezzlement
Fraud
Forgery
Counterfeiting
Other
Burglary
Larceny
Motor-vehicle theft
Arson/explosives
Transportation of
stolen property
Other property offenses
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession/other drug
offenses
Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Agriculture
Antitrust
Food/drug
Transportation
Civil rights
Communications
Customs laws
Postal laws
Other regulatory offenses
Other
Tax-law violations
Bribery
Perjury/contempt/
intimidation
National defense
Escape
Racketeering/extortion
Gambling
Liquor offenses
Other sex offensesb

Percent
Total convicted
76,639
90.7%
69,002
93.8%
2,729
92.0
140
90.7
716
89.9
848
94.9
930
92.5
82
79.3
13
76.9
9,781
91.6
8,192
92.1
352
91.8
7,347
92.1
13
92.3
480
92.7
1,589
89.1
46
87.0
1,226
90.3
17
64.7
159
88.7

Number of defendants in criminal cases terminating during fiscal year 2016 who were—
Convicted
Not convicted
Guilty Nolo
Jury Non-jury
Jury Non-jury
Total
plea contendere trial trial
Total Dismissed triala trial
69,487
67,835
102
1,395
155
7,152
6,848
248
56
64,742
63,193
57
1,382
110
4,260
3,986
239
35
2,511
2,336
2
162
11
218
190
26
2
127
110
0
17
0
13
11
2
0
644
611
0
32
1
72
65
7
0
805
771
2
31
1
43
38
5
0
71
9
70
57
11
2
860
780
0
65
55
0
10
0
17
16
1
0
10
9
0
1
0
3
3
0
0
8,964
8,625
5
315
19
817
739
70
8
7,548
7,247
2
285
14
644
581
56
7
323
314
0
9
0
29
28
1
0
6,768
6,484
2
268
14
579
520
53
6
12
12
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
445
437
0
8
0
35
32
2
1
1,416
1,378
3
30
5
173
158
14
1
40
40
0
0
0
6
4
1
1
1,107
1,081
3
20
3
119
114
5
0
11
9
0
2
0
6
6
0
0
141
137
0
4
0
18
12
6
0

89
52
23,342
23,318

78.7
90.4
92.8
92.8

70
47
21,655
21,634

66
45
21,181
21,160

0
0
19
19

3
1
437
437

1
1
18
18

19
5
1,687
1,684

18
4
1,621
1,618

1
1
55
55

0
0
11
11

24
6,392
790
0
32
32
111
68
14
55
31
447
5,602
428
126

87.5
90.5
85.3
...
84.4
96.9
82.0
72.1
64.3
92.7
80.6
87.5
91.3
96.0
91.3

21
5,787
674
0
27
31
91
49
9
51
25
391
5,113
411
115

21
5,530
647
0
27
31
87
41
9
50
24
378
4,883
381
108

0
8
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
7
0
0

0
230
25
0
0
0
4
7
0
1
1
12
205
28
7

0
19
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
18
2
0

3
605
116
0
5
1
20
19
5
4
6
56
489
17
11

3
553
92
0
1
1
15
7
5
4
6
53
461
15
11

0
44
20
0
4
0
4
11
0
0
0
1
24
2
0

0
8
4
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
2
4
0
0

293
78
533
1,557
66
0
1,836

84.6
76.9
87.6
87.0
93.9
...
95.7

248
60
467
1,355
62
0
1,757

217
57
459
1,274
59
0
1,700

1
0
0
2
0
0
3

29
3
8
77
2
0
45

1
0
0
2
1
0
9

45
18
66
202
4
0
79

37
18
66
189
4
0
76

8
0
0
11
0
0
2

0
0
0
2
0
0
1

Continued on next page

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

21

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TABLE 4.2 (continued)
Disposition of criminal cases terminated in U.S. district court, by offense, FY 2016

Most serious offense charged
Traffic
Wildlife
Environmental
Other offenses
Weapons offenses
Immigration offenses
Misdemeanors
Fraudulent property offenses
Larceny
Drug possession
Immigration offenses
Traffic
Other misdemeanors

Percent
Total convicted
10
^
62
88.7
26
80.8
587
94.2
6,684
93.4
20,074
97.6
7,637
62.1%
408
90.0
891
41.1
2,133
83.6
44
63.6
2,723
51.5
1,438
55.6

Number of defendants in criminal cases terminating during fiscal year 2016 who were—
Convicted
Not convicted
Guilty Nolo
Jury Non-jury
Jury Non-jury
Total
plea contendere trial trial
Total Dismissed triala trial
9
9
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
55
52
0
3
0
7
7
0
0
21
20
0
1
0
5
5
0
0
553
547
1
2
3
34
32
1
1
6,241
6,002
7
211
21
443
405
34
4
19,584
19,519
16
27
22
490
478
10
2
4,745
4,642
45
13
45
2,892
2,862
9
21
367
365
0
2
0
41
40
1
0
366
357
6
1
2
525
522
1
2
1,783
1,774
5
1
3
350
349
0
1
28
27
1
0
0
16
16
0
0
1,402
1,353
20
3
26
1,321
1,314
2
5
799
766
13
6
14
639
621
5
13

Note: Murder includes non-negligent manslaughter; sexual abuse includes only violent sex offenses; fraud excludes tax fraud; larceny excludes transporting stolen property;
other property offenses excludes fraudulent property offenses and includes destruction of property and trespassing; tax-law violations includes tax fraud; other felonies and
other misdemeanors include unclassifiable offenses; and drug possession includes other drug misdemeanors.
...Not available. No cases of this type occurred.
^Too few cases to provide a reliable estimate.
aIncludes mistrials.
bExcludes sexual abuse. See Terms and definitions.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Criminal Master File, fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

22

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MAP 4.1
Percent of adjudicated defendants receiving a bench or jury trial, by federal judicial district of adjudication, FY 2016

Percent of adjudicated defendants
receiving a bench or jury trial
□ 1.0% or fewer
■ 5.1%-7.0%
□ 1.1%-3.0%
■ 7.1% or more
■ 3.1%-5.0%
Not shown: Guam (3.1-5.0%), Puerto Rico (1.1-3.0%), District of Columbia (1.1-3.0%), and U.S. Virgin Islands (7.1% or more).
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

23

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TABLE 4.3
Criminal cases disposed of by U.S. magistrates, by offense, FY 2016
Most serious offense charged
All offenses
Violent offenses
Murder
Assault
Robbery
Sexual abuse
Kidnapping
Threats against the President
Property offenses
Fraudulent
Embezzlement
Fraud
Forgery
Counterfeiting
Other
Burglary
Larceny
Motor-vehicle theft
Arson/explosives
Transportation of stolen property
Other property offenses
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession/other drug offenses
Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Agriculture
Antitrust
Food/drug
Transportation
Civil rights
Communications
Customs laws
Postal laws
Other regulatory offenses
Other
Tax-law violations
Bribery
Perjury/contempt/intimidation
National defense
Escape
Racketeering/extortion
Gambling
Liquor offenses
Other sex offensesa
Traffic
Wildlife
Environmental
Other offenses
Weapons offenses
Immigration offenses

Total
7,752
412
0
408
2
2
0
0
1,412
438
24
406
2
6
974
1
873
0
3
0
97
2,219
164
2,055
3,262
148
0
0
28
8
6
0
4
32
70
3,114
18
2
3
12
20
6
0
13
4
2,622
135
6
273
68
379

Convicted
5,016
204
0
200
2
2
0
0
812
404
24
374
1
5
408
1
355
0
3
0
49
1,873
132
1,741
1,725
118
0
0
27
8
6
0
4
29
44
1,607
18
1
2
9
12
5
0
13
3
1,331
71
6
136
24
378

Not convicted
2,736
208
0
208
0
0
0
0
600
34
0
32
1
1
566
0
518
0
0
0
48
346
32
314
1,537
30
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
3
26
1,507
0
1
1
3
8
1
0
0
1
1,291
64
0
137
44
1

Percent convicted
64.7%
49.5%
...
49.0
^
^
...
...
57.5%
92.2
100
92.1
^
^
41.9
^
40.7
...
^
...
50.5
84.4%
80.5
84.7
52.9%
79.7
...
...
96.4
^
^
...
^
90.6
62.9
51.6
100
^
^
75.0
60.0
^
...
100
^
50.8
52.6
^
49.8
35.3%
99.7%

Note: Murder includes non-negligent manslaughter; sexual abuse includes only violent sex offenses; fraud excludes tax fraud; larceny excludes transportation of stolen
property; other property offenses excludes fraudulent property offenses and includes destruction of property and trespassing; tax-law violations includes tax fraud; and
other offenses includes unclassifiable offenses.
...Not available. No cases of this type occurred.
^Too few cases to provide a reliable estimate.
aExcludes sexual abuse. See Terms and definitions.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Criminal Master File, fiscal year 2016.

TABLE 4.4
Characteristics of convicted offenders, FY 2016
Offender characteristic
All offenders
Sex
Male
Female
Race
White
Black/African American
American Indian/Alaska Native
Asian/Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander
Two or more races
Ethnicity
Hispanic
Non-Hispanic
Age
17 or younger
18-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-59
60-64
65 or older
Citizenship
U.S. citizen
Non-U.S. citizen
Education
Less than high-school graduate
High-school graduate
Some college
College graduate
Criminal record
No convictions
Prior adult convictions

Number
69,487

Percent
100%

56,551
8,957

86.3%
13.7

47,927
13,962
1,204
1,139
457

74.1%
21.6
1.9
1.8
0.7

35,662
29,342

54.9%
45.1

1
1,122
7,840
10,866
11,788
10,774
7,859
5,510
3,794
2,373
1,273
1,213

^
1.7%
12.2
16.9
18.3
16.7
12.2
8.6
5.9
3.7
2.0
1.9

37,201
27,767

57.3%
42.7

28,734
18,656
9,494
3,704

47.4%
30.8
15.7
6.1

22,859
42,781

34.8%
65.2

Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. Data were missing for the
following: sex (3,979), race (4,798), age (5,074), citizenship (4,519), education
(8,899) and prior convictions (3,847).
^Too few cases to provide a reliable estimates.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Administrative Office
of the U.S. Courts, Criminal Master File; U.S. Sentencing Commission, individual
offender data file; and Probation and Pretrial Services Automated Case Tracking
System, fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

25

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Federal sentencing
TABLE 5.1
Offenders sentenced in criminal cases terminated, by offense, FY 2016
Most serious offense of conviction
All offensesd
Felonies
Violent offenses
Murder
Assault
Robbery
Sexual abuse
Kidnapping
Threats against the President
Property offenses
Fraudulent
Embezzlement
Fraud
Forgery
Counterfeiting
Other
Burglary
Larceny
Motor-vehicle theft
Arson/explosives
Transportation of stolen property
Other property offenses
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession/other drug offenses
Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Agriculture
Antitrust
Food/drug
Transportation
Civil rights
Communications
Customs laws
Postal laws
Other regulatory offenses
Other
Tax-law violations
Bribery
Perjury/contempt/intimidation
National defense
Escape
Racketeering/extortion
Gambling
Liquor offenses
Other sex offensese
Traffic

Total offenders
sentenceda
69,487
63,734
2,256
111
608
812
667
48
10
8,872
7,663
325
6,970
7
361
1,209
21
973
11
113
54
37
20,338
20,291
47
6,407
719
0
27
48
93
47
9
86
28
381
5,688
430
108
198
56
682
1,644
53
0
1,921
7

Percent of offenders convicted and sentenced to—
Incarcerationb
Probationc
Fine only
78.1%
10.3%
2.0%
81.9%
8.1%
0.4%
93.0
3.5
0.2
94.6
1.8
...
85.0
7.1
0.5
96.1
2.2
...
96.3
2.2
0.1
97.9
...
...
^
...
...
63.0
24.3
0.9
65.4
21.3
1.0
42.8
46.8
0.9
66.3
20.2
1.0
^
^
...
67.9
20.8
0.6
47.8
43.0
0.7
76.2
19.0
...
41.1
49.1
0.6
63.6
27.3
9.1
83.2
11.5
0.9
77.8
16.7
...
51.4
35.1
...
89.0
4.6
0.2
89.1
4.5
0.2
36.2
31.9
...
77.9
14.5
0.8
52.9
32.5
3.3
...
...
...
22.2
48.1
29.6
25.0
62.5
8.3
50.5
32.3
1.1
74.5
23.4
...
^
^
...
62.8
31.4
1.2
32.1
57.1
...
56.2
26.8
2.6
81.0
12.2
0.5
61.4
34.7
1.2
63.9
27.8
...
72.2
21.7
2.0
73.2
16.1
1.8
59.7
24.3
0.6
83.3
9.4
0.1
24.5
69.8
1.9
...
...
...
96.3
1.4
0.3
^
^
...

Continued on next page

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

26

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TABLE 5.1 (continued)
Offenders sentenced in criminal cases terminated, by offense, FY 2016
Most serious offense of conviction
Wildlife
Environmental
Other offenses
Weapons offenses
Immigration offenses
Misdemeanors
Fraudulent property offenses
Larceny
Drug possession
Immigration offenses
Traffic
Other misdemeanors

Total offenders
sentenceda
38
22
529
6,575
19,286
5,753
488
427
1,876
449
1,469
1,044

Percent of offenders convicted and sentenced to—
Incarcerationb
Probationc
Fine only
28.9
57.9
7.9
22.7
59.1
13.6
81.7
8.1
0.4
91.2
4.4
0.1
79.9
4.0
0.2
36.3%
34.1%
20.7%
28.7
39.3
3.3
8.2
72.4
16.2
75.9
17.8
3.0
45.4
7.1
3.3
4.8
39.8
55.1
20.9
48.9
21.4

Note: Murder includes non-negligent manslaughter; sexual abuse includes only violent sex offenses; fraud excludes tax fraud; larceny excludes transporting stolen
property; other property offenses excludes fraudulent property offense and includes destruction of property and trespassing; tax-law violations includes tax fraud; other
felonies and other misdemeanors include unclassifiable offenses; and drug possession includes other drug misdemeanors.
...Not available. No cases of this type occurred.
^Too few cases to provide a reliable estimate.
aIncludes offenders receiving incarceration, probation, split or mixed sentences, and fines. Offenders receiving deportation, suspended sentences, sealed sentences,
imprisonment of 4 days or less, and no sentences are not represented in the percentage columns but are included in the totals.
bAll sentences to incarceration, including split, mixed, life, and indeterminate.
cIncludes offenders with split and mixed sentences.
dTotal includes offenders whose sentence could not be determined.
eExcludes sexual abuse. See Terms and definitions.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Criminal Master File, fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

27

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TABLE 5.2
Type and length of sentence imposed for convicted offenders, by offense, FY 2016
Most serious offense at case termination
All offensese
Felonies
Violent offenses
Murder
Assault
Robbery
Sexual abuse
Kidnapping
Threats against the President
Property offenses
Fraudulent
Embezzlement
Fraud
Forgery
Counterfeiting
Other
Burglary
Larceny
Motor-vehicle theft
Arson/explosives
Transportation of stolen property
Other property offenses
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession/other drug offenses
Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Agriculture
Antitrust
Food/drug
Transportation
Civil rights
Communications
Customs laws
Postal laws
Other regulatory offenses
Other
Tax-law violations
Bribery
Perjury/contempt/intimidation
National defense
Escape
Racketeering/extortion
Gambling
Liquor offenses
Other sex offensesf
Traffic
Wildlife
Environmental
Other offenses
Weapons offenses
Immigration offenses

Totala
69,487
63,734
2,256
111
608
812
667
48
10
8,872
7,663
325
6,970
7
361
1,209
21
973
11
113
54
37
20,338
20,291
47
6,407
719
0
27
48
93
47
9
86
28
381
5,688
430
108
198
56
682
1,644
53
0
1,921
7
38
22
529
6,575
19,286

Type of sentence
Incarcerationb Probationc
54,274
7,124
52,183
5,161
2,098
78
105
2
517
43
780
18
642
15
47
0
7
0
5,589
2,155
5,011
1,635
139
152
4,622
1,406
5
2
245
75
578
520
16
4
400
478
7
3
94
13
42
9
19
13
18,094
932
18,077
917
17
15
4,989
929
380
234
0
0
13
6
12
30
47
30
35
11
3
5
54
27
9
16
214
102
4,609
695
264
149
69
30
143
43
41
9
407
166
1,369
155
13
37
0
0
1,850
26
5
2
11
22
5
13
432
43
5,999
290
15,414
777

Fine only
1,421
231
4
0
3
0
1
0
0
82
74
3
69
0
2
8
0
6
1
1
0
0
39
39
0
54
24
0
8
4
1
0
0
1
0
10
30
5
0
4
1
4
2
1
0
5
0
3
3
2
8
44

Average sentence length
Incarcerationd
Probation
54.5 mos.
34.1 mos.
56.4 mos.
40.0 mos.
149.4
44.6
192.4
^
51.6
43.3
102.3
43.2
278.3
49.9
228.7
...
^
...
36.3
38.9
36.1
38.3
23.4
33.7
36.7
38.9
^
^
31.6
36.5
38.7
40.9
37.4
^
24.7
40.8
^
^
80.3
46.2
78.6
^
23.5
37.8
75.0
43.0
75.0
43.3
19.5
27.6
75.3
38.6
42.8
33.3
...
...
^
20.3
25.1
32.9
27.5
32.3
49.5
40.4
^
^
26.4
35.8
^
25.5
52.8
34.0
78.0
40.4
22.7
38.2
35.4
33.7
58.1
37.7
92.0
^
16.3
35.1
85.7
43.2
16.8
38.0
...
...
109.4
64.2
^
^
14.4
35.5
^
42.0
28.1
52.2
73.8
42.4
16.6
39.7

Continued on next page
Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

28

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TABLE 5.2 (continued)
Type and length of sentence imposed for convicted offenders, by offense, FY 2016
Most serious offense at case termination
Misdemeanors
Fraudulent property offenses
Larceny
Drug possession
Immigration offenses
Traffic
Other misdemeanors

Totala
5,753
488
427
1,876
449
1,469
1,044

Type of sentence
Incarcerationb Probationc
2,091
1,963
140
192
35
309
1,424
334
204
32
70
585
218
511

Fine only
1,190
16
69
57
15
810
223

Average sentence length
Incarcerationd
Probation
6.3 mos.
18.6 mos.
3.9
24.5
7.5
20.0
6.7
16.5
5.1
20.3
3.8
13.1
6.5
23.2

Note: Murder includes non-negligent manslaughter; sexual abuse includes only violent sex offenses; fraud excludes tax fraud; larceny excludes transportation of stolen
property; other property offenses excludes fraudulent property offenses and includes destruction of property and trespassing; tax-law violations includes tax fraud;
other felonies and other misdemeanors include unclassifiable offenses; and drug possession includes other drug misdemeanors.
...Not available. No cases of this type occurred.
^Too few cases to provide a reliable estimate.
aTotals may not equal the sums of individual sanctions. The sums may exceed the totals because split and mixed sentences are counted in incarceration and probation.
Alternatively, the totals may exceed the sums as the total includes offenders receiving deportation, suspended sentences, sealed sentences, imprisonment of 4 days or
less, and no sentences.
bAll sentences to incarceration, including split, mixed, life, and indeterminate sentences.
cIncludes offenders with split and mixed sentences.
dExcludes sentences of life, death, and indeterminate sentences.
eTotal includes offenders whose sentence could not be determined.
fExcludes sexual abuse. See Terms and definitions.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Criminal Master File, fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

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TABLE 5.3
Characteristics of convicted offenders sentenced to incarceration, FY 2016
Offender characteristic
All offenders
Sex
Male
Female
Race
White
Black/African American
American Indian/Alaska Native
Asian/Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander
Two or more races
Ethnicity
Hispanic
Non-Hispanic
Age
17 or younger
18-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-59
60-64
65 or older
Citizenship
U.S. citizen
Non-U.S. citizen
Education
Less than high-school graduate
High-school graduate
Some college
College graduate
Criminal record
No convictions
Prior adult convictions

Number
convicted
69,487

Number
Percent
sentenced to sentenced to
incarceration incarceration
54,274
78.1%

56,551
8,957

46,557
5,381

82.3%
60.1

47,927
13,962
1,204
1,139
457

38,384
11,412
947
692
257

80.1%
81.7
78.3
60.8
56.6

35,662
29,342

29,359
22,443

82.3%
76.5

1
1,122
7,840
10,866
11,788
10,774
7,859
5,510
3,794
2,373
1,273
1,213

0
896
6,164
8,808
9,687
8,889
6,386
4,388
2,910
1,741
854
727

^
79.9%
78.6
81.1
82.2
82.5
81.3
79.6
76.7
73.4
67.1
59.9

37,201
27,767

29,151
22,646

78.4%
81.6

28,734
18,656
9,494
3,704

24,886
15,276
6,992
2,444

86.6%
81.9
73.6
66.0

22,859
42,781

16,210
35,719

70.9%
83.5

Note: By definition, corporations are excluded from the offender characteristics reported. Offenders serving
life sentences and indeterminate sentences are included. Offenders are classified by the most serious offense
of conviction. Data were missing for the following: sex (3,979), race (4,798) ethnicity (4,483), age (5,074),
citizenship (4,519), education (8,899), and criminal record (3,847).
^Too few cases to provide a reliable estimate.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Criminal
Master File; U.S. Sentencing Commission, individual offender data file; and Probation and Pretrial Services
Automated Case Tracking System, fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

30

■

TABLE 5.4
Average incarceration sentence length, by offense and offender characteristics, FY 2016
Offender characteristic
All offenders
Sex
Male
Female
Race
White
Black/African American
American Indian/Alaska
Native
Asian/Native Hawaiian/
Other Pacific Islander
Two or more races
Ethnicity
Hispanic
Non-Hispanic
Age
17 or younger
18-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-94
60-64
65 or older
Citizenship
U.S. citizen
Non-U.S. citizen
Education
Less than high-school
graduate
High-school graduate
Some college
College graduate
Criminal history
No convictions
Prior adult convictions

Property offenses
All
Violent
offenses offenses Fraudulent Other
54.5 mos. 149.4 mos. 36.1 mos. 38.7 mos.

Public-order offenses Weapons Immigration
Drug
offenses Regulatory Other offenses offenses
Misdemeanors
75.0 mos. 42.8 mos. 78.0 mos. 73.8 mos. 16.6 mos.
6.3 mos.

54.9 mos. 155.1 mos.
38.3
109.7

37.2 mos.
31.5

43.9 mos.
23.6

77.0 mos.
52.3

42.4 mos.
40.0

81.9 mos. 73.3 mos.
36.5
52.7

17.0 mos.
11.3

6.5 mos.
4.2

45.7 mos. 192.1 mos.
77.9
138.8

34.1 mos.
39.1

37.1 mos.
45.4

69.0 mos.
86.3

33.9 mos.
71.1

81.1 mos. 60.6 mos.
80.0
82.7

16.6 mos.
23.3

6.1 mos.
9.2

61.7

85.5

22.1

26.3

57.2

^

30.1

54.3

17.7

5.4

50.6
59.8

127.2
^

31.6
39.9

14.8
^

68.0
94.4

22.5
^

44.3
74.3

76.3
^

19.9
14.5

^
^

35.8 mos. 136.5 mos.
76.0
154.6

30.2 mos.
37.4

38.7 mos.
38.7

65.1 mos.
83.3

34.8 mos.
47.4

68.4 mos. 61.0 mos.
80.6
76.1

16.6 mos.
20.2

6.0 mos.
7.9

...
21.1 mos.
42.3
52.1
53.9
56.3
59.1
55.5
57.5
58.4
53.9
57.7

...
57.5 mos.
114.3
136.7
144.3
158.1
249.9
150.7
167.7
167.2
159.1
134.8

...
20.2 mos.
26.0
36.0
33.6
35.3
37.7
36.2
36.9
39.1
36.3
40.5

...
...
^
28.8 mos.
26.3 mos. 47.4
35.6
65.9
45.5
77.8
45.3
84.0
57.1
86.0
82.8
33.4
30.3
80.2
24.8
75.1
27.2
68.4
13.9
74.0

...
^
49.7 mos.
53.8
50.9
34.4
47.4
28.2
37.0
18.1
27.9
20.1

...
46.9 mos.
83.3
82.1
80.0
78.8
79.7
72.5
74.8
76.7
72.9
70.5

...
68.0 mos.
70.0
73.3
74.0
73.3
74.0
74.1
65.2
71.5
70.4
77.7

...
8.0 mos.
10.3
14.1
16.3
17.7
19.0
19.0
22.7
22.0
21.6
20.2

...
5.1 mos.
5.7
5.6
7.3
6.9
8.1
9.0
8.5
5.2
^
^

72.9 mos. 153.0 mos.
27.8
131.0

36.4 mos.
32.5

38.3 mos.
37.8

79.9 mos.
59.2

44.1 mos.
37.5

79.9 mos. 73.6 mos.
61.6
57.2

19.0 mos.
16.4

6.6 mos.
6.2

42.2 mos.
69.6
67.4
58.9

128.6 mos.
147.5
173.0
244.7

29.9 mos.
36.2
36.9
39.4

36.8 mos.
46.9
31.4
31.3

68.3 mos.
81.3
72.7
60.5

56.1 mos.
39.7
41.2
24.8

75.5 mos.
80.0
78.4
76.3

69.4 mos.
73.1
79.7
63.8

16.4 mos.
19.3
18.5
15.6

7.3 mos.
8.4
8.1
12.4

49.2 mos. 186.5 mos.
55.0
135.5

33.8 mos.
37.7

28.0 mos.
45.3

55.0 mos.
85.7

36.8 mos.
52.9

75.2 mos. 62.9 mos.
80.9
73.9

6.4 mos.
19.3

9.4 mos.
6.0

Note: Excludes life sentences and indeterminate sentences. Includes prison portion of split or mixed sentences.
...Not available. No cases of this type occurred.
^Too few cases to provide a reliable estimate.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Criminal Master File; U.S. Sentencing Commission, individual offender data
file; and Probation and Pretrial Services Automated Case Tracking System, fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

31

■

MAP 5.1
Percent of convicted drug defendants receiving a non-prison sentence, by federal judicial district of conviction, FY 2016

Percent of convicted drug defendants
receiving a non-prison sentence
□ 5.0% or fewer
■ 15.1%-20.0%
5.1%-10.0%
□
■ 20.1% or more
10.1%-15.0%
■
Note: Includes defendants convicted of a drug offense and receiving either a term of probation, a fine, or a suspended sentence.
Not shown: Guam (10.1-15.0%), Puerto Rico (10.1-15.0%), District of Columbia (20.1% or more), and U.S. Virgin Islands (20.1% or more).
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Criminal Master File, fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

32

■

Federal appeals
TABLE 6.1
Criminal appeals terminated, by type of criminal case and offense, FY 2016
Offense of conviction
All offenses
Violent offenses
Murder
Assault
Robbery
Sexual abuse
Kidnapping
Threats against the President
Property offenses
Fraudulent
Embezzlement
Fraud
Forgery
Counterfeiting
Other
Burglary
Larceny
Motor-vehicle theft
Arson/explosives
Transportation of stolen property
Other property offenses
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession/other drug offenses
Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Agriculture
Antitrust
Food/drug
Transportation
Civil rights
Communications
Customs laws
Postal laws
Other regulatory offenses
Other
Tax-law violations
Bribery
Perjury/contempt/intimidation
National defense
Escape
Racketeering/extortion
Gambling
Liquor offenses
Other sex offensesb
Traffic
Wildlife
Environmental
Other offenses
Weapons offenses
Immigration offenses

Total
11,379
667
62
115
173
278
36
3
1,376
1,188
32
1,091
7
58
188
5
110
4
42
21
6
4,524
4,519
5
1,157
121
0
1
5
16
30
2
8
1
58
1,036
52
14
103
16
38
341
1
1
360
1
8
2
99
1,568
1,335

Direct criminal
7,540
523
44
95
135
221
27
1
1,063
907
27
839
0
41
156
4
89
4
33
21
5
2,258
2,256
2
885
93
0
1
4
12
23
1
7
1
44
792
43
12
77
15
23
244
1
1
297
1
6
1
71
1,125
1,253

Number of criminal appeals terminated
Interlocutory Post-conviction
Othera
320
3,201
318
41
74
29
2
8
8
7
9
4
6
28
4
25
19
13
0
9
0
1
1
0
68
186
59
62
164
55
1
3
1
53
146
53
7
0
0
1
15
1
6
22
4
0
1
0
2
17
2
0
0
0
3
4
2
0
0
0
1
0
0
77
2,097
92
77
2,094
92
0
3
0
50
162
60
4
17
7
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
4
0
0
5
2
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
4
5
5
46
145
53
1
5
3
0
0
2
6
11
9
0
0
1
2
13
0
18
51
28
0
0
0
0
0
0
13
41
9
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
1
0
6
21
1
59
342
42
9
65
8

Note: Murder includes non-negligent manslaughter; sexual abuse includes only violent sex offenses; fraud excludes tax fraud; larceny excludes transportation of stolen
property; other property offenses excludes fraudulent property offenses and includes destruction of property and trespassing; tax-law violations includes tax fraud; and
other offenses includes unclassifiable offenses. Total includes 752 terminated for which an offense category could not be determined.
aIncludes federal guidelines cases where the sentence only is appealed or where the sentence and conviction are appealed. Includes criminal cases other than
guideline cases.
bExcludes sexual abuse. See Terms and definitions.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Court of Appeals, fiscal year 2016.

TABLE 6.2
Disposition of criminal appeals terminated, by offense, FY 2016
Offense of conviction
All offenses
Violent offenses
Murder
Assault
Robbery
Sexual abuse
Kidnapping
Threats against the President
Property offenses
Fraudulent
Embezzlement
Fraud
Forgery
Counterfeiting
Other
Burglary
Larceny
Motor-vehicle theft
Arson/explosives
Transportation of stolen property
Other property offenses
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession/other drug offenses
Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Agriculture
Antitrust
Food/drug
Transportation
Civil rights
Communications
Customs laws
Postal laws
Other regulatory offenses
Other
Tax-law violations
Bribery
Perjury/contempt/intimidation
National defense
Escape
Racketeering/extortion
Gambling
Liquor offenses
Other sex offenses*
Traffic
Wildlife
Environmental
Other offenses
Weapons offenses
Immigration offenses

Total criminal
appeals
terminated
11,379
667
62
115
173
278
36
3
1,376
1,188
32
1,091
7
58
188
5
110
4
42
21
6
4,524
4,519
5
1,157
121
0
1
5
16
30
2
8
1
58
1,036
52
14
103
16
38
341
1
1
360
1
8
2
99
1,568
1,335

Total
8,392
515
53
86
134
211
28
3
1,034
897
23
834
2
38
137
5
83
2
31
12
4
3,106
3,105
1
889
91
0
1
5
12
25
2
4
1
41
798
39
12
80
14
32
265
1
1
272
1
6
1
74
1,170
1,103

Percent
73.7%
77.2%
85.5
74.8
77.5
75.9
77.8
^
75.1%
75.5
71.9
76.4
^
65.5
72.9
^
75.5
^
73.8
57.1
^
68.7%
68.7
^
76.8%
75.2
...
^
^
75.0
83.3
^
^
^
70.7
77.0
75.0
85.7
77.7
87.5
84.2
77.7
^
^
75.6
^
^
^
74.7
74.6%
82.6%

Criminal appeals terminated on the merits
Remanded Partially
Affirmed or reversed affirmed Dismissed Other
5,752
786
365
1,473
16
375
39
30
71
0
35
2
8
8
0
66
9
2
9
0
107
12
5
10
0
143
15
12
41
0
21
1
3
3
0
3
0
0
0
0
724
97
65
144
4
631
86
60
116
4
18
3
1
1
0
589
75
57
109
4
2
0
0
0
0
22
8
2
6
0
93
11
5
28
0
3
2
0
0
0
57
5
1
20
0
1
1
0
0
0
21
3
0
7
0
7
0
4
1
0
4
0
0
0
0
2,174
257
107
564
4
2,173
257
107
564
4
1
0
0
0
0
630
79
67
110
3
66
3
10
12
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
5
0
0
0
0
10
0
2
0
0
19
0
6
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
2
0
1
0
0
0
0
26
3
2
10
0
564
76
57
98
3
30
5
1
3
0
10
0
0
2
0
52
5
11
12
0
12
0
1
0
1
25
4
3
0
0
192
20
23
29
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
183
25
15
48
1
1
0
0
0
0
2
3
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
55
13
3
3
0
807
169
63
128
3
621
80
13
388
1

Procedural
terminations
2,987
152
9
29
39
67
8
0
342
291
9
257
5
20
51
0
27
2
11
9
2
1,418
1,414
4
268
30
0
0
0
4
5
0
4
0
17
238
13
2
23
2
6
76
0
0
88
0
2
1
25
398
232

Note: Murder includes non-negligent manslaughter; sexual abuse includes only violent sex offenses; fraud excludes tax fraud; larceny excludes transportation of stolen
property; other property offenses excludes fraudulent property offenses and includes destruction of property and trespassing; tax-law violations includes tax fraud; and
other offenses includes unclassifiable offenses. Total includes 752 appeals terminated for which an offense category could not be determined.
...Not available. No cases of this type occurred.
^Too few cases to provide a reliable estimate.
*Excludes sexual abuse. See Terms and definitions.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Court of Appeals, fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

34

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Section 3: Federal corrections and supervision
Federal supervision, probation, and parole

TABLE 7.1
Offenders under federal supervision, by offense and type of supervision, FY 2016
Most serious offense
All offensesa
Feloniesb
Violent offenses
Murder
Assault
Robbery
Sexual abuse
Kidnapping
Threats against the President
Property offenses
Fraudulent
Embezzlement
Fraud
Forgery
Counterfeiting
Other
Burglary
Larceny
Motor-vehicle theft
Arson/explosives
Transportation of stolen property
Other property offenses
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession/other drug offenses
Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Agriculture
Antitrust
Food/drug
Transportation
Civil rights
Communications
Customs laws
Postal laws
Other regulatory offenses
Other
Tax-law violations
Bribery
Perjury/contempt/intimidation
National defense
Escape
Racketeering/extortion
Gambling
Other sex offensesc
Wildlife

Total offenders
under supervision
Number Percent
134,908
100%
130,559
96.9%
6,051
4.5
771
0.6
917
0.7
2,848
2.1
1,331
1.0
142
0.1
42
<0.1
25,197
18.7
21,240
15.8
1,196
0.9
18,687
13.9
32
<0.1
1,325
1.0
3,957
2.9
106
0.1
2,986
2.2
244
0.2
326
0.2
234
0.2
61
<0.1
65,005
48.2
47,933
35.6
17,072
12.7
13,970
10.4
1,737
1.3
3
<0.1
25
<0.1
86
0.1
169
0.1
100
0.1
40
<0.1
200
0.1
59
<0.1
1,055
0.8
12,233
9.1
994
0.7
272
0.2
286
0.2
182
0.1
242
0.2
2,161
1.6
35
<0.1
7,589
5.6
74
0.1

Probation
Number Percent
17,937
100%
14,007
78.3%
323
1.8
34
0.2
120
0.7
80
0.4
69
0.4
6
<0.1
14
0.1
7,030
39.3
5,249
29.3
461
2.6
4,495
25.1
11
0.1
282
1.6
1,781
10.0
13
0.1
1,630
9.1
17
0.1
35
0.2
56
0.3
30
0.2
2,784
15.6
2,139
12.0
645
3.6
2,262
12.6
824
4.6
0
...
19
0.1
53
0.3
83
0.5
22
0.1
20
0.1
60
0.3
41
0.2
526
2.9
1,438
8.0
466
2.6
87
0.5
71
0.4
44
0.2
28
0.2
317
1.8
25
0.1
151
0.8
48
0.3

Type of supervision
Supervised release
Number Percent
115,843
100%
115,426
99.7%
5,018
4.3
427
0.4
739
0.6
2,604
2.2
1,114
1.0
106
0.1
28
<0.1
18,106
15.6
15,972
13.8
735
0.6
14,177
12.2
19
<0.1
1,041
0.9
2,134
1.8
77
0.1
1,341
1.2
220
0.2
0.2
287
178
0.2
31
<0.1
62,042
53.6
45,655
39.4
16,387
14.2
11,593
10.0
902
0.8
3
<0.1
6
<0.1
33
<0.1
85
0.1
71
0.1
20
<0.1
140
0.1
18
<0.1
526
0.5
10,691
9.2
527
0.5
185
0.2
214
0.2
131
0.1
212
0.2
1,821
1.6
10
<0.1
7,373
6.4
25
<0.1

Parole
Number Percent
1,128
100%
1,126
100%
710
63.1
310
27.5
58
5.2
164
14.6
148
13.1
30
2.7
0
...
61
5.4
19
1.7
0
...
15
1.3
2
<0.1
2
<0.1
42
3.7
16
1.4
15
1.3
7
<0.1
4
<0.1
0
...
0
...
179
15.9
139
12.3
40
3.6
115
10.2
11
1.0
0
...
0
...
0
...
1
<0.1
<0.1
7
0
...
0
...
0
...
3
<0.1
104
9.2
1
<0.1
0
...
1
<0.1
7
<0.1
2
<0.1
23
2.0
0
...
65
5.8
1
<0.1

Continued on next page
Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

35

■

TABLE 7.1 (continued)
Offenders under federal supervision, by offense and type of supervision, FY 2016
Most serious offense
Environmental
All other felonies
Weapons offenses
Immigration offenses
Misdemeanors
Fraudulent property offenses
Larceny
Drug possession
Immigration misdemeanors
Traffic
Other misdemeanors

Total offenders
under supervision
Number Percent
46
<0.1
352
0.3
16,787
12.5
3,549
2.6
4,208
3.1%
306
0.2
559
0.4
629
0.5
129
0.1
1,403
1.0
1,182
0.9

Probation
Number Percent
27
0.2
174
1.0
865
4.8
743
4.2
3,881
21.7%
293
1.6
522
2.9
577
3.2
124
0.7
1,367
7.6
998
5.6

Type of supervision
Supervised release
Number Percent
19
<0.1
174
0.2
15,865
13.7
2,802
2.4
327
0.3%
13
<0.1
37
<0.1
52
<0.1
5
<0.1
36
<0.1
184
0.2

Parole
Number Percent
0
...
4
<0.1
57
5.1
4
<0.1
0
...
0
...
0
...
0
...
0
...
0
...
0
...

Note: Federal offender populations are shown as of September 30, 2016. Murder includes non-negligent manslaughter; sexual abuse includes only violent sex offenses;
fraud excludes tax fraud; larceny excludes transportation of stolen property; other property offenses excludes fraudulent property offenses and includes destruction of
property and trespassing; tax-law violations includes tax fraud; other felonies and other misdemeanors include unclassifiable offenses; and drug possession includes
other drug misdemeanors.
...Not available. No cases of this type occurred.
aTotal includes offenders whose offense category could not be determined.
bAn offense category could not be determined for 141 felony offenders, including 49 offenders under probation, 90 under supervised release, and 2 under parole.
cExcludes sexual abuse. See Terms and definitions.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Probation and Pretrial Services Automated Case Tracking System,
fiscal year-end 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

36

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MAP 7.1
Percent of total drug offenders in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, by federal judicial district of adjudication, FY 2016

Percent of federal drug offenders in
the BOP, by district of adjudication
□ Fewer than 0.5% ■ 2.1%-4.0%
□ 0.5%-1.0%
■ 4.1% or more
1.1%-2.0%
■
Note: Federal offender populations are shown as of September 30, 2016.
Not shown: Guam (fewer than 0.5%), Puerto Rico (2.1-4.0%), District of Columbia (0.5-1.0%), U.S. Virgin Islands (fewer than 0.5%), and Northern Mariana Islands (fewer
than 0.5%).
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, SENTRY database, fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

37

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TABLE 7.2
Demographic characteristics of offenders under federal supervision, FY 2016
Offender characteristic
All offenders*
Sex
Male
Female
Race
White
Black/African American
American Indian/Alaska Native
Asian/Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander
Two or more races
Ethnicity
Hispanic
Non-Hispanic
Age
17 or younger
18-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-59
60-64
65 or older

Total offenders
under supervision
Number Percent
134,908
100%

Probation
Number Percent
17,937
100%

Supervised release
Number Percent
115,843
100%

Parole
Number Percent
1,128
100%

111,346
23,304

82.7%
17.3

11,101
6,580

62.8%
37.2

99,140
16,701

85.6%
14.4

1,105
23

98.0%
2.0

76,841
49,734
3,112
3,124
716

57.5%
37.2
2.3
2.3
0.5

11,218
4,825
495
686
188

64.4%
27.7
2.8
3.9
1.1

65,168
44,307
2,595
2,432
525

56.7%
38.5
2.3
2.1
0.5

455
602
22
6
3

41.8%
55.3
2.0
<0.1
<0.1

32,223
100,412

24.3%
75.7

3,383
13,816

19.7%
80.3

28,719
85,628

25.1%
74.9

121
968

11.1%
88.9

77
460
7,686
16,328
22,499
23,454
19,624
14,980
11,745
7,967
5,019
4,818

0.1%
0.3
5.7
12.1
16.7
17.4
14.6
11.1
8.7
5.9
3.7
3.6

73
282
1,814
2,312
2,320
2,201
2,028
1,802
1,679
1,243
921
1,013

0.4%
1.6
10.3
13.1
13.1
12.4
11.5
10.2
9.5
7.0
5.2
5.7

4
178
5,845
13,938
20,076
21,135
17,421
13,033
9,916
6,591
4,004
3,701

<0.1%
0.2
5.0
12.0
17.3
18.2
15.0
11.3
8.6
5.7
3.5
3.2

0
0
27
78
103
118
175
145
150
133
94
104

...
...
2.4%
6.9
9.1
10.5
15.5
12.9
13.3
11.8
8.3
9.2

Note: Federal offender populations are shown as of September 30, 2016.
...Not available. No cases of this type occurred.
*Total includes offenders whose offense characteristics could not be determined. Data were missing for the following: sex (258), race (1,381), ethnicity (2,273), and
age (251).
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Probation and Pretrial Services Automated Case Tracking System,
fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

38

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TABLE 7.3
Outcomes of offenders terminating probation supervision, by offense, FY 2016
Most serious offense
All offenses
Felonies
Violent offenses
Murder
Assault
Robbery
Sexual abuse
Kidnapping
Threats against the President
Property offenses
Fraudulent
Embezzlement
Fraud
Forgery
Counterfeiting
Other
Burglary
Larceny
Motor-vehicle theft
Arson/explosives
Transportation of stolen property
Other property offenses
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession/other drug offenses
Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Agriculture
Antitrust
Food/drug
Transportation
Civil rights
Communications
Customs laws
Postal laws
Other regulatory offenses
Other
Tax-law violations
Bribery
Perjury/contempt/intimidation
National defense
Escape
Racketeering/extortion
Gambling
Other sex offensesc
Wildlife
Environmental
All other felonies
Weapons offenses
Immigration offenses

Number of
probation
terminations
9,951
6,385
133
16
57
25
29
4
2
2,973
2,357
204
1,948
12
193
616
6
553
1
23
24
9
1,500
1,165
335
987
427
2
5
32
39
9
10
22
21
287
560
176
42
32
20
8
121
14
66
15
16
50
455
337

Percent of probation supervisions terminating with—
Technical violationsa
Administrative
No violation Drug use Fugitive status Other New crimeb case closures
89.2%
0.3%
0.5%
0.8%
0.9%
8.3%
88.4%
0.3%
0.5%
0.6%
1.0%
9.3%
68.3
...
3.0
3.0
3.0
22.8
46.2
...
...
7.7
7.7
38.5
75.0
...
7.5
...
5.0
12.5
69.6
...
...
...
...
30.4
75.0
...
...
5.0
...
20.0
^
...
...
^
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
^
92.4
0.1
0.2
0.5
0.6
6.2
92.7
<0.1
0.1
0.4
0.6
6.1
93.8
...
1.0
0.5
1.0
3.6
92.8
0.1
0.1
0.3
0.5
6.3
100
...
...
...
...
...
90.1
...
...
1.9
0.6
7.5
90.9
0.2
0.4
0.9
0.9
6.7
^
...
^
...
...
^
92.1
0.2
0.2
0.8
0.8
5.9
^
...
...
...
...
...
72.2
...
...
5.6
5.6
16.7
83.3
...
...
...
...
16.7
^
...
...
...
...
...
82.3
0.1
0.7
0.5
0.8
15.6
81.8
0.2
0.7
0.6
1.0
15.7
83.8
...
0.6
0.3
...
15.2
93.1
0.5
0.2
0.5
0.5
5.1
95.6
0.5
...
0.7
0.5
2.7
^
...
...
...
...
...
^
...
...
...
...
...
96.7
...
...
3.3
...
...
94.1
...
...
2.9
...
2.9
^
...
...
...
...
^
^
...
...
...
...
^
95.2
...
...
...
...
4.8
95.2
4.8
...
...
...
...
96.3
0.4
...
0.4
0.7
2.2
91.2
0.6
0.4
0.4
0.6
6.9
94.9
...
...
...
...
5.1
92.9
...
...
...
...
7.1
86.2
3.4
...
...
...
10.3
94.4
...
...
...
...
5.6
^
^
...
...
^
...
91.5
...
...
0.8
0.8
6.8
100
...
...
...
...
...
81.4
...
3.4
1.7
...
13.6
100
...
...
...
...
...
100
...
...
...
...
...
83.3
2.4
...
...
2.4
11.9
79.9
0.7
0.2
...
1.9
17.2
83.4
1.7
2.1
2.8
4.2
5.9

Continued on next page

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

39

■

TABLE 7.3 (continued)
Outcomes of offenders terminating probation supervision, by offense, FY 2016
Most serious offense
Misdemeanors
Fraudulent property offenses
Larceny
Drug possession
Immigration misdemeanors
Traffic
Other misdemeanors

Number of
probation
terminations
3,525
171
367
588
73
1,456
870

Percent of probation supervisions terminating with—
Technical violationsa
Administrative
No violation Drug use Fugitive status Other New crimeb case closures
90.8%
0.4%
0.5%
1.0%
0.9%
6.4%
98.8
...
0.6
...
...
0.6
90.4
0.3
0.6
2.2
1.2
5.3
86.2
0.8
0.4
1.4
0.4
10.8
90.3
...
3.2
1.6
...
4.8
91.4
0.2
0.6
0.8
0.8
6.2
91.2
0.6
0.1
1.0
1.3
5.8

Note: Murder includes non-negligent manslaughter; sexual abuse includes only violent sex offenses; fraud excludes tax fraud; larceny excludes transportation of stolen
property; other property offenses excludes fraudulent property offenses and includes destruction of property and trespassing; tax-law violations includes tax fraud;
other felonies and other misdemeanors include unclassifiable offenses; and drug possession includes other drug misdemeanors. Details may not sum to totals due to
rounding. Offenses for 41 offenders could not be classified.
...Not available. No cases of this type occurred.
^Too few cases to provide a reliable estimate.
aSupervision terminated with incarceration or removal to inactive status for violation of supervision conditions other than charges for new offenses.
bSupervision terminated with incarceration or removal to inactive status after arrest for a new major or minor offense.
cExcludes sexual abuse. See Terms and definitions.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Probation and Pretrial Services Automated Case Tracking System,
fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

40

■

TABLE 7.4
Outcomes of offenders terminating probation supervision, by offender defender characteristics, FY 2016

Offender characteristic
All offendersb
Sex
Male
Female
Race
White
Black/African American
American Indian/Alaska Native
Asian/Native Hawaiian/Other
Pacific Islander
Two or more races
Ethnicity
Hispanic
Non-Hispanic
Age
17 or younger
18-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-59
60-64
65 or older

Number of
probation
terminations
9,951

No violation
89.2%

Percent terminating probation with—
Technical violationsa
Fugitive
Drug use status
Other New crime
0.3%
0.5%
0.8%
0.9%

Administrative
case closures
8.3%

6,539
3,299

87.5%
92.3

0.3%
0.4

0.5%
0.4

0.8%
0.6

1.1%
0.6

9.7%
5.6

6,322
2,578
325

89.7%
89.4
69.0

0.4%
0.2
0.8

0.4%
0.4
3.3

0.7%
0.8
4.1

0.8%
1.1
3.3

8.0%
8.1
19.6

...
...

...
...

...
...

...
...

6.9
8.3

330
106

93.1
91.7

1,809
7,709

87.7%
89.5

0.7%
0.2

1.0%
0.4

1.1%
0.7

1.5%
0.8

8.0%
8.4

12
75
889
1,281
1,248
1,173
1,080
955
898
686
488
624

81.8%
86.4
93.3
94.4
93.7
91.8
92.9
92.1
93.1
91.8
91.9
93.3

...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...

...
...
...
0.1%
0.1
...
...
...
...
...
...
...

...
...
0.1%
0.1
...
...
0.1
...
...
...
...
...

...
...
...
0.1%
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...

18.2%
13.6
6.6
5.3
6.2
8.2
7.0
7.9
6.9
8.2
8.1
6.7

Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. Data were missing for the following: sex (113), race (290), ethnicity (433), and age (542).
...Not available. No cases of this type occurred.
^Too few cases to provide a reliable estimate.
aViolation of supervision conditions other than charges for new offenses.
bTotal includes offenders whose characteristics could not be determined.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Probation and Pretrial Services Automated Case Tracking System,
fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

41

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TABLE 7.5
Outcomes of offenders terminating supervised release, by offense, FY 2016

Most serious offense
All offenses
Felonies
Violent offenses
Murder
Assault
Robbery
Sexual abuse
Kidnapping
Threats against the President
Property offenses
Fraudulent
Embezzlement
Fraud
Forgery
Counterfeiting
Other
Burglary
Larceny
Motor-vehicle theft
Arson/explosives
Transportation of stolen property
Other property offenses
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession/other drug offenses
Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Agriculture
Antitrust
Food/drug
Transportation
Civil rights
Communications
Customs laws
Postal laws
Other regulatory offenses
Other
Tax-law violations
Bribery
Perjury/contempt/intimidation
National defense
Escape
Racketeering/extortion
Gambling
Other sex offensesc
Wildlife
Environmental
All other felonies
Weapons offenses
Immigration offenses

Number of
Percent of supervised releases terminating with—
supervised
Technical violationsa
release
Administrative
terminations No violation Drug use Fugitive status Other New crimeb case closures
48,399
73.2%
1.9%
2.1%
2.6%
5.3%
14.7%
47,855
73.1%
1.9%
2.2%
2.6%
5.4%
14.8%
2,956
60.6
2.8
5.3
5.2
7.9
18.3
280
55.0
1.7
6.7
6.7
9.4
20.6
656
55.9
2.9
8.2
7.1
7.4
18.5
1,543
62.9
3.3
3.7
3.2
8.2
18.8
414
59.4
2.0
6.8
10.0
7.2
14.7
42
75.8
...
...
6.1
3.0
15.2
21
64.7
...
11.8
5.9
...
17.6
8,205
83.9
1.0
1.4
1.2
2.3
10.2
6,996
85.2
0.8
1.2
1.0
2.1
9.8
315
91.9
...
...
0.3
1.0
6.8
5,958
86.3
0.6
1.1
0.9
1.7
9.3
15
90.0
...
...
...
...
10.0
708
69.0
3.2
3.2
1.8
6.7
16.0
1,209
75.6
2.6
2.5
2.6
3.4
13.1
73
64.3
4.8
2.4
4.8
11.9
11.9
735
77.5
2.5
2.9
1.4
2.5
13.2
124
68.1
3.3
3.3
5.5
5.5
14.3
165
72.5
2.5
0.8
4.2
4.2
15.8
85
86.8
...
1.3
2.6
2.6
6.6
27
55.6
11.1
5.6
11.1
...
16.7
22,488
75.8
1.9
1.6
2.0
5.0
13.7
17,297
75.9
2.0
1.7
2.0
5.1
13.2
5,191
75.3
1.5
1.4
2.0
4.8
15.0
3,799
71.8
1.3
2.6
4.7
4.1
15.6
523
87.5
1.5
1.0
1.0
2.7
6.3
0
...
...
...
...
...
...
5
^
...
...
...
...
...
23
85.7
...
...
...
4.8
9.5
45
88.4
2.3
...
2.3
...
7.0
46
93.3
2.2
...
...
...
4.4
16
86.7
...
...
...
6.7
6.7
58
80.4
5.9
...
...
7.8
5.9
5
^
...
...
...
...
...
325
87.4
0.7
1.7
1.4
2.4
6.5
3,276
68.6
1.2
2.9
5.4
4.3
17.5
307
95.9
...
0.3
...
...
3.7
80
96.2
...
...
...
...
3.8
114
81.3
...
...
3.3
2.2
13.2
67
85.7
1.8
...
...
3.6
8.9
221
41.1
3.9
9.3
14.0
7.0
24.8
796
77.2
1.4
1.4
3.9
2.9
13.3
6
^
...
...
...
...
...
1,542
52.6
1.0
4.4
8.4
7.2
26.5
12
88.9
...
...
...
...
11.1
15
86.7
...
...
...
...
13.3
116
70.3
5.5
5.5
2.2
3.3
13.2
8,273
61.5
2.6
2.8
4.1
9.8
19.1
2,134
55.9
4.3
4.6
4.0
5.6
25.6

Continued on next page

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

42

■

TABLE 7.5 (continued)
Outcomes of offenders terminating supervised release, by offense, FY 2016

Most serious offense
Misdemeanors
Fraudulent property offenses
Larceny
Drug possession
Immigration misdemeanors
Traffic
Other misdemeanors

Number of
Percent of supervised releases terminating with—
supervised
Technical violationsa
release
Administrative
terminations No violation Drug use Fugitive status Other New crimeb case closures
482
84.9%
0.5%
1.6%
3.0%
1.6%
8.2%
38
85.3
...
...
...
...
14.7
51
76.2
2.4
7.1
2.4
4.8
7.1
98
86.3
1.4
...
2.7
...
9.6
3
^
...
...
...
...
...
60
85.7
...
...
4.8
...
9.5
232
86.0
...
1.8
3.5
2.3
6.4

Note: Murder includes non-negligent manslaughter; sexual abuse includes only violent sex offenses; fraud excludes tax fraud; larceny excludes transportation of stolen
property; other property offenses excludes fraudulent property offenses and includes destruction of property and trespassing; tax-law violations includes tax fraud;
other felonies and other misdemeanors include unclassifiable offenses; and drug possession includes other drug misdemeanors. Details may not sum to totals due to
rounding. Offenses for 62 offenders could not be classified.
...Not available. No cases of this type occurred.
^Too few cases to provide a reliable estimate.
aSupervision terminated with incarceration or removal to inactive status for violation of supervision conditions other than charges for new offenses.
bSupervision terminated with incarceration or removal to inactive status after arrest for a new major or minor offense.
cExcludes sexual abuse. See Terms and definitions.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Probation and Pretrial Services Automated Case Tracking System,
fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

43

■

TABLE 7.6
Outcomes of offenders terminating supervised release, by offender demographic characteristics, FY 2016
Offender characteristic
All offendersc
Sex
Male
Female
Race
White
Black/African American
American Indian/Alaska Native
Asian/Native Hawaiian/Other
Pacific Islander
Two or more races
Ethnicity
Hispanic
Non-Hispanic
Age
17 or younger
18-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-59
60-64
65 or older

Percent terminating supervised release with—
Technical violationsa
Administrative
No violation Drug use Fugitive status Other New crimeb case closures
73.2%
1.9%
2.1%
2.6%
5.3%
14.7%

Number of
released
terminations
48,399

Total
100%

41,274
7,125

100%
100%

71.2%
84.4

2.0%
1.6

2.2%
1.7

2.8%
1.6

6.0%
1.9

15.8%
8.8

27,187
17,484
2,195

100%
100%
100%

74.7%
72.2
51.4

2.2%
1.3
4.0

1.9%
1.9
9.3

2.4%
2.5
9.4

4.2%
7.1
8.9

14.5%
15.1
17.0

1,026
192

100%
100%

83.6
82.1

1.7
1.2

1.2
1.7

1.7
0.6

1.2
2.3

10.7
12.1

11,838
35,954

100%
100%

69.2%
74.6

2.8%
1.6

2.6%
2.0

2.9%
2.5

5.0%
5.5

17.5%
13.7

2
19
1,457
4,749
6,797
7,650
6,254
4,946
3,814
2,616
1,644
1,661

100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%

^
20.0%
71.3
83.3
86.0
89.0
90.2
91.0
90.6
91.4
90.5
87.6

...
...
0.3%
0.1
<0.1
0.1
<0.1
0.1
...
...
...
...

...
...
...
0.2%
0.3
0.1
0.1
0.2
0.1
<0.1
0.1
0.1

...
...
0.4%
0.1
0.1
0.2
0.2
0.1
<0.1
0.1
0.1
...

...
...
0.9%
0.5
0.6
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.1
0.1
...

...
80.0%
27.1
15.8
13.0
10.4
9.3
8.5
9.1
8.3
9.1
12.3

Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. Data were missing for the following: race (315), ethnicity (607), and age (6,790).
...Not available. No cases of this type occurred.
aSupervision terminated with incarceration or removal to inactive status for violation of supervision conditions other than charges for new offenses.
bSupervision terminated with incarceration or removal to inactive status after arrest for a new major or minor offense.
cTotal includes offenders whose characteristics could not be determined.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Probation and Pretrial Services Automated Case Tracking System, fiscal
year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

44

■

TABLE 7.7
Outcomes of offenders terminating parole, by offense, FY 2016

Most serious offense
All offenses
Felonies
Violent offenses
Murder
Assault
Robbery
Sexual abuse
Kidnapping
Threats against the President
Property offenses
Fraudulent
Embezzlement
Fraud
Forgery
Counterfeiting
Other
Burglary
Larceny
Motor-vehicle theft
Arson/explosives
Transportation of stolen
property
Other property offenses
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession/other drug offenses
Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Agriculture
Antitrust
Food/drug
Transportation
Civil rights
Communications
Customs laws
Postal laws
Other regulatory offenses
Other
Tax-law violations
Bribery
Perjury/contempt/
intimidation
National defense
Escape
Racketeering/extortion
Gambling
Other sex offensesc
Wildlife
Environmental

Percent of parolees terminating with—
Technical violationsa
Fugitive
Administrative
Drug use status
Other
New crimeb case closures
2.0%
1.7%
3.2%
4.2%
15.2%
2.0%
1.7%
3.2%
4.2%
15.2%
1.8
2.6
2.6
6.1
16.2
3.1
4.6
1.5
9.2
21.5
...
...
...
...
16.7
3.5
5.3
7.0
8.8
10.5
...
...
1.4
4.3
11.4
...
...
...
...
41.7
...
...
...
...
...
3.4
...
13.8
3.4
13.8
7.7
...
15.4
...
7.7
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
^
...
^
...
...
...
...
...
^
...
...
...
...
...
...
12.5
6.3
18.8
...
...
^
^
^
...
...
10.0
...
10.0
...
...
...
...
^
...
...
...
...
...

Number
of parole
terminations
439
438
242
68
25
59
77
13
0
33
13
0
10
0
3
20
5
12
2
1

Total
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%

No violation
73.8%
73.8%
70.6
60.0
83.3
64.9
82.9
58.3
...
65.5
69.2
...
^
...
^
62.5
^
80.0
...
...

0
0
74
61
13
57
2
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
55
0
1

100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%

...
...
84.5
82.8
92.3
85.5
^
...
...
...
^
...
...
...
...
...
86.8
...
^

...
...
...
...
...
1.8
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
1.9
...
...

...
...
...
...
...
1.8
^
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
^
...
...
...
...

...
...
...
...
...
1.8
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
1.9
...
...

...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...

...
...
15.5
17.2
7.7
9.1
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
9.4
...
...

0
2
1
10
0
41
0
0

100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%

...
^
^
^
...
90.2
...
...

...
...
...
^
...
...
...
...

...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...

...
...
...
...
...
2.4
...
...

...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...

...
^
...
^
...
7.3
...
...

Continued on next page
Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

45

■

TABLE 7.7 (continued)
Outcomes of offenders terminating parole, by offense, FY 2016

Most serious offense
All other felonies
Weapons offenses
Immigration offenses
Misdemeanors
Fraudulent property offenses
Larceny
Drug possession
Immigration misdemeanors
Traffic
Other misdemeanors

Number
of parole
terminations
0
32
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1

Total
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%

No violation
...
56.0
...
^
...
...
...
...
...
^

Percent of parolees terminating with—
Technical violationsa
Fugitive
Administrative
Drug use status
Other
New crimeb case closures
...
...
...
...
...
8.0
...
8.0
8.0
20.0
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...

Note: Murder includes non-negligent manslaughter; sexual abuse includes only violent sex offenses; fraud excludes tax fraud; larceny excludes transportation of stolen
property; other property offenses excludes fraudulent property offenses and includes destruction of property and trespassing; tax-law violations includes tax fraud;
other felonies and other misdemeanors include unclassifiable offenses; and drug possession includes other drug misdemeanors. Details may not sum to totals due
to rounding.
...Not available. No cases of this type occurred.
^Too few cases to provide a reliable estimate.
aSupervision terminated with incarceration or removal to inactive status for violation of supervision conditions other than charges for new offenses.
bSupervision terminated with incarceration or removal to inactive status after arrest for a new major or minor offense.
cExcludes sexual abuse. See Terms and definitions.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Probation and Pretrial Services Automated Case Tracking System,
fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

46

■

TABLE 7.8
Outcomes of offenders terminating parole, by offender demographic characteristics, FY 2016
Offender characteristic
All offendersc
Sex
Male
Female
Race
White
Black/African American
American Indian/Alaska Native
Asian/Native Hawaiian/Other
Pacific Islander
Two or more races
Ethnicity
Hispanic
Non-Hispanic
Age
17 or younger
18-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-59
60-64
65 or older

Number
of parole
terminations Total No violation
439
100%
73.8%

Percent terminating parole with—
Technical violationsa
Drug use Fugitive status Other
New crimeb
2.0%
1.7%
3.2%
4.2%

Administrative
case closures
15.2%

429
10

100%
100%

73.3%
^

2.0%
...

1.7%
...

3.2%
...

4.2%
...

15.5%
...

190
217
8

100%
100%
100%

78.8%
70.4
...

1.7%
2.0
^

1.1%
1.5
^

3.4%
3.0
^

0.6%
7.0
^

14.5%
16.1
^

5
1

100%
100%

^
^

...
...

...
...

...
...

...
...

...
...

41
384

100%
100%

82.1%
72.5

2.6%
2.0

...
2.0%

...
3.7%

2.6%
4.2

12.8%
15.7

0
0
19
37
44
27
30
35
29
48
38
67

100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%

...
...
94.7%
97.1
95.1
87.5
92.9
86.2
80.8
88.9
70.6
76.2

...
...
...
...
...
...
...
3.4%
...
...
...
...

...
...
...
...
...
...
...
3.4%
...
...
...
...

...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...

...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
3.8%
...
2.9
...

...
...
5.3%
2.9
4.9
12.5
7.1
6.9
15.4
11.1
26.5
23.8

Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. Data were missing for the following: race (18), ethnicity (14), and age (65).
...Not available. No cases of this type occurred.
^Too few cases to provide a reliable estimate.
aViolation of supervision conditions other than charges for new offenses.
bSupervision terminated with incarceration or removal to inactive status after arrest for a new major or minor offense.
cTotal includes offenders whose characteristics could not be determined.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Probation and Pretrial Services Automated Case Tracking System,
fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

47

■

Federal imprisonment
TABLE 8.1
Admissions and releases of federal prisoners, by offense, FY 2016

Most serious offense
All prisoners
Violent offenses
Murder/manslaughter
Assault
Robbery
Sexual abuse
Kidnapping
Threats against the President
Property offenses
Fraudulent
Embezzlement
Fraud
Forgery
Counterfeiting
Other
Burglary
Larceny
Motor-vehicle theft
Arson/explosives
Transportation of stolen
property
Other property offenses
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession/other drug offenses
Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Tax-law violations
Bribery
Perjury/contempt/
intimidation
National defense
Escape
Racketeering/extortion
Gambling
Liquor
Other sex offensesb
Traffic
Wildlife
Environmental
All other offenses
Weapons offenses
Immigration offenses

Prisoners admitted
Population to district court
at start
1 year
More than
of year
or less 1 year
190,285
10,541
41,075
10,955
89
1,460
1,357
3
102
1,219
65
408
6,381
13
721
1,159
7
170
800
1
49
39
0
10
12,045
835
3,814
10,278
666
3,283
132
23
54
9,639
602
3,081
65
6
31
442
35
117
1,767
169
531
163
4
35
781
138
306
79
10
16
165
0
22

All
othera
10,713
1,092
97
327
491
160
12
5
1,255
900
16
673
37
174
355
54
180
21
20

First release
1 year More than
or less 1 year
12,247
54,457
112
1,657
3
85
86
388
16
966
6
160
0
48
1
10
1,008
4,474
805
3,864
21
67
734
3,593
8
23
42
181
203
610
7
38
159
327
10
21
1
35

All
othera
11,452
1,140
102
313
571
130
12
12
1,423
1,025
13
786
30
196
398
60
206
30
17

Population Net
at end
population
of year
change
174,458
-15,827
10,687
-268
1,369
12
1,232
13
6,053
-328
1,200
41
802
2
31
-8
11,044
-1,001
9,433
-845
124
-8
8,882
-757
78
13
349
-93
1,611
-156
151
-12
713
-68
65
-14
154
-11

92
487
94,163
93,626
537
23,081
3,066
20,015
491
74

7
10
1,710
507
1,203
477
144
333
68
12

32
120
16,136
16,129
7
5,689
1,074
4,615
164
33

7
73
4,282
4,237
45
1,130
182
948
13
6

12
14
2,011
606
1,405
584
169
415
80
10

37
152
26,516
26,504
12
4,559
1,050
3,509
219
34

7
78
4,551
4,504
47
1,158
190
968
22
4

82
446
83,213
82,885
328
24,076
3,057
21,019
415
77

-10
-41
-10,950
-10,741
-209
995
-9
1,004
-76
3

81
213
50
6,486
0
1
11,870
63
7
8
671
30,696
18,311

10
3
60
49
0
0
17
65
3
6
40
173
7,168

31
40
323
1,281
0
1
2,404
4
2
7
325
5,773
7,986

13
7
128
188
0
0
279
27
2
1
284
2,135
743

17
1
63
62
0
0
27
98
7
8
42
170
8,244

37
34
110
1,267
0
0
1,452
4
2
2
348
7,241
9,730

11
5
128
204
0
0
275
40
2
1
276
2,277
805

70
223
260
6,471
0
2
12,816
17
3
11
654
29,089
15,429

-11
10
210
-15
0
1
946
-46
-4
3
-17
-1,607
-2,882

Note: An offense category could not be determined for 382 prisoners admitted in fiscal year 2016, 496 prisoners released in fiscal year 2016, 1,034 prisoners at
the start of fiscal year 2016, and 920 prisoners at the end of fiscal year 2016. Murder includes non-negligent manslaughter; sexual abuse includes only violent sex
offenses; fraud excludes tax fraud; larceny excludes transportation of stolen property; other property offenses excludes fraudulent property offenses and includes
destruction of property and trespassing; tax-law violations includes tax fraud; and all other offenses includes unclassifiable offenses.
aIncludes individuals who had a missing sentence or an admission code of other than U.S. district court commitment.
bExcludes sexual abuse. See Terms and definitions.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, SENTRY database, fiscal year 2016.

TABLE 8.2
Demographic characteristics of offenders in the federal prison
population, FY 2016
Offender characteristic
All prisoners
Sex
Male
Female
Race
White
Black/African American
American Indian/Alaska Native
Asian/Native Hawaiian/Other
Pacific Islander
Ethnicity
Hispanic
Non-Hispanic
Age
17 or younger
18-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-59
60-64
65 or older
Citizenship
U.S. citizen
Non-U.S. citizen

Number
174,458

Percent
100%

162,554
11,904

93.2%
6.8

104,541
63,882
3,583

59.9%
36.6
2.1

2,452

1.4

58,613
115,845

33.6%
66.4

2
247
6,807
19,538
29,025
33,588
28,250
21,216
15,064
9,894
5,635
5,192

<0.1%
0.1
3.9
11.2
16.6
19.3
16.2
12.2
8.6
5.7
3.2
3.0

137,127
37,313

78.6%
21.4

Note: Federal offender populations are shown as of September 30, 2016. Includes
only the prison populations for whom characteristics are known. Details may not
sum to totals due to rounding. Citizenship was missing for 18 offenders.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Federal Bureau of
Prisons, SENTRY database, fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

49

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TABLE 8.3
Average time to first release and percent of sentence served for federal prisoners released by standard methods, FY 2016
Most serious original offense of conviction
All prisonersb
Violent offenses
Murder
Assault
Robbery
Sexual abuse
Kidnapping
Threats against the President
Property offenses
Fraudulent
Embezzlement
Fraud
Forgery
Counterfeiting
Other
Burglary
Larceny
Motor-vehicle theft
Arson/explosives
Transportation of stolen property
Other property offenses
Drug offenses
Trafficking
Possession/other drug offenses
Public-order offenses
Regulatory
Other
Tax-law violations
Bribery
Perjury
National defense
Escape
Racketeering/extortion
Gambling
Liquor offenses
Other sex offensesc
Traffic
Wildlife
Environmental
All other offenses
Weapons offenses
Immigration offenses

Number of
prisoners releaseda
60,433
1,722
85
470
949
163
45
10
4,886
4,115
83
3,794
27
211
771
43
455
28
34
47
164
23,794
22,377
1,417
4,673
1,066
3,607
285
42
52
33
172
1,205
0
0
1,313
102
9
10
384
7,065
17,917

Mean time served
49.6 mos.
77.2 mos.
95.8
33.8
93.4
84.1
136.6
^
27.2 mos.
27.2
18.2
27.6
29.5
24.4
26.7
32.1
18.0
28.7
58.4
28.9
42.0
72.4 mos.
76.6
6.6
45.0 mos.
29.2
49.7
19.8
18.0
17.4
86.8
18.1
60.6
...
...
64.0
2.6
^
^
21.4
66.4 mos.
17.9 mos.

Median time served
32.2 mos.
54.8 mos.
54.9
25.2
72.3
63.5
104.6
^
20.9 mos.
20.9
15.7
20.9
20.9
18.3
18.3
21.7
13.0
18.7
52.3
23.5
32.3
54.9 mos.
58.6
5.9
31.4 mos.
20.9
37.0
15.7
15.7
13.1
53.8
12.8
44.4
...
...
57.4
0.4
^
^
18.3
54.1 mos.
12.0 mos.

Percent of
sentence served
88.3%
89.0%
88.6
89.6
88.9
88.0
88.3
^
87.6%
87.5
87.3
87.5
89.6
88.1
88.2
89.1
87.9
89.0
88.4
87.4
88.8
88.0%
88.0
89.6
87.7%
88.0
87.6
86.9
87.3
87.6
87.6
89.9
87.6
...
...
87.5
^
^
^
88.3
90.1%
88.0%

Note: Murder includes non-negligent manslaughter; sexual abuse includes only violent sex offenses; fraud excludes tax fraud; larceny excludes transportation of stolen
property; other property offenses excludes fraudulent property offenses and includes destruction of property and trespassing; tax-law violations includes tax fraud; and
all other offenses includes unclassifiable offenses. Total includes 376 prisoners whose offense was unclassifiable or was not a violation of U.S. Code. Standard release
methods include expiration of sentence full-term, expiration of sentence with good time, full-term release, good-conduct time release, mandatory release, mandatory
parole, and parole.
...Not available. No cases of this type occurred.
^Too few cases to provide a reliable estimate.
aExcludes 6,271 prisoners who left federal prison by extraordinary means, such as death, sentence commutation, and treaty transfer.
bIncludes only those cases where the sentence length is more than one year.
cExcludes sexual abuse. See Terms and definitions.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, SENTRY database, fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

50

■

TABLE 8.4
Demographic characteristics of offenders first released from prison, by offense, FY 2016
Offender characteristic
Number of releases
Sex
Male
Female
Race
White
Black/African American
American Indian/Alaska Native
Asian/Native Hawaiian/Other
Pacific Islander
Ethnicity
Hispanic
Non-Hispanic
Age
17 or younger
18-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-59
60-64
65 or older
Citizenship
U.S. citizen
Non-U.S. citizen

Percent of released offenders convicted of—
Total number
Property
offenses
of released
All
Violent
Drug Public-order offenses Weapons Immigration
offenders
offenses offenses Fraudulent Other offenses Regulatory Other offenses offenses
66,704
66,704
1,769
4,669
813
28,527
1,219
3,924 7,411
17,974
60,591
6,083

90.9%
9.1

92.5%
7.5

74.8%
25.2

78.6%
21.4

89.2%
10.8

76.0%
24.0

91.4%
8.6

97.6%
2.4

96.3%
3.7

48,139
16,507
1,025

72.2%
24.8
1.5

42.1%
29.8
27.3

62.9%
32.4
0.3

61.6%
28.9
6.3

66.4%
31.3
0.8

72.0%
21.2
1.1

75.0%
19.9
2.4

44.8%
52.6
1.4

98.0%
1.6
0.2

1,003

1.5

0.8

4.4

3.2

1.6

5.7

2.7

1.1

0.2

34,295
32,379

51.4%
48.6

10.5%
89.5

22.1%
77.9

15.1%
84.9

46.1%
53.9

21.2%
78.8

17.9%
82.1

19.5%
80.5

96.4%
3.6

6
315
3,969
8,557
11,813
12,364
10,128
7,462
5,227
3,344
1,827
1,662

<0.1%
0.5
6.0
12.8
17.7
18.5
15.2
11.2
7.8
5.0
2.7
2.5

0.1%
0.3
7.1
14.6
14.2
13.7
12.5
11.6
10.4
7.3
4.8
3.5

...
0.1%
3.5
10.5
13.5
15.3
14.1
12.5
10.8
8.0
5.2
6.5

0.2%
0.2
6.9
11.2
13.9
14.1
10.3
13.0
10.8
7.9
5.0
6.3

...
0.6%
5.9
11.7
16.9
19.7
16.0
11.6
8.1
4.8
2.7
2.1

...
0.2%
2.9
7.2
9.9
13.3
16.0
15.5
10.7
10.2
6.7
7.5

<0.1%
0.1
3.8
10.5
13.0
12.9
12.4
12.3
11.0
8.7
6.5
8.9

...
<0.1%
5.0
16.6
22.5
19.3
13.6
9.0
6.0
4.3
2.0
1.4

<0.1%
0.7
7.6
14.6
20.4
19.5
15.9
10.6
6.1
3.1
1.0
0.5

38,831
27,803

58.3%
41.7

94.7%
5.3

80.0%
20.0

93.1%
6.9

69.9%
30.1

84.5%
15.5

90.5%
9.5

93.3%
6.7

5.5%
94.5

Note: Total includes prisoners whose offense category could not be determined. Percentages are based only on the prison populations for whom characteristics were known.
Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. Data were missing for the following: offense (398), sex (30), race (30), ethnicity (30), age (30), and citizenship (70).
...Not available. No cases of this type occurred.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, SENTRY database, fiscal year 2016.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

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Methodology
Data sources
Statistics in this report are from the Federal Justice
Statistics Program (FJSP), collected by the Bureau of
Justice Statistics (BJS). The FJSP is constructed from
source files provided by the U.S. Marshals Service
(USMS), the Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA), the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys
(EOUSA), the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
(AOUSC), the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC),
and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). The AOUSC
provides data describing defendants in cases processed
by the federal judiciary and defendants processed
by the federal pre-trial services agencies and the
federal probation and supervision service. Federal law
prohibits the use of these files for any purpose other
than research or statistics. The table in Additional
information about the data describes the source agency
data files.
Reporting period
Wherever possible, matters or cases have been selected
according to the event that occurred during fiscal year
(FY) 2016 (October 1, 2015 through September 30,
2016). Files, which are organized by their source
agencies according to fiscal year, nonetheless
include some pertinent records in earlier years’ files.
Tabulations of suspects in matters concluded during
FY 2016 have been assembled from source files
containing records of 2016 matters concluded, which
were entered into the data system during FY 2015
or FY 2016.
The availability of particular items of information
varies by data source. Data on prosecutors’ decisions
prior to court filing are provided for cases investigated
by U.S. attorneys but not for cases handled by other
litigating divisions of the U.S. Department of Justice
(DOJ). Cases handled by DOJ litigating divisions enter
the database once they are filed in U.S. district court.
Table construction
Generally, the tables include both individual and
organizational defendants. Organizational defendants
are not included in tables describing defendants
sentenced to incarceration. Juvenile offenders who are
charged as adults are included in the reported statistics.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

Unit of analysis
In federal law enforcement and prosecution
(section 1) and federal pre-trial, adjudication,
sentencing, and appeals (section 2), the unit of analysis
is a combination of a person (or corporation) and a
matter or case. If the same person is involved in three
different criminal cases during the period specified in
the table, then the person is counted three times in the
tabulation. A single criminal case involving a corporate
defendant and four individual defendants is counted
five times in the tabulation. In federal corrections
and supervision (section 3), the unit of analysis is
a person entering custody or supervision, a person
leaving custody or supervision, or a person in custody
or supervision at year-end. A person who terminated
probation twice in the indicated period is counted as
two terminations of probation. For instance, probation
might be terminated because of a violation, reinstated,
and then terminated again for another violation.
Interpretation
The tables are constructed to permit the user to make
valid comparisons of numbers within each table and
to compare percentage rates across tables. The total
numbers of subjects in the tables that are based on
records linked between two files are generally less
than the total number of records in either source
file. Comparisons of absolute numbers across two or
more of these tables and other data sources are not
necessarily valid.
Offense classifications
Procedure

The offense classification procedure used in this
publication is based on the system followed by the
AOUSC. Specific offenses are combined to form the
BJS categories shown in this report.
Offense categories for federal arrestees are based on
the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Crime
Information Center offense classifications, which are
converted into the USMS’s four-digit offense codes
and are aggregated into standard offense categories
shown in the tables. These categories are similar but
may not be directly comparable to the BJS offense
categories used in other tables for 2016. For data from
the EOUSA—which include U.S. Code citations but
exclude the AOUSC offense classifications—U.S. Code
titles and sections are translated into the AOUSC
classification system then aggregated into the offense
categories used in the tables.

52

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Distinction between felonies and misdemeanors
Distinctions between felony and misdemeanor offenses
are provided where possible. Felony offenses have a
maximum penalty of more than one year in prison.
Misdemeanor offenses have a maximum penalty of up
to one year. Felonies and misdemeanors are further
classified by the maximum term of imprisonment
authorized. In 18 U.S.C. § 3559, offenses are classified
according to the following schedule:
Felonies

ƒƒ
Class A felony—life imprisonment or penalty
of death
ƒƒ
Class B felony—25 years or more
ƒƒ
Class C felony—less than 25 years but more than
10 years
ƒƒ
Class D felony—less than 10 years but more than
5 years
ƒƒ
Class E felony—less than 5 years but more than
one year.
Misdemeanors

ƒƒ
Class A misdemeanor—one year or less but more
than 6 months

In the prosecution tables, the most serious offense is
based on the criminal lead charge determined by the
assistant U.S. attorney responsible for the criminal
proceeding. In pre-trial tables, the major charged
offense is based on the AOUSC’s offense-severity
classification system, as determined by the pre-trial
officer responsible for the case. To select this offense,
the officer ranks offenses according to severity based
on maximum imprisonment, type of crime, and
maximum fines. In adjudication tables, the most
serious offense charged is the one with the most severe
potential sentence. For sentencing tables, conviction
offenses are based on statutory maximum penalties. In
appeals tables, the offenses are classified by the offense
of conviction. In the supervision tables, the most
serious offense of conviction is either the one with the
longest sentence imposed or, if equal sentences were
imposed or there was no imprisonment, the offense
carrying the highest severity code as determined by the
AOUSC’s offense-severity code ranking.
Offense categories

For offense categories in all text tables, the following
conditions apply:
ƒƒ
Murder includes non-negligent manslaughter.

ƒƒ
Class B misdemeanor—6 months or less but more
than 30 days

ƒƒ
Sexual abuse includes only violent sex offenses.

ƒƒ
Class C misdemeanor—30 days or less but more
than 5 days

ƒƒ
Larceny excludes transportation of stolen property.

ƒƒ
Infraction—5 days or less, or no imprisonment
is authorized.

ƒƒ
Fraud excludes tax fraud.
ƒƒ
Other property felonies excludes fraudulent
property offenses and includes destruction of
property and trespass.

Felony and misdemeanor distinctions are provided
when the data are available. Arrest and prosecution
tables do not distinguish between felonies and
misdemeanors because many suspects’ offenses cannot
be classified at the arrest and investigation stages in the
criminal justice process. This distinction is not made
for pre-trial release or detention because the Pretrial
Services Agency no longer gathers this information.
Adjudication, sentencing, and supervision tables
distinguish between felony and misdemeanor offenses.

ƒƒ
Tax-law violations includes tax fraud.

Determining the most serious offense

ƒƒ
All other offenses includes felonies with unknown
or unclassifiable offense type.

Where more than one offense is charged or
adjudicated, the most serious offense (i.e., the one that
could or did result in the most severe sentence) is used
to classify offenses. The offense description may change
during the criminal justice process. Tables indicate
whether investigated, charged, or adjudicated offenses
are used.
Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

ƒƒ
Other sex offenses denotes non-violent sex offenses
or the mail or transport of obscene material.
ƒƒ
Wildlife offenses was amended in 2002 to include
offenses previously included in the “Migratory
birds” category.
ƒƒ
Environmental offenses was amended in 2002 to
include some offenses previously included in the
“Agriculture” and “Other Regulatory” categories.

ƒƒ
Misdemeanors includes misdemeanors, petty
offenses, and unknown offense levels.
ƒƒ
Drug possession includes other
drug misdemeanors.

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Additional information about the data
The U.S. Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement
Administration, the Executive Office for
U.S. Attorneys, the Administrative Office of the
U.S. Courts, the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and
the Federal Bureau of Prisons each report on cases
processed during a given year in an annual statistical
report. These reports are often not comparable
across agencies due to the varying methods used by
the agencies to report case-processing activities. An
interagency working group headed by the Bureau of
Justice Statistics (BJS) found differences in the caseprocessing statistics that can be attributed, in part, to
the different needs and missions of the agencies:
ƒƒ
The universe of cases reported during a given period
differed, as some agencies report on case-processing
events that occurred during a particular period,
whereas other agencies report on events recorded
during a particular period.
ƒƒ
Many of the commonly used case-processing
statistics—suspect or defendant processed, offense
committed, case disposed, and sentence imposed—
are defined differently across agencies.
BJS, through its Federal Justice Statistics Program
(FJSP), has recognized the incomparability of these
annual statistical reports and has attempted to
reconcile many of the differences identified by the
working group. By combining databases from several
years, BJS is able to report on those cases that actually
occurred during the reporting period. Commonly used
case-processing statistics are made comparable across

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

stages by applying uniform definitions to data obtained
from each agency. Because definitions in the FJSP are
consistent with categories in BJS programs describing
state defendants convicted, sentenced, or imprisoned,
comparisons can be made between federal and state
case-processing statistics.
Notes to reader
These tables were constructed to permit valid
comparisons within each table and to allow the reader
to compare percentages (but not raw totals) across
tables. It should be understood, however, that the total
number of subjects or defendants shown in a particular
table may not equal the number of subjects or
defendants involved in a particular stage of processing.
Some records could not be linked, and some data
sources did not include information on particular data
elements classified in a particular table. Data notes
indicate the exact universe for individual tables.
This report is a statistical presentation of federal
criminal justice information with limited analyses of
trends or explanatory factors underlying the statistics.
Analyses of federal justice statistics may be found in
special reports and other publications, some of which
are cited in these tables. To assess changing patterns
in these tables, the reader may need to examine in
detail subcategories not shown in the tabulations or
may need some knowledge of legislation or federal
agency procedures.

54

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Data source agency

Contents of data files

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 –
Statistical Tables

Arrest:
Tables 1.1, 1.2, 1.3
Map 1.1
Warrant:
Tables 1.5, 1.6
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)—
Contains data on suspects arrested by DEA
Arrest:
Defendant Statistical System
agents, both within and outside the continental Table 1.4
U.S. Data include information on characteristics
of arrestees, type of drug for which they were
arrested, and the type and number of weapons
possessed at the time of arrest.
Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys—National Legal Contains information on the investigation and
Prosecution:
Information Office Network System
prosecution of suspects in criminal matters
Tables 2.1, 2.2, 2.3
received and concluded, criminal cases filed
Map 2.1
and terminated, and criminal appeals filed and
handled by U.S. attorneys. The central system
files contain defendant-level records about the
processing of matters and cases. The central
charge files contain the records of the charges
filed and disposed in criminal cases. Data are
available on matters and cases filed, pending,
and terminated
Pre-trial release:
Contains data on defendants interviewed,
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AOUSC):
investigated, or supervised by pre-trial services. Tables 3.1, 3.2, 3.3
Pretrial Services Agency—Probation and Pretrial
Adjudication:
The information covers defendants’ pre-trial
Services Automated Case Tracking System
hearings, detentions, and releases from the time Table 4.4 (defendant characteristics)
they are interviewed through the disposition of Map 3.1
Sentencing:
their cases in U.S. district court. Data describe
Tables 5.3, 5.4 (defendant characteristics)
pre-trial defendants processed by federal
pre-trial service agencies within each district.
Defendants who received pre-trial services
through a local, non-federal agency, such as the
District of Columbia, are not included.
AOUSC—Criminal Termination Files
Contains information about the criminal
Adjudication:
proceedings against defendants whose cases
Tables 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4
were filed in U.S. district courts. Includes
Map 4.1
information on felony defendants, Class
Sentencing:
A misdemeanants—whether handled by
Tables 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4
U.S. district court judges or U.S. magistrates—
Map 5.1
and other misdemeanants, provided they were
handled by U.S. district court judges. Data files
cover criminal proceedings from case filing
through disposition and sentencing. Data are
available on criminal defendants in cases filed,
pending, and terminated.
U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC)—Monitoring Contains information on criminal defendants
Adjudication:
Data Base
sentenced pursuant to the provisions of the
Table 4.4 (defendant characteristics)
Sentencing Reform Act of 1984. Data files are
Sentencing:
limited to defendants whose court records have Tables 5.3, 5.4 (defendant characteristics)
been obtained by the USSC.
AOUSC: Courts of Appeals
Contains information on criminal appeals filed
Appeals:
and terminated in U.S. courts of appeals. Records Tables 6.1, 6.2, 6.3
of appeals filed, pending, or terminated include
information on the nature of the criminal appeal,
the underlying offense, and the disposition of
the appeal.
AOUSC—Federal Probation and Supervision
Contains information about supervision
Supervision:
Information System
provided by probation officers for persons
Tables 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8
placed on probation or supervised release from
prison. The files contain records of individuals
entering or currently on supervision and records
of offenders terminating supervision.
Corrections:
Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP)—Extract from
Data extracts contain information on all
BOP’s SENTRY System
offenders released from prison during a specific Tables 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4
period of time and information about offenders Map 7.1
in prison when data extracts are made. The
information covers the time from offenders’
admission to prison until their release from the
jurisdiction of the BOP.
U.S. Marshals Service—Prisoner Tracking System
—Warrant Information Network

Contains data on suspects arrested for violations
of federal law by federal enforcement agencies
and data about warrants initiated or cleared.
Data include characteristics of federal arrestees.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

55

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Terms and definitions
A
Acquittal—a jury verdict that a criminal defendant is
not guilty, or the finding of a judge that the evidence is
insufficient to support a conviction.
Administrative case closure—terminating
or closing a community supervision case for
administrative reasons, such as an offender’s long-term
hospitalization, death, deportation, incarceration in an
unrelated case, or at the administrative discretion of
the chief probation officer.
Affirmed—in the practice of the appellate court, it
means that the court of appeals has concluded that
the lower court decision is correct and will stand as
rendered by the lower court.
Agriculture violation—a violation of federal statutes
concerning agriculture and conservation. Federal
statutes related to agriculture include the Agricultural
Acts (7 U.S.C., except sections on food stamps
related to fraud); the Insecticide Act; the Packers
and Stockyards Act of 1921; laws concerning plant
quarantine and inspection; and laws that protect
animals used in research. Federal statutes related to
conservation include laws concerning soil and water
conservation and wildlife conservation.
Antitrust violation—a violation related to federal
antitrust statutes enacted by Congress that protect
trade and commerce from unlawful restraints, price
fixing, monopolies, and discrimination in pricing or in
furnishing services or facilities.
Appeal—a legal proceeding by which a case is brought
before a higher court for the review of a judgment or
decision of a lower court.
Appeals, U.S. Court of—intermediate appellate courts
in the U.S. federal court system that review the final
decisions of the district courts within their federal
judicial circuits, when challenged. U.S. courts of appeal
are higher than the U.S. district courts but lower than
the U.S. Supreme Court. There are 13 U.S. courts
of appeal in the federal system, representing the
12 judicial circuits and the federal circuit.
Appellant—the party who requests that a judicial
decision or decree be reviewed by a higher court or by
another jurisdiction.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

Appellee—the party against whom an appeal is taken
and who seeks to persuade the appeals court to affirm
the district court’s decision.
Arson—willfully or maliciously setting, or attempting
to set, fire to any property within the special
maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the U.S. See
also, explosives.
Assault—the threat, attempt, or intentional infliction
of bodily injury. Assault also includes certain violations
of the Fair Housing Act of 1968.
Assault, aggravated—the threat, attempt, or
intentional inflicting of bodily injury by means of a
deadly or dangerous weapon, with or without actual
infliction of any injury. Also, an attack without a
weapon resulting in serious injuries. Serious injury
includes broken bones, lost teeth, internal injuries, loss
of consciousness, and an injury requiring 2 days or
more of hospitalization.
Assault, simple—the threat, attempt, or intentional
inflicting of minor bodily injury without a weapon.
Minor injury includes bruises, black eyes, cuts,
scratches, swelling, and an injury requiring less than
2 days of hospitalization.

B
Bail—the temporary release, prior to trial, of a
defendant in exchange for security or money promised
for the defendant’s due appearance. Also can refer
to the amount of bond money posted as a financial
condition of pre-trial release.
Booking—a procedure following an arrest in
which information about the arrest and the suspect
are recorded.
Bribery—offering or promising anything of value
with the intent to influence a person unlawfully,
especially a public official in a position of trust. Also
includes soliciting or receiving anything of value in
consideration of aiding a person to obtain employment
with the federal government. Also, receiving or
soliciting any remuneration, directly or indirectly, in
cash or any kind, in return for purchasing, ordering,
leasing, or recommending purchasing any good,
service, or facility.
Burglary—unlawful entry and attempted unlawful
entry of any property, with or without force.

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C
Career offender—a defendant who is age 18 or older at
the time of the instant offense, if the instant offense of
conviction is a felony and if they have at least two prior
felony convictions.
Case—a judicial proceeding for the determination
of a controversy between parties wherein rights are
enforced or protected, or wrongs are prevented or
redressed, or any proceeding that is judicial in nature.
A case is a single charging document filed in a court
containing one or more charges against one or more
defendants and constituting the unit of action in court
activity following the filing. Charges in two or more
charging documents are sometimes combined, or the
charges or defendants in one charging document are
separated, for purposes of adjudication.
Civil rights violation—a violation of civil liberties
guaranteed to U.S. citizens by the Constitution and
by acts of Congress. These include the Thirteenth and
Fourteenth amendments to the Constitution and the
Civil Rights Acts enacted after the Civil War and in
1957 and 1964.
Collateral bond—an agreement made as a condition
of pre-trial release that requires the defendant to post
property valued at the full bail amount as an assurance
of his or her intention to appear at trial.
Communication violation—a violation covering areas
of communication, such as the Communications Act of
1934 (including wiretapping and wire interception). A
communication is considered a deliberate interchange
of thoughts or opinions between two or more persons.
Community confinement—residence in a community
treatment center, halfway house, restitution center,
mental-health facility, alcohol or drug rehabilitation
center, or other community facility; and participation
in gainful employment, employment search efforts,
community service, vocational training, treatment,
educational programs, or similar facility-approved
programs during non-residential hours. Community
confinement may be imposed as a condition of
probation or supervised release. Under the federal
sentencing guidelines, community confinement may
be a substitute for imprisonment on a day-to-day basis
for defendants with a guideline maximum of less than
16 months of imprisonment.
Commutation of sentence—a change of legal penalty
or punishment to a lesser one, such as having a federal

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

criminal sentence reduced by the executive clemency
of the President of the U.S.
Complaint—a written statement in which the plaintiff
details the claims against the defendant; or a formal
document submitted to the court by a prosecutor,
law enforcement officer, or other person, alleging that a
specified person or persons has committed a specified
offense or offenses and requesting prosecution.
Concurrent sentence—a sentence, such as a prison
term, to be served at the same time as another sentence
rather than one after the other. One 3-year sentence
and one 5-year sentence, if served concurrently,
result in a maximum sentence of 5 years. See also,
consecutive sentence.
Conditional release—the release of a prisoner who
has not served his or her full sentence and whose
freedom is contingent on obeying any combination
of restrictions deemed necessary to guarantee
the defendant’s appearance at trial or safeguard
the community.
Consecutive sentence—a sentence for two or
more offenses that follow one after the other. Two
3-year sentences and one 5-year sentence, if served
consecutively, result in a maximum sentence of
11 years. See also, concurrent sentence.
Conspiracy—an agreement by two or more persons to
commit or to affect the commission of an unlawful act,
or to use unlawful means to accomplish an act that is
not in itself unlawful; also, any overt act in furtherance
of the agreement. A person charged with conspiracy is
classified under the alleged substantive offense.
Continuing criminal enterprise—a felony committed
as part of a continuing series of violations, which is
undertaken by a person, in collaboration with five or
more other persons. The person occupies a position
of organizer, supervisor, or any other position of
management and obtains substantial income or
resources from this position.
Conviction—a judgment of guilt against a criminal
defendant. A conviction includes pleas of guilty
and nolo contendere and excludes final judgments
expunged by pardon, reversed, set aside, or otherwise
rendered invalid.
Corporate defendant—a business against whom
a lawsuit is filed. The defendant in a case is not an
individual person but an entity, a collection of persons,

57

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or a business or corporation. Despite not being
persons, corporations are recognized by the law to have
rights and responsibilities like natural persons.
Corporate surety—a person, persons, or entity who
has entered into a bond (or an agreement) to give
surety for another. As a condition of pre-trial release,
the defendant enters into an agreement that requires
a third party, such as a bail bondsman, to promise
the payment of the full bail amount in the event
that the defendant fails to appear in court. See also,
surety bond.
Counterfeiting—falsely making, forging, or altering
obligations with a view to deceive or defraud, by
passing the copy or thing forged as original or genuine.
Counterfeiting applies to any obligation or security
of the U.S., foreign obligation or security, coin or bar
stamped at any mint in the U.S., money order issued by
the U.S. Postal Service, domestic or foreign stamp, or
seal of any department or agency of the U.S. Includes
passing, selling, attempting to pass or sell, or bringing
into the U.S. any of the above falsely made articles.
Also, making, selling, or possessing any plates or stones
(or any instrument) used for printing counterfeit
obligations or securities of the U.S., foreign obligations
or securities, governmental transportation requests,
or postal stamps; or knowingly and intentionally
trafficking in falsified labels affixed to phone records,
motion pictures, or audio visual works.
Courts—governmental entity authorized to resolve
legal issues. Judicial power is vested pursuant to Article
III of the Constitution in the following federal courts:
the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the District of Columbia, and the U.S. District
Court for the District of Columbia. See also, Appeals,
U.S. Court of, and District court, U.S.
Criminal career—the longitudinal sequence of crimes
committed by an offender.
Criminal-history category—a quantification of the
defendant’s prior criminal record and the defendant’s
propensity to recidivate under the federal sentencing
guidelines. Guideline criminal-history categories range
from Category I (primarily first-time offenders) to
Category VI (career offenders).
Customs-law violation—a violation regarding taxes,
which are payable on goods and merchandise imported
or exported. Includes the duties, toll, tribute, or tariff
payable on merchandise exported or imported.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

D
Dangerous weapon—an instrument capable, under
certain circumstances, of causing serious injury
or death.
Deadly weapon—an instrument specifically designed
to cause serious injury or death.
Declination—a prosecutor’s decision not to file a case
in a matter received for investigation. Excluded are
immediate declinations where a prosecutor spent less
than one hour on the case.
Defendant—the party against whom a lawsuit is filed.
Departure—a sentence imposed that is outside the
applicable guideline sentencing range. A court may
depart when it finds an aggravating or mitigating
circumstance not adequately taken into consideration
by the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC) in
formulating the guidelines that should result in a
sentence different from that described. See also,
substantial assistance.
Deportation or treaty transfer—the act of expelling
a foreigner from a country, usually to the country
of origin, due to the commission of a crime or prior
criminal record.
Deposit bond—an agreement made by a defendant
as a condition of pre-trial release that requires the
defendant to post a fraction of the bail before they are
released to the community.
Detainer—a notification sent by a prosecutor, judge,
or other official, such as a law enforcement officer,
advising a prison official that a prisoner is wanted to
answer for criminal charges. The notification requests
the prisoner’s continued detention or notification of
the prisoner’s impending release.
Detention—the legally authorized confinement
of a person subject to criminal or juvenile court
proceedings until the point of commitment to a
correctional facility or until release. Only persons held
for 2 days or more are classified as detained.
Dismissal—the decision by a court to terminate
adjudication of all outstanding charges in a criminal
case or all outstanding charges against a given
defendant in a criminal case, thus terminating
the court action in the case and permanently or

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provisionally terminating court jurisdiction over the
defendant in relation to those charges. Includes nolle
prosequi and deferred prosecution.
Disposition—the action by a criminal or juvenile
justice agency signifying that a portion of the justice
process is complete and jurisdiction is terminated or
transferred to another agency; or signifying that a
decision has been reached on one aspect of a case and
that a different aspect will come under consideration,
requiring a different kind of decision.
District court, U.S.—trial courts with general federal
jurisdiction over cases involving federal laws or
offenses and actions between citizens of different states.
District of Columbia—the jurisdiction of the
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. This
jurisdiction includes federal offenses prosecuted in
U.S. district courts and, except for tables based on data
from the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), excludes
violations of the District of Columbia Code and cases
prosecuted in the District of Columbia Superior Court.
Drug distribution—delivery (other than by
administering or dispensing) of a controlled substance.
The term “controlled substance” means any drug or
other substance, or immediate precursor, included in
schedule I, II, III, IV, or V of part B of subchapter I of
Chapter 13 (Drug Abuse, Prevention, and Control),
Title 21 (Food and Drugs) of the U.S. Code. The term
excludes distilled spirits, wine, malt beverages, and
tobacco, as those terms are defined or used in subtitle E
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
Drug offense—a violation under federal or
state laws prohibiting the manufacture, import,
export, distribution, or dispensing of a controlled
or counterfeit substance, or the possession of
a controlled or counterfeit substance with the
intent to manufacture, import, export, distribute,
or dispense the substance. Drug offenses include
using any communication facilities that cause or
facilitate a felony under Title 21 of the U.S. Code, or
furnishing fraudulent or false information concerning
prescriptions and any other unspecified drug-related
offense. See also, drug distribution, possession, and
drug trafficking.
Drug trafficking—knowingly and intentionally
importing or exporting any controlled substance in
schedule I, II, III, IV, or V (as defined by 21 U.S.C.
§ 812). Drug trafficking includes manufacturing,

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

distributing, dispensing, selling, or possessing with the
intent to manufacture, distribute, or sell a controlled
substance or a counterfeit substance. Trafficking
also includes exporting any controlled substance
in schedules I through V, and the manufacture or
distribution of a controlled substance in schedule I
or II, for the purposes of unlawful importation. Also
includes the making or distributing of any punch,
die, plate, stone, or any other instrument designed
to reproduce the label on any drug or container, or
removing or obliterating the label or symbol of any
drug or container. Knowingly opening, maintaining,
or managing any place for manufacturing, distributing,
or using any controlled substance is also considered
drug trafficking.
Dual and Successive Prosecution Policy (Petite
Policy)—prosecutorial guidelines used to determine
whether to bring federal prosecution, based
substantially on a defendant’s repetition of the same
act or transactions involved in a prior state or federal
proceeding for a defendant.

E
Embezzlement—the fraudulent appropriation of
property by a person to whom such property has been
lawfully entrusted. Includes offenses committed by
bank officers or employees; officers or employees of
the U.S. Postal Service; officers of lending, credit, or
insurance institutions; and any officer or employee of
a corporation or association engaged in commerce as
a common carrier. The fraudulent appropriations of
property by court officers of the U.S. courts and officers
or employees of the U.S. are also included. Stealing
from employment and training funds; stealing from
programs that receive federal funds and Indian tribal
organizations; and selling, conveying, or disposing of
any money, property, records, or thing of value to the
U.S. or any department thereof without authority are
also included in embezzlement.
Environmental offense—a violation of federal law
enacted to protect the environment, such as the Clean
Air Act and the Clean Water Act. Environmental
protection laws protect the safety and well-being
of communities from excessive and unnecessary
emissions of environmental pollutants.
Escape—departing or attempting to depart from
the custody of a correctional institution; a judicial,
correctional, or law enforcement officer; or a

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hospital where one is committed for drug abuse or
drug dependency treatment. Includes knowingly
advising, aiding, assisting, or procuring the escape or
attempted escape of any person from a correctional
facility, an officer, or the above-mentioned hospital;
and concealing an escapee. Also includes providing
or attempting to provide to a prisoner a prohibited
object; or making, possessing, obtaining, or attempting
to make or obtain a prohibited object. Instigating,
assisting, attempting to cause, or causing any mutiny
or riot at any federal penal, detention, or correctional
facility; or conveying into any of these institutions any
dangerous instruments are also included.
Exclusion—the rule of evidence that disallows
evidence secured by illegal means and in bad faith to
be introduced in a criminal trial.
Expiration of sentence—the completion of a prison
sentence by standard means. See also, releases
from prison.
Explosives violation—a violation of federal law
involving the importation, manufacture, distribution,
and storage of explosive material. Includes the
unlawful receipt, possession, or transportation of
explosives without a license, where prohibited by
law, or using explosives during the commission of
a felony. Also includes violations relating to dealing
in stolen explosives, using mail or other forms of
communication to threaten an individual with
explosives, and possessing explosive materials at an
airport. See also, arson.

F
Failure to appear—willful absence from any
court appointment.
Felony—a serious crime that involves a potential
punishment of one year or more in prison or a
crime punishable by death. According to 18 U.S.C.
§ 3559, felonies are classified based on the maximum
imprisonment term authorized by the law describing
the offense. The five felony classes—A, B, C, D,
and E—include life imprisonment or the maximum
penalty of death (Class A felony), 25 years or more
(Class B felony), less than 25 years but more than
10 years (Class C felony), less than 10 years but more
than 5 years (Class D felony), and less than 5 years but
more than one year (Class E felony).

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

Filing—the initiation of a criminal case in U.S. district
court by formal submission to the court of a charging
document alleging that one or more named persons
have committed one or more specified offenses.
Financial condition—the monetary condition
on which the release of a defendant before trial is
contingent, including deposit bond, surety bond, and
collateral bond. See also the specific definitions for
these bond types.
Fine—a monetary penalty imposed as punishment for
an offense.
First release—prisoners released from the BOP for
the first time after their commitment by a U.S. district
court. Excludes offenders returned to prison after their
first release to supervision.
Food and drug violation—a violation of the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, including
regulations for clean and sanitary movement of
animals, adulteration or misbranding of any food
or drug, failure to transmit information about
prescription drugs, and intent to defraud and distribute
adulterated material.
Forgery—the creation or alteration of a document,
which if validly executed would constitute a legally
binding transaction, with the intent to defraud; or the
creation of an art object with intent to misrepresent the
identity of the creator. Forgery also includes making,
possessing, selling, or printing plates or stones for
counterfeiting obligations or securities, and detaching,
altering, or defacing any official device, mark,
or certificate.
Fraud—unlawfully depriving a person of his or
her property or legal rights through intentional
misrepresentation of fact or deceit, other than forgery
or counterfeiting.
Fraudulent property offense—see property
offense, fraudulent.
Fugitive—a person convicted or accused of a crime
who hides from law enforcement or escapes custody
or flees across jurisdictional lines to avoid arrest
or punishment.
Fugitive investigation—initiated on receipt of a
warrant and typically involves persons who have
violated their conditions of probation, parole, or bond

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release, and escaped prisoners. The U.S. Marshals
Service (USMS) has administrative responsibility for
all investigations involving federal fugitives.

G
Gambling offense—the unlawful making, receiving,
or wagering on a game of chance or uncertain
event, or operating, or promoting or permitting the
operation of, an unlawful game of chance or wagering
establishment. Also, the federal offense of transporting,
manufacturing, selling, possessing, or using any
gambling device in the District of Columbia or any
possession of the U.S. or within Indian country, or the
special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the U.S.,
as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 7. Federal gambling offenses
include transporting gambling devices within the
jurisdiction of the U.S., except under the authority of
the Federal Trade Commission or under the authority
of a state law that provides an exemption from these
provisions. Offenses also include transmitting wagering
information on interstate or foreign commerce,
interstate transporting of wagering paraphernalia,
importing or transporting lottery tickets, or mailing
lottery tickets or related matter.
Good-time credit—time credited based on a
prisoner’s good behavior while imprisoned that is
applied toward the prisoner’s early release. Under
the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, two classes of
prisoners are ineligible to receive good-time credits:
(1) misdemeanants serving a term of imprisonment of
one year or less; and (2) felons serving life sentences.
All other federal prisoners receive a flat allocation of
54 days per year of sentence served; credit for a partial
year remaining at the end of the sentence is prorated.
The annual allotment does not change based on the
length of time a federal prisoner has already spent
in prison.
Guideline sentencing range—the range of
imprisonment length for a prisoner sentenced to a
federal institution based on the federal sentencing
guideline for the particular level of offense committed
and the offender’s criminal history. The federal
sentencing guideline incorporates any minimum terms
of imprisonment required by statute and the statutory
maximum term of imprisonment, where applicable.
Guilty plea—a plea in response to formal charges,
admitting that the defendant committed the offenses
as charged. A guilty plea also includes pleas of
nolo contendere.
Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

H
Hispanic—an ethnic category based on classification
by the reporting agency. Hispanic persons may be of
any race.
Home detention—a form of confinement
and supervision used as a substitute either for
imprisonment or as a condition of probation. Except
for authorized absences, home detention is a measure
in which a person is confined by authorities to the
person’s place of residence and restriction is enforced
by appropriate means of surveillance by the probation
office. Under the federal sentencing guidelines, home
detention may be a substitute for imprisonment on
a day-to-day basis for defendants with a guideline
maximum sentence of less than 16 months
of imprisonment.
Homicide—see murder.

I
Immigration offense—a violation involving illegal
entry into the U.S., illegally re-entering the U.S.
after deportation, willfully failing to deport when so
ordered, willfully remaining beyond days allowed on
conditional permit, or falsely representing oneself to be
a U.S. citizen. Immigration offenses include violations
relating to provisions for special agricultural workers
and provisions relating to limitations on immigrant
status, such as employment. Also includes bringing
in or harboring any aliens not duly admitted by an
immigration officer.
Incarceration—any sentence of confinement,
including prison, jail, or other residential placements.
Indeterminate sentence—a prison sentence with a
maximum or minimum term that is not specifically
established at the time of sentencing.
Indictment—a formal charge, issued by a grand jury,
stating that there is enough evidence to justify a trial
against a defendant for allegedly committing a crime.
Indictment is used primarily for felonies.
Information—a formal charge, issued by a
governmental attorney, stating that there is enough
evidence to justify a trial against a defendant for
allegedly committing a misdemeanor. Also includes
the document filed to initiate trial proceedings at the
second step of a felony case.

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Infraction—an offense for which the maximum term
of imprisonment is 5 days or less, or an offense for
which no imprisonment is authorized, according to
18 U.S.C. § 3559.
Initial appearance or hearing—a criminal defendant’s
first appearance before a judge or magistrate.
Instant offense—the offense of conviction and all
relevant conduct under U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3.
Intermittent sentence—a sentence to periods of
confinement interrupted by periods of freedom.
Under the federal sentencing guidelines, intermittent
confinement may be a substitute for imprisonment
for defendants with a guideline maximum of less
than 16 months of imprisonment. Each 24 hours
of intermittent confinement is credited as one day
of incarceration.

J
Jail credit—the number of days deducted from an
offender’s sentence for time spent in custody before a
prison sentence was imposed.
Jurisdictional offenses—offenses considered to be
federal crimes because of the place in which they
occurred, such as on an aircraft, or federal land or
property. Jurisdictional offenses include certain crimes
on Indian reservations, or at sea, that cannot be
classified in a more specific substantive category.
Juvenile—a person subject to juvenile court
proceedings because a statutorily defined event or
condition was alleged to have occurred while their age
was below the statutorily specified age limit of original
jurisdiction of a juvenile court. Court jurisdiction is
determined by age at the time of the event, not at the
time of judicial proceedings. The age limit defining the
legal categories “juvenile” and “adult” varies among
states and also, with respect to specified crimes, within
states. The generally applicable age limit within a
given state is most often the eighteenth birthday. In
statutes establishing the jurisdiction of criminal-trial
courts over persons younger than the standard age
for specified crimes (usually violent crimes, such
as murder or armed robbery), the age limit may be
lowered to 16 years or younger. These variations in
age factor are small enough to permit data aggregated
on the basis of the state definition of juvenile
to be comparable for many purposes. However,
each state should note its age limit in statistics for
general distribution.
Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

Juvenile delinquency—an act committed by a juvenile
for which an adult could be prosecuted in a criminal
court but for which a juvenile can be adjudicated in a
juvenile court or prosecuted in a court having criminal
jurisdiction, if the juvenile court transfers jurisdiction.

K
Kidnapping—unlawfully seizing any person as defined
in 18 U.S.C. § 1201 for ransom or reward, except
in the case of a minor seized by a parent. Includes
receiving, possessing, or disposing of any money or
other property delivered as ransom or as a reward
in connection with a kidnapping and conspiring to
kidnap any person.

L
Labor-law violation—a violation of federal laws
governing a broad spectrum of activities relating to
labor-management relations, such as the Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938 and the Taft-Hartley Act.
Larceny—unlawful taking or attempted taking
of property, other than a motor vehicle, from the
possession of another person or entity, by stealth,
without force or deceit, and with intent to permanently
deprive the owner of the property. Excludes taking that
requires unlawful entry or force or is accomplished
by deception.
Liquor violation—a violation of Internal Revenue
Service (IRS) laws on liquor and violations of liquor
laws not cited under IRS laws. Liquor violations
include dispensing or unlawfully possessing intoxicants
in Indian country; transporting intoxicating liquors
into any state, territory, district, or possession where
sale is prohibited; shipping packages containing
unmarked and unlabeled intoxicants; and shipping
liquor by collect-on-delivery methods. Includes
knowingly delivering a liquor shipment to someone
other than to whom it has been consigned and
violating the Federal Alcohol Administration Act.
Includes violations relating to regulation of the
manufacture, sale, distribution, transportation,
possession, or use of intoxicating liquor. Includes
maintaining unlawful drinking places, advertising and
soliciting orders for intoxicating liquor, bootlegging,
operating a still, furnishing liquor to a minor or
intemperate person, using a vehicle for the illegal
transportation of liquor, drinking on a train or public

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conveyance, and all attempts to commit any of the
aforementioned acts. Excludes public drunkenness and
driving under the influence (DUI).

included is 18 U.S.C. § 929, which provides for a
5-year enhancement for the use of armor-piercing
ammunition during the commission of a crime.

M

Material witness—a person with significant
information about the subject matter of a criminal
prosecution necessary to resolve the matter.

Magistrates (U.S.), federal—judicial officers appointed
by judges of federal district courts who have many
but not all of the powers of a judge. Magistrates are
designated to hear a wide variety of motions and other
pre-trial matters in both criminal and civil cases. With
consent of the parties, magistrates may conduct civil
or misdemeanor criminal trials. Magistrates may not
preside over felony trials or over jury selection in
felony cases.
Mailing or transportation of obscene materials—a
violation of federal law relating to knowingly using the
mail for mailing obscene or crime-inciting matter, as
defined in 18 U.S.C. § 1461 and 39 U.S.C. § 3001(e).
Also includes transporting for sale or distribution,
importing, or transporting any obscene matter in
interstate or foreign commerce.
Major offense while on conditional release—
allegation, arrest, or conviction for a crime with
a minimum sentence of more than 90 days’
imprisonment or more than one year’s probation.
Mandatory release—the release of a prisoner after
confinement for a period equal to the prisoner’s full
sentence, minus any statutory good time. Federal
prisoners exiting prison on mandatory release
may still be subject to a period of post-release
community supervision.
Mandatory sentence—a sentence that includes a
minimum term of imprisonment that the sentencing
court is statutorily required to impose barring the
government’s motion of substantial assistance.
Mandatory sentencing enhancement—a form of
mandatory sentence in which the minimum term of
imprisonment is to be imposed consecutive to any
other term of imprisonment imposed. Mandatory
sentencing enhancements include 18 U.S.C. § 924(c),
which provides for a 5-year-to-lifetime enhancement
for the use of a firearm during the commission of
a crime, and 18 U.S.C. § 844(h), which provides
for a 5-year enhancement for the use of firearms or
explosives during the commission of a crime. Also

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

Matter—a potential case under review by a
U.S. attorney and on which more than one hour
is spent.
Matters concluded—matters in which a U.S. attorney
has reached a final decision. Specifically includes
matters filed as cases, matters declined after
investigation, matters referred for disposition by
U.S. magistrates, and matters otherwise terminated
without reaching court.
Migratory-birds offense—a violation of acts relating
to birds that move from one place to another in
a season. Includes taking, killing, or possessing
migratory birds, or any part, nest, or egg thereof, in
violation of federal regulations or the transportation
laws of the state, territory, or district from which the
bird was taken. Also includes the misuse or non-use of
a migratory-bird hunting and conservation stamp.
Minor offense while on conditional release—
conviction of a crime for which the maximum sentence
is incarceration for 90 days or less, probation for
one year or less, or a fine of $500 or less.
Misdemeanor—a criminal offense punishable by a jail
term not to exceed one year and any offense specifically
defined as a misdemeanor by the Administrative Office
of the U.S. Courts for the purposes of data collection.
According to 18 U.S.C. § 3559, misdemeanors are
classified in three letter grades—A, B, and C—based on
the maximum terms of imprisonment. Class A denotes
an imprisonment term of one year or less but more
than 6 months; Class B denotes an imprisonment term
of 6 months or less but more than 30 days; and Class C
denotes an imprisonment term of 30 days or less but
more than 5 days. Misdemeanor includes offenses
previously called minor offenses that were reclassified
under the Federal Magistrate Act of 1979.
Mistrial—a trial that has been terminated and declared
invalid by the court because of some circumstance that
creates a substantial and uncorrectable prejudice to
the conduct of a fair trial, or that makes it impossible
to continue the trial in accordance with prescribed
procedures. A trial may be terminated before its

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normal conclusion because of a procedural error;
statements by a witness, judge, or attorney that
prejudice a jury; a deadlock by a jury without reaching
a verdict after lengthy deliberation (or a hung jury); or
the failure to complete a trial within the time set by the
court. When a mistrial is declared, the trial must start
again with the selection of a new jury.
Mixed sentence—a sentence requiring the convicted
offender to serve a term of imprisonment, followed by
a term of probation.
Most serious offense—the offense charged that has
the greatest potential sentence, or the offense with the
greatest imposed sentence.
Motor-carrier violation—a violation of the federal
statutes relating to the Motor Carrier Act, which
regulates the routes and rates of freight motor carriers
and passenger motor carriers in interstate commerce.
Motor-vehicle theft—unlawful or attempted taking
of a self-propelled road vehicle owned by another
person or entity, with the intent to permanently or
temporarily deprive the owner of possession. Excludes
vehicle parts.
Murder—the unlawful killing of a human being with
malice aforethought that was either expressed or
implied. This offense covers committing or attempting
to commit murder (first or second degree) or
voluntary manslaughter.
Murder (criminal willful homicide)—intentionally
causing the death of another person without legal
justification, or causing the death of another while
committing or attempting to commit another crime.
Includes voluntary manslaughter.
Murder, negligent (involuntary) manslaughter—
causing the death of another person with reckless or
gross negligence but without intent to cause death,
including by reckless or grossly negligent operation of
a motor vehicle.
Murder, non-negligent (voluntary) manslaughter—
intentionally causing the death of another without
legal justification or excuse, or causing the death of
another while committing or attempting to commit
another crime.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

N
National defense violation—a violation of national
defense laws under the Military Selective Service Act;
the Defense Production Act of 1950; the Subversive
Activities Control Act; or the Economic Stabilization
Act of 1970, which includes price, rent, and wage
violations. Includes violations relating to alien
registration and treason, including espionage, sabotage,
sedition, and the Smith Act of 1940. Also includes
violations relating to energy facilities, curfew and
restricted areas, exportation of war materials, trading
with an enemy, and illegal use of uniform.
New law—federal defendants convicted and sentenced
pursuant to the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984. See
also, old law.
Nolle prosequi—Latin for “we shall no longer
prosecute.” The termination of adjudication of a
criminal charge by the prosecutor’s decision not to
pursue the case, which requires court approval in
some jurisdictions.
Nolo contendere—Latin for “I do not wish to
contend.” The statement is a defendant’s plea in a
criminal case, indicating that they will not contest the
charges, but not admit or deny guilt. A plea of nolo
contendere has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as
far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may
not be considered an admission of guilt for any other
purpose. Nolo contendere is also referred to as a plea of
“no contest.”
Non-U.S. citizen—a person who is without
U.S. citizenship, including legal aliens—resident aliens,
tourists, and refugees or asylees—and illegal aliens.
Non-jury trial—a trial in which the judge alone
decides factual and legal questions and makes the
final judgment.
Not convicted—an acquittal or a setting free by bench
or jury trial, mistrial, or dismissal, including nolle
prosequi and deferred prosecution.
Not guilty—a defendant’s formal answer in court
to the charge or charges contained in a complaint,
information, or indictment, claiming that they did not
commit the offense or offenses listed. If the defendant
refuses to plea, the court will enter a plea of not guilty.
A verdict of “not guilty” in a criminal trial means that a
defendant was acquitted of the charges.

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O
Offense—a violation of U.S. criminal law. Where
more than one offense is charged, the offense with the
greatest potential penalty is reported.
Offense level—a quantification of the relative
seriousness of the offense of conviction and any
offense-specific aggravating or mitigating factors.
Guideline offense levels range from level 1 (the least
serious offense) to level 43 (the most serious offense).
Old law—defendants convicted and sentenced
pursuant to laws applicable before the Sentencing
Reform Act of 1984. See also, new law.

P
Parole—a period of supervision after a prisoner is
released from custody and before the end of the federal
sentence imposed. The U.S. Parole Commission is
empowered to grant, modify, or revoke the parole of all
federal offenders. Pursuant to the Sentencing Reform
Act of 1984, parole was abolished and defendants
are required to serve the imposed sentence (less
54 days per year good-time for sentences greater
than one year, but not life imprisonment), followed
by a term of supervised release. Due to a decrease in
federal prisoners sentenced under pre-Sentencing
Reform provisions, the number of offenders on parole
is declining.
Perjury—a false material declaration under oath in any
proceeding before or ancillary to any court or grand
jury of the U.S. Includes knowingly or willfully giving
false evidence or swearing to false statements under
oath or by any means procuring or instigating any
person to commit perjury. This offense also includes
any officers or employees of the government listed
under 13 U.S.C. §§ 21-25 who willfully or knowingly
furnish, or cause to be furnished, any false information
or statements.
Personal recognizance—a pre-trial release condition
in which the defendant promises to appear at trial and
no financial conditions are imposed.
Petty offense—a federal misdemeanor punishable by
6 months or less in prison, a Class B misdemeanor, a
Class C misdemeanor, or an infraction with fines as
specified in 18 U.S.C. § 3571. See also, misdemeanor
and infraction.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

Plea-bargain—an agreement by the defendant in a
criminal proceeding to plead guilty to a charge in
exchange for the prosecution’s cooperation in securing
a more lenient sentence or some other mitigation.
Pornographic—that which is of, or pertaining
to, obscene or licentious literature. Material is
pornographic or obscene if the average person,
applying contemporary community standards, would
find that the work taken as a whole appeals to the
prurient interest; if it depicts sexual conduct in a
patently offensive way; or if the work lacks serious
literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
Possession—an offense involving the possession
of a controlled substance, acquiring a controlled
substance by misrepresentation or fraud, attempting
or conspiring to possess, or simple possession of a
controlled substance in schedules I through V, as
defined by 21 U.S.C. § 812. Includes possession of a
controlled substance in schedule I or II, or a narcotic
drug in schedule III or IV on board a U.S. vessel or
vessels within custom waters of the U.S., or by any
U.S. citizen on board a vessel. In addition, possessing
any punch, die, plate, stone, or any other instrument
designed to reproduce the label on any drug or
container is an offense under this category. Distributing
a small amount of marijuana for no remuneration is
treated as simple possession and is included in this
offense category.
Postal-law violation—a violation of federal laws
governing a broad spectrum of activities pertaining to
the U.S. Postal Service.
Presentence Investigation Report (PSI), federal—a
report prepared by a court’s probation officer, after a
person has been convicted of an offense, summarizing
for the court the background information needed
to determine the appropriate sentence. A federal
probation officer conducts an investigation mandated
by law, unless the court finds that there is information
in the record sufficient to enable the meaningful
exercise of sentencing authority pursuant to 18 U.S.C.
§ 3553 and the court explains this finding on the
record. The PSI is intended to help the sentencing
judges and others in the criminal justice system to
evaluate the offender by providing a comprehensive
background on the offender, which includes a
summary of the current offense, prior criminal
record, personal and family data, evaluation, and
sentencing recommendations.

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Presentment—historically, a grand jury’s written
notice of an offense based on the grand jury’s own
knowledge or observation. In current usage, this can be
a prosecutor’s presentation of alleged facts and charges
to a court or a grand jury.
Pre-trial diversion—an agreement to defer (and
possibly drop) prosecution conditioned on the
defendant’s good behavior or participation in
programs, such as job training, counseling, or
education, during a stated period.
Pre-trial release—a defendant’s release from custody
to the community, for all or part of the time before trial
or during prosecution, on the defendant’s promise to
appear in court when required. The defendant may be
released on personal recognizance, unsecured bond, or
under financial conditions. Pre-trial release includes
defendants released within 2 days after arrest and
defendants released after posting bail or having release
conditions changed at a subsequent hearing.
Pre-trial revocation—the decision to detain a
defendant for violating conditions of pre-trial release
or for committing a new crime while in a pre-trial
release status.
Preventive detention—the detention of a defendant
awaiting trial for the purpose of preventing
further misconduct.
Probation—a sentence imposed for commission of
a crime whereby the convicted criminal offender is
released into the community under the supervision
of a probation officer in lieu of incarceration. An act
of clemency available only to those found eligible by
the court, probation offers a chance for reform and
rehabilitation for the defendant. For this purpose,
the defendant must agree to specified standards of
conduct. Violation of such standards subjects the
offender’s liberty to revocation.
Procedural termination—a judgment based on
the methods and mechanics of the legal process,
including all the rules and laws governing that process.
Procedural law is distinguished from substantive
law, which involves the statutes and legal precedents
on which cases are tried and judgments made. See
also, administrative case closure and terminated on
the merits.
Property offense, fraudulent—a property offense
that involves elements of deceit or intentional
misrepresentation. These offenses specifically include

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

embezzlement, fraud (excluding tax fraud), forgery,
and counterfeiting.
Property offense, non-fraudulent—a violent
offense against property, including burglary, larceny,
motor-vehicle theft, arson, transportation of stolen
property, and other property offenses, such as the
destruction of property and trespassing.
Property offense, other—an offense that involves
the destruction of property moving in interstate or
foreign commerce and in the possession of a common
or contract carrier. Also includes the malicious
destruction of governmental property or injury to
U.S. Postal Service property, such as mailboxes or
mailbags. Trespassing on timber and governmental
lands is also included in this offense category.
Public-order offense, non-regulatory—an offense
concerning weapons; immigration; tax-law violations
(tax fraud); bribery; perjury; national defense;
escape; racketeering and extortion; gambling; liquor;
mailing or transporting of obscene materials; traffic;
migratory birds; conspiracy, aiding and abetting, and
jurisdictional offenses; and other public-order offenses.
Public-order offense, other—a violation of laws
pertaining to bigamy, disorderly conduct on the
U.S. Capitol grounds, civil disorder, and travel
to incite to riot. Also included in public-order
offenses, non-regulatory.
Public-order offense, regulatory—a violation
of regulatory laws and regulations in agriculture,
antitrust, labor law, food and drug, motor-carrier, and
other regulatory offenses that are not specifically listed
in the category public-order offenses, non-regulatory.

R
Racketeering and extortion—racketeering is
demanding, soliciting, or receiving anything of value
from the owner, proprietor, or other person having a
financial interest in a business, by means of a threat
or promise, either expressed or implied. Extortion
is the obtaining of money or property from another
person through the wrongful use of force or fear and
without the person’s consent. This offense code covers
using interstate or foreign commerce or any facility
in interstate or foreign commerce to aid racketeering
enterprises, such as arson, bribery, gambling, liquor,
narcotics, prostitution, and extortionate credit
transactions. Also includes obtaining property or

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money from another person (with the person’s consent
and induced by actual or threatened force, violence,
or blackmail) and committing unlawful interference
with the person’s employment or business. Also
includes transmitting, by interstate commerce or
through the mail, any threat to injure the property,
person, or reputation of the addressee or of another; or
kidnapping any person with intent to extort.
Release, extraordinary—unusual methods by
which a federal prisoner exits prison, such as death,
commutation, or a transfer to another facility.
Release, standard—the usual way by which a federal
prisoner exits prison, including full-term sentence
expirations, expirations with good time, mandatory
releases, and releases to parole.
Remand—to send back. The act of an appellate court
in returning a case to a lower court for further action.
Remove—transfer from federal court (usually to a
state court).
Restitution—a court requirement that an alleged or
convicted offender pay money or provide services
to the victim of the crime or provide services to
the community.
Reversal—the act of a court setting aside the decision
of a lower court. A reversal is often accompanied by a
remand to the lower court for further proceedings.
Revocation—termination of a probation, parole, or
mandatory-release order because of a rule violation or
a new offense, which forces the offender to begin or to
continue serving his or her sentence.
Robbery—the unlawful taking or attempted taking of
property that is in the immediate possession of another
person, by force or threat of force. Also included is
assaulting or putting the life of any person in jeopardy
by the use of a dangerous or deadly weapon while
committing or attempting to commit such robbery.
Rule 20 transfer—on petition by a defendant, a
transfer of proceedings to the district where the
defendant was arrested. The defendant may state in
writing a wish to plead guilty or nolo contendere,
waive trial in the district in which the indictment or
information is pending, or consent to the disposition
of the case in the district in which the defendant
was arrested.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

Rule 40 transfer—on petition by the U.S. attorney,
the transfer of proceedings of a defendant arrested
in a district for an alleged offense committed in
another district.

S
Sentence—the punishment ordered by a court for
a defendant convicted of a crime. For sentences
to incarceration, the maximum time the offender
may be held in custody is reported. See also, split
sentence, mixed sentence, indeterminate sentence, and
mandatory sentence.
Sentencing guidelines (federal)—guidelines
established by the USSC to be followed by the federal
courts in the sentencing of persons convicted of federal
offenses. Established pursuant to the Sentencing
Reform Act of 1984, the sentencing guidelines
prescribe a range of sentences for each class of
convicted persons, as determined by categories of
offense behavior and offender characteristics.
Sexual abuse—Includes all completed and attempted
violent sex offenses: aggravated sexual abuse (18 U.S.C.
§ 2241) and sexual abuse (18 U.S.C. § 2242), defined
as causing a person to engage in a sexual act by use of
force, threat, or fear; a sexual act with a person who
is unconscious, is impaired due to drugs, intoxicants,
or other substances, or is otherwise incapable of
declining participation; sexual abuse of a minor or
ward (18 U.S.C. § 2243); and abusive sexual contact
(18 U.S.C. § 2244), in which a person knowingly
engages in or causes sexual contact with or by another
person without the person’s permission, or with a
person younger than age 12.
Sex offenses, other—Includes other non-violent
sex offenses: sexual exploitation of children and child
pornography (18 U.S.C. §§ 2251-2252A); coercing,
enticing, or transporting (interstate) an individual
(including minors) with the intent and purpose of
engaging in prostitution or any sexual activity for
which any person can be charged with a criminal
offense (18 U.S.C. § 2422); and possession with intent
to sell or the sale and distribution of obscene materials
(18 U.S.C. §§ 1460-1470). See the National Archive of
Criminal Justice Data for a detailed crosswalk for codes
used by the USMS, the Administrative Office of the
U.S. Courts, the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, the
U.S. Sentencing Commission, and the BOP.

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Shock incarceration—an intense confinement
program, consisting of a highly regimented schedule
that provides the strict discipline, physical training,
hard labor, drill, and ceremony characteristic of
military basic training.
Special maritime and territorial jurisdiction—areas
of federal jurisdiction outside the jurisdiction of
any state, including (1) the high seas, Great Lakes,
and connecting waterways; (2) federal lands; and
(3) U.S.-owned aircraft in flight over the high seas.
Split sentence—see mixed sentence.
Stale—a case or matter that is too old to support
successful prosecution.
Substantial assistance—a form of cooperation with
the government in which the defendant provides
the government with information, testimony, or
other assistance relating to the criminal activities of
other persons in exchange for a sentence reduction.
Substantial assistance provides the only mechanism
for judges to impose a sentence below a mandatory
sentence, applicable by the law that describes
the offense.
Supervised release—under the Sentencing Reform
Act of 1984, a form of post-imprisonment supervision
to be imposed by the court as a part of the sentence of
imprisonment at the time of initial sentencing. Unlike
parole, a term of supervised release does not replace
a portion of the sentence of imprisonment, but rather
is an order of supervision in addition to any term of
imprisonment imposed by the court (compare also
with probation).
Surety bond—an agreement by the defendant as a
condition of release that requires a third party (usually
a bail bondsman) to promise to pay the full bail
amount in the event that the defendant fails to appear
in court.
Suspect—an adult or juvenile considered by a criminal
justice agency to be someone who may have committed
a specific criminal offense but has not been arrested
or charged.

T
Tax-law violations—federal tax-fraud offenses include
violations of laws within the Internal Revenue Code
(26 U.S.C.). Includes income tax evasion and fraud,
counterfeiting any stamps with intent to defraud the

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

collection or payment of tax, willfully failing to collect
or pay tax, and failure to obey summons to produce
any papers concerning taxes. Also includes offenses
such as failing to furnish receipts for employees of
tax withheld, failing to furnish information relating
to certain trusts, annuity, and bond purchase plans,
and putting fraudulent or false statements on tax
returns. Violations of excise and wagering tax laws
and not obtaining a license for a business that makes
a profit from foreign items are also included in this
offense category.
Technical violation—failure to comply with any of the
conditions of pre-trial release, probation, or parole,
excluding alleged new criminal activity. Technical
violations may result in revocation of an offender’s
release status. Conditions that may be imposed and
then violated include remaining within a specified
jurisdiction or appearing at specified intervals for
drug tests.
Terminated on the merits—a judgment made after
consideration of the substantive, as distinguished
from procedural, issues in a case. See also,
procedural termination.
Termination—at the pre-trial services stage, includes
execution of sentence, acquittal, dismissal, diversion,
or fugitive status; in U.S. district court, includes
conviction, acquittal, or dismissal; and at probation or
supervised release, includes the removal of a person
from supervision either for successful completion of
the term of supervision or as the result of a revocation.
Threats against the President—knowingly and
willfully depositing in the mail, at any post office,
or by any letter carrier a letter, paper, writing, print,
or document containing any threat to take the life
of or to inflict bodily harm on the President, Vice
President, or any other officer in order of succession
to the Presidency. Knowingly and willfully making
such threats to the above-named persons is included in
this offense.
Time served—the portion of a prisoner’s imposed
sentence spent in prison (from arrival into BOP
jurisdiction until release from prison), plus any jail
time served and credited. For prisoners serving
concurrent sentences, time served may exceed the
longest single sentence imposed.
Traffic offense—a violation of statutes relating to the
operation, maintenance, use, ownership, licensing, and
registration of self-propelled road vehicles, including
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DUI, hit and run, and violations of law not requiring
appearance in court.

W

Transportation violation—a violation of the federal
statutes relating to the Motor Carrier Act, which
regulates the routes and rates of freight motor carriers
and passenger motor carriers in interstate commerce.

Warrant—a court order (writ) that directs a law
enforcement officer to conduct a search or arrest and
bring a person before the judge, such as a person
charged with a crime, an escaped federal prisoner, or a
probation, parole, or bond default violator.

Transportation of stolen property—transporting,
selling, or receiving stolen goods, stolen securities,
stolen moneys, stolen cattle, fraudulent state-tax
stamps, or articles used in counterfeiting, if the above
articles or goods involve or constitute interstate or
foreign commerce.

Warrant clearance or execution—refers to the closing
of a fugitive investigation. Warrants can be cleared
or executed in many ways, including the arrest or
surrender of a fugitive, dismissal by the court, or
lodging a detainer against a fugitive in custody. See
also, detainer.

Trial conviction—conviction by judge or jury
after trial.

Warrant initiation—refers to the opening of a fugitive
investigation on receipt of a warrant.

True bill—an indictment endorsed by a grand jury as
warranting prosecution of the accused.

Weapons offenses—violations of any provisions of
18 U.S.C. §§ 922 (unlawful acts) and 923 (licensing)
with regard to the manufacturing, importing,
possessing, receiving, and licensing of firearms
and ammunition. Includes manufacturing, selling,
possessing, or transporting any switchblade knife;
or making, receiving, possessing, or transporting
a firearm not registered in the National Firearms
Registration Transfer Record within any territory or
possession of the U.S., within Indian country, or within
the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of
the U.S. Also, engaging in importing, manufacturing,
or dealing in firearms, if not registered with the
secretary in the Internal Revenue Service district in
which the business is conducted or not having paid a
special occupational tax. In addition, this code covers
cases wherein a crime of violence or drug trafficking
enhanced punishment is handed down when the crime
was committed with a deadly weapon.

U
United States—the territory occupied by the 50 states,
the District of Columbia, and the outlying territories of
Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and
the U.S. Virgin Islands.
U.S. attorney—a lawyer appointed by the President in
each judicial district to prosecute and defend cases for
the federal government. U.S. attorneys employ a staff of
assistant U.S. attorneys who appear as the government’s
attorneys in individual cases.
Unsecured bond—an agreement by the defendant as
a condition of pre-trial release in which the defendant
agrees to pay the full bond amount in the event of
non-appearance at trial but is not required to post
security as a condition to release.

V
Violation of pre-trial release, probation, or parole—
allegation of a new crime or a technical violation while
on pre-trial release, probation, or parole.
Violent offenses—threatening, attempting, or using
physical force against a person. Includes murder,
negligent manslaughter, assault, robbery, sexual abuse,
kidnapping, and threats against the President.

Federal Justice Statistics, 2016 – Statistical Tables | December 2020

Wildlife offense—a violation of federal law enacted
to protect endangered or threatened species and
migratory birds. The Endangered Species Act
(16 U.S.C. Chapter 35) makes it unlawful for any
person to take, import, sell, or ship endangered or
threatened wildlife. Under this code, the Migratory
Bird Treaty Act protects migratory birds, and the
Lacey Act prohibits the trade of illegally taken fish
and wildlife.

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The Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U.S. Department of Justice is the
principal federal agency responsible for measuring crime, criminal
victimization, criminal offenders, victims of crime, correlates of crime,
and the operation of criminal and civil justice systems at the federal, state,
tribal, and local levels. BJS collects, analyzes, and disseminates reliable
statistics on crime and justice systems in the United States, supports
improvements to state and local criminal justice information systems, and
participates with national and international organizations to develop and
recommend national standards for justice statistics. Jeffrey H. Anderson is
the director.
These statistical tables were prepared by Abt Associates under the
supervision of Mark Motivans of BJS (BJS grant number 2016-BJCX-K044). Principal staff at Abt Associates were Chris Cutler, Omri
Drucker, David Izrael, Ryan Kling, Ari Lewenstein, and Parker Malek.
Mark Motivans provided verification.
Eric Hendrixson and Jill Thomas edited the report. Tina Dorsey produced
the report.
December 2020, NCJ 251772

YEARS OF STATISTICS

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Office of Justice Programs
Building Solutions • Supporting Communities • Advancing Justice
www.ojp.gov