Public Policy Institute of California

California Counts
POPULATION TRENDS AND PROFILES
Hans P. Johnson, editor

Vo l u m e 8 N u m b e r 1 • A u g u s t 2 0 0 6

Who’s in Prison?
The Changing Demographics of Incarceration
By Amanda Bailey and Joseph M. Hayes

For issues of crime and punishment, California has experienced a
dynamic period over the past 15 years. Voters and legislators have
chosen to impose harsher criminal penalties but also to experiment
with alternatives to incarceration. The federal courts have taken
management of the entire prison health care system away from
the state itself; they have also ruled that California’s racial segregation policy in prisons is
unconstitutional. And as a larger number of Californians are confined to prison, concern has
mounted about the effects of incarceration policies on all Californians, in particular on the
families and communities that prisoners leave behind and to whom many eventually return.
The state prison population has grown three times faster than the general adult population
since 1990 and at year-end 2005 stood at 167,698. African Americans have the highest incarceration rates of any group (5,125 per 100,000 adults in the population for men and 346 per
100,000 for women, compared to 1,159 and 62, respectively, for all adults), although Latinos
now constitute the largest ethnic group in the prison system, at 38 percent of the total.
The prison population is aging, with adults under age 25 representing a steadily declining
share while the number of prisoners in older age groups continues to grow. Currently, the
share of prisoners age 50 and older is 11 percent, up from 4 percent in 1990, whereas the share
of prisoners under age 25 has declined from 20 percent to 14 percent. This trend bears on the
health care problem, as the cost of housing, transporting, and caring for elderly inmates is
estimated to be two or three times higher than for other inmates (Brown and Jolivette, 2005).
The San Joaquin Valley and the Inland Empire contribute somewhat disproportionately
to the prison population, and the highest incarceration rates are found in rural Central Valley
counties. Women constitute 7 percent of prisoners, and they differ significantly from men by

ummary

Public Policy Institute of California

California Counts
The state prison
population has grown
three times faster
than the general adult
population since 1990
and at year-end 2005
stood at 167,698.

Who’s in Prison?

a few important measures, most notably racial/ethnic representation and
offense type.
Prisoners serving time for violent crimes are a majority (just over 50%)
of the prison population, and their share is growing. More serious sentencing laws have increased the penalties for this group, contributing to its
growth as well as to the aging of the overall prison population.
By contrast, drug offenders now represent a diminished share of the
prison population, having fallen from 28 to 21 percent in the past 15 years;
admissions for drug crimes have also declined in recent years, following the
introduction of alternatives to prison for some offenders. Together, these
trends contribute to a population composed of older prisoners serving longer terms for serious or violent offenses.

Amanda Bailey and Joseph M. Hayes are research associates at the Public Policy Institute of
California. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of PPIC. The authors acknowledge the helpful comments of Richard Greene, Hans P. Johnson, Greg Jolivette, Deborah Reed,
Lorien Rice, Darren Urada, and Franklin Zimring. They would also like to extend their
thanks to those who provided data: Christopher Shores and Lori Asuncion at the California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), Offender Information Services
Branch; Allen Beck and Timothy Hughes at the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics; and Tom Zelenock at the Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social
Research.

2

Public Policy Institute of California

California Counts
Introduction

O

n February 23, 2005, the
U.S. Supreme Court ruled
that California’s policy of segregating new prison arrivals according to race was unconstitutional.
The state had argued that the
practice was necessary to prevent
interracial violence. On June 30,
2005, U.S. District Judge Thelton
Henderson ordered that a federal
receiver take control of California’s $1.1 billion-per-year prison
health care system, citing deplorable conditions and preventable
deaths. In 2004, voters elected
not to restrict the application of
the ten-year-old Three Strikes and
You’re Out law.
Who are the people at the
center of these recent policy interventions? To what extent does the
prison population resemble the
wider state population, and in
what ways does it differ? What is
its racial and ethnic profile? What
health problems prevail in the
prison system, and how might the
population’s changing age structure affect health care costs? How
do changes in sentencing policy
alter the composition of the prison
population?
In this issue of California
Counts, we begin by providing a
demographic profile of the state
prison population as of December
31, 2005. We compare California’s
prison population to the general
population by several demographic
measures and then examine some

Who’s in Prison?

incarceration-specific characteristics, including offense and sentence type.
Next, we explore how these
characteristics have changed over
the past 15 years, paying particular attention to the substantial
growth of the prison population
and the sizable yearly flows of
prisoners into and out of the system. Finally, we examine some
of the likely reasons for these
changes.
In particular, we document
changes in California’s prison population subsequent to three contemporary policy interventions that
have affected its size and composition: the passage of the Three
Strikes and You’re Out law (in
Assembly Bill 971 in March 1994
and Proposition 184 in November
1994), California’s adoption and
enactment of Truth in Sentencing
(September 1994), and the passage
of the Substance Abuse and Crime
Prevention Act (Proposition 36 in
2000).

Who Are California’s
Prisoners?

A

t year-end 2005, California
housed 167,698 men and
women in 33 prisons, 40 camps,
and 12 community correctional
centers throughout the state,1
giving it the largest state prison
population in the United States
(see the textbox, “Focus and Data

California incarcerates
616 prisoners per
100,000 adults in the
population, 17th of the
50 states.

Sources”).2 California incarcerates 616 prisoners per 100,000
adults in the population, 17th of
the 50 states.3 Most prisoners are
men (93%) but women represent a
growing share.
The prison population includes
a few teenagers, many adults in
midlife, and a small number of
elderly inmates (Figure 1). Imprisoned men are slightly younger
than imprisoned women. The
average age at year-end 2004 was
36 for men and 37 for women
(California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, 2005).
Fifteen percent of men and 11
percent of women were younger
than age 25 at the end of 2005.
Three-quarters of adult prisoners
were between ages 25 and 49 at
year-end 2005. Eleven percent of
the prison population is age 50 or
older.
As Figure 1 illustrates, people
ages 25 to 44 are overrepresented
3

Public Policy Institute of California

California Counts
Adult African American
men are seven times
as likely as white men
and 4.5 times as likely
as Latino men to be
incarcerated.

Who’s in Prison?

among prisoners compared to
their share in the general adult
population; older people are underrepresented among prisoners. Criminological research tells us that young
people are the most likely group to
commit crimes (Blumstein, Farrington, and Moitra, 1985; Gottfredson
and Hirschi, 1990). As people age,
they tend to commit fewer crimes.
The age distribution among prisoners at year-end 2005 is consistent with this pattern—younger
prisoners represent a high share
of the prison population.
Three of every four men in
prison are nonwhite (38% are
Latino, 29% are African American,
and 6% are of another race or
ethnicity4 —see Figure 2), although
just over one-half of the general
adult male population is nonwhite.

Figure 1. Percentage Distribution of Prisoners and Adults,
by Age and Gender, 2005
25
Men prisoners
Women prisoners
California adults

Percentage

20
15
10
5
0
18–24

25–29

30–34

35–39

40–44

45–49

50–54

55–59

60+

















	


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4

White men constitute 27 percent
of the prison population but 44
percent of the general adult male
population. Among women prisoners, 28 percent are Latina, 29 percent are African American, 39 percent are white, and 5 percent report
some other race or ethnicity. Compared to their numbers in the general population, however, African
Americans are disproportionately
represented in prisons.
Race-specific incarceration
rates (i.e., the number of prisoners
per 100,000 adults in the population) illustrate the disproportionate number of African Americans
in prison. We calculate these
incarceration rates separately for
adult men and women (Figure
2). African American men and
women have a dramatically higher
probability than other groups of
being imprisoned. Adult African
American men are seven times as
likely as white men and 4.5 times
as likely as Latino men to be
incarcerated. Among adult men,
5,125 per 100,000 African Americans were imprisoned in 2005,
compared to 770 per 100,000
whites, 1,141 per 100,000 Latinos,
and 474 per 100,000 for those
classified as “other.” One out of
every 12 African American men
ages 25 to 29 in California is currently in state prison.5
Furthermore, although adult
women overall have much lower
incarceration rates than men,
African American women have
a higher incarceration rate than

Public Policy Institute of California

California Counts

Who’s in Prison?

Figure 2. Percentage Distribution of Prisoners, by Race and Ethnicity, and
Race-Gender-Specific Incarceration Rates, 2005
Men
prisoners
California
adult
men

40
Percentage

35
30
25
20
15
10
5

Rate per 100,000 adult men

6,000

50
45

0

4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0

Latino

African
American

White

Other

Latino

African
American

White

Other

Women
prisoners
California
adult
women

40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0

Rate per 100,000 adult women

400

50
45

Percentage

Incarceration rates
(men)

5,000

Incarceration rates
(women)

350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0

Latina

African
American

White

Other

Latina

African
American

White

Other







	



	


!
 $(


%
"
# '
#
	

$$






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)
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other women. African American
women are four times as likely
to be imprisoned as whites and
Latinas. Among African American women, 346 per 100,000 in
the population are incarcerated,
whereas fewer than 80 women per
100,000 are incarcerated among
whites, Latinas, and other groups.
Prior research shows that higher
arrest rates for African Americans,
particularly for crimes that result

in imprisonment, partially explain
the black-white differentials in
incarceration rates (Blumstein,
1982, 1993). In California in 2004,
African Americans were about
three times as likely as whites to
be arrested for any offense and
four times as likely to be arrested
for a felony offense.6 Contextual
factors such as unemployment,
poverty, and lower educational
attainment are associated with

crime and arrests. African Americans have the highest poverty rate
(17%) of any native-born racial or
ethnic group in California (Reed,
2006) and among the lowest high
school completion rates (77% for
African Americans compared to
89% for whites) (Reed, 2005).
Even when controlling for education and birth cohort (and thus,
business cycles), Pettit and Western (2004) show that among high
5

Public Policy Institute of California

California Counts
Incarceration rates
are much lower for
foreign-born adults
(297 per 100,000) than
for U.S.-born adults
(813 per 100,000).

school dropouts, African American men are seven times as likely
as white men to be imprisoned.
Finally, some research suggests
that the American history of slavery (Wacquant, 2002) and racial
bias in various stages of the criminal justice system, including policing, prosecution, and sentencing
(Free, 2002; Beckett, Nyrop, and
Pfingst, 2006; Taxman, Byrne,
and Pattavina, 2005; Alpert, MacDonald, and Dunham, 2005), also
partially explain higher rates of
incarceration for African Americans.
Reflecting California’s diverse
population, a sizable share of prisoners was born outside the United
States.7 Approximately 17 percent
of all prisoners (28,279) were born
abroad, with a higher share of men
(17%) than women (8%) born in
another country.8 Sixty percent
of all foreign-born prisoners were
6

Who’s in Prison?

born in Mexico, 4 percent were
born in El Salvador, and 3 percent were born in Vietnam.9 Incarceration rates are much lower
for foreign-born adults (297 per
100,000) than for U.S.-born
adults (813 per 100,000).
Highly populated regions
of the state send more people to
prison than do less populated
areas. Approximately three of
every five prisoners (62%) at
year-end 2005 were sentenced
and committed to prison from
Southern California. Los Angeles
County is home to 32 percent of
the adult population and commits about that share of prisoners (33%). The share of prisoners
committed from the San Joaquin
Valley and the Inland Empire10 is
higher than those regions’ representation in the general adult population. The Bay Area and South
Coast regions send fewer people
than are represented by their general adult population.
Figure 3 shows incarceration
rates at the county level (controlling for county population size)
and gives a more detailed view of
variation in prison commitments
across California. Shasta, Tehama,
Yuba, and Lake Counties, relatively small northern inland counties with majority white adult
populations, have the highest
incarceration rates. Incarceration
rates are elevated for all racial
and ethnic groups living in these
areas. Incarceration rates for white
men are especially noteworthy, at

2.5 times higher in these counties
than in the state overall. Latino
men in Yuba and Lake Counties
also have twice the incarceration
rate of Latino men in California
overall. Men who have been categorized as an “other” race also
have noticeably higher rates of
incarceration in these counties,
ranging from 1.8 times higher in
Yuba County to 6.7 times higher
in Lake County than in the state
overall. Kern and Kings Counties in the Central Valley, with
roughly equal shares of white and
Latino residents (47% and 39%,
respectively, in Kern, and 42%
each in Kings), also have high
incarceration rates. Both white
and Latino men in these Central
Valley counties have incarceration
rates that are nearly double the
state rates.
Each of these six counties
incarcerates more than 1,000 people per 100,000 adults; the state
rate is 616 per 100,000. These
rates may result from either genuinely higher crime rates in these
counties, or tougher enforcement
and prosecution, or both. The
oft-observed link between poverty
and incarceration is reflected here,
as the highest incarceration counties all have higher poverty rates
than the state as a whole. At the
other end of the spectrum, the
Bay Area and the South Coast
counties, relatively wealthy areas,
have the lowest incarceration rates
in the state (fewer than 400 per
100,000 adults).

Public Policy Institute of California

California Counts

Who’s in Prison?

Figure 3. California Incarceration Rates per 100,000 Adults,
by County, 2005
Del
Norte

Siskiyou

Trinity

Modoc

Shasta

< 400
400–699
700–999
1,000+

Lassen

Humboldt
Tehama
Mendocino

Glenn

Plumas
Butte

Colusa Yuba
Lake
Sutter

Forty-four percent of
California prisoners do
not have a high school
diploma or GED.

Sierra
Nevada
Placer

El Dorado
Yolo
Alpine
Sacramento Amador
Napa
Solano
San Calaveras
Marin
Contra
Mono
Tuolumne
Joaquin
San Francisco Costa
Alameda Stanislaus Mariposa
San Mateo
Santa
Merced
Santa Cruz Clara
Madera
Fresno
San
Benito
Sonoma

Inyo

Tulare

Monterey

Kings

San Luis
Obispo

Kern
San Bernardino

Santa
Barbara
Ventura

Los
Angeles

Orange

Riverside
San
Diego

Imperial

Source: Authors’ calculations of 2005 CDCR data
and 2005 DOF data.
Note: Incarceration rates by county are not age-adjusted.

Research shows that completing a general equivalency diploma
(GED) or postsecondary degree or
participating in vocational classes
while in prison reduces recidivism
(Nuttall, Hollmen, and Staley,
2003; Vacca, 2004) and provides
prisoners with basic skills that
may lead to postrelease employment. Educational investments in
prison are particularly important
because most prisoners in Califor-

nia have completed little formal
education (Figure 4). Forty-four
percent of California prisoners do
not have a high school diploma or
GED; the comparable number for
the general California adult population is 21 percent.11 Educational
attainment differs by race and
ethnicity. Nearly two-thirds of
Latinos (63%) in prison have not
completed high school. Prisoners
of all racial and ethnic groups,

including Latinos, have earned a
GED in prison in roughly equal
shares (14% to 17%).
The effects of incarceration
extend far beyond prison walls to
touch the lives of thousands of
children and family members of
prisoners. Two-thirds of women
in California’s prisons are mothers of children under age 18; more
than half of these mothers were
living with their children at the
7

Public Policy Institute of California

California Counts
More than half of
women in California
prisons (58%) have
an immediate family
member (e.g., mother,
father, brother, spouse,
or child) who has also
been imprisoned.

Who’s in Prison?

time of their arrest.12 About half
of men in prison are fathers of
minor children and 42 percent of
fathers lived with their children
at the time of their arrest.13 Prior
research suggests that children
of incarcerated parents are more
likely to serve time in prison
themselves (Petersilia, 2000;
Greene, Haney, and Hurtado,
2000). Our findings seem to corroborate this connection—more
than half of women in California
prisons (58%) have an immediate family member (e.g., mother,
father, brother, spouse, or child)
who has also been imprisoned.
Forty-two percent of male prisoners report that an immediate family member has been imprisoned.
This varies greatly by race and
ethnicity. Two-thirds each of Afri-

Figure 4. Percentage Distribution of California Prisoners,
by Education, 1997
100
90

Bachelor’s degree
or more
Some college
GED in prison
High school
diploma
< High school

80

Percentage

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Latino

African
American

White

Other

Source: Authors’ calculations of 1997 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities
data.

8

can American, Latina, and “other”
women have an immediate family
member who has been incarcerated, compared to 44 percent of
white women. Half of African
American men in California prisons said they had an immediate
family member who had been
imprisoned, with a lower share of
white, Latino, and “other” men
reporting this connection.

What Crimes Did
Prisoners Commit?

O

ne-half of all prisoners at
year-end 2005 were serving
time for violent crimes (including
homicide, robbery, assault and
battery, sex offenses, and kidnapping); approximately 20 percent
were serving time for property
crimes (such as burglary, theft,
vehicle theft, or forgery/fraud),
20 percent for drug offenses, and
10 percent were locked up for
other types of crimes (such as
escape from custody, felony driving under the influence, arson,
or possession of a weapon). Men
and women differ sharply in the
types of crimes for which they are
incarcerated (Figure 5). A majority
of men are imprisoned for violence
(52%) whereas women most often
serve time for property crimes
(36%) and drugs (30%).
Type of offense varies by other
characteristics as well. Only 14 percent of those under age 25 were
imprisoned for drug crimes, whereas

Public Policy Institute of California

California Counts

Who’s in Prison?

Figure 5. Percentage Distribution of Types of Offense,
by Gender, 2005
Women

Men

Other
5%

Other
8%
Drug
20%

Drug
30%

Violent
29%

Violent
52%
Property
20%

Twenty-six percent
of prisoners were
sentenced under the
Three Strikes and
You’re Out law, which
enhances the sentences
of felons with one or
more prior serious or
violent felonies.

Property
36%

Source: Authors’ calculations of 2005 CDCR data.

52 percent were sentenced for
violent crimes and 25 percent for
property crimes. A lower share of
white prisoners was committed for
violent offenses (44%), compared
to other groups (52% for Hispanics and African Americans, and
63% for “other”). A higher share
of foreign-born prisoners than of
U.S.-born prisoners was serving
time for violence (60% compared
to 50% for men and 38% compared to 28% for women).

Sentencing and
Overcrowding

S

ix of every ten prisoners are
serving a determinate sentence
(a sentence of a specified length)
and could be paroled before serv-

ing the specified time. By contrast,
14 percent of state prisoners are
serving sentences that make them
potentially permanent residents
of the system (Figure 6). Most of
these long-term prisoners are serving an indeterminate life sentence
(20,487 “lifers” constitute 12%
of the prison population) and
will be released only on parole
board approval. Another 2 percent
(3,300) are serving a life sentence
without the possibility of parole.
Fourteen women and 638 men are
on death row.
Twenty-six percent of prisoners
were sentenced under the Three
Strikes and You’re Out law (see
Greenwood et al., 1996; Schichor
and Sechrest, 1996; Austin et al.,
1999; Zimring, Hawkins, and
Kamin, 2001), which enhances

the sentences of felons with one or
more prior serious or violent felonies. Second-strikers serve double
the normal sentence following their
second conviction and constitute 21
percent (35,412) of those currently
imprisoned. Third-strikers serve 25
years to life and make up 5 percent
(7,815) of the prison population.14
At year-end 2005, California
penal institutions were operating at nearly double their design
capacity. That meant they were
186 percent occupied, judging by
the maximum number of beds a
facility was designed to contain.
(CDCR Monthly Report of Population, December 31, 2005). Crowding beyond design capacity varies
by security level. Higher security
prisons, where inmates live in
cells, are less crowded (but demand
9

Public Policy Institute of California

California Counts
California state prisons
held 96,794 people
in 1990; by year-end
2005, the California
prison population had
increased by 73 percent,
to 167,698.

Who’s in Prison?

more staff) than lower security,
dormitory-style prisons and camps;
reception centers are particularly
overcrowded, averaging 245 percent of design capacity. Although
design capacity can be an imprecise measure of overcrowded conditions, the nearly double-capacity
figure does suggest that CDCR is
struggling to effectively house all
prisoners. CDCR reports that the
overall maximum capacity for the
institutional population (i.e., the
“real” maximum or use of all possible space) is 176,50015 and that,
as of May 31, 2006, there were
170,713 prisoners in CDCR custody.16 Crowded conditions can
adversely affect rehabilitative services. Using classrooms and dayrooms as dormitories reduces the
possibility that rehabilitative and

Figure 6. Percentage Distribution of Sentence Type
Life without parole
2%

Death row
0.4%

Life
12%
Third-striker
5%

59%
Second-striker

21%

Source: Authors’ calculations of 2005 CDCR data.
Note: Percentages do not sum to 100 because of rounding.

10

Determinate
sentence

vocational programs and services,
which are keys to reducing recidivism, will be available or effective
(Marquart et al., 1994).

How Is California’s
Prison Population
Changing?

C

alifornia has seen substantial
growth and dramatic compositional change in its prison
population over the past 15 years.
California state prisons held
96,794 people in 1990; by yearend 2005, the California prison
population had increased by 73
percent, to 167,698.17 During
the same period, Latinos became
the largest ethnic group in the
prison population (while whites
became the largest racial group
among women prisoners), and the
age structure shifted toward older
prisoners. From 1990 to 2005, the
prison population expanded three
times faster than the general population—73 percent compared to 25
percent (Figure 7).
Incarceration rates, the number
of persons in prison per 100,000
in the general adult population,
demonstrate imprisonment trends
independent of population change
(Figure 8). Incarceration rates have
increased over the past 15 years
in California, jumping from 443
in 1990, peaking at 673 in 1998,
and declining in recent years to
616. Compared to the rest of the

Public Policy Institute of California

California Counts

Who’s in Prison?

Since 1998, California
incarceration rates
have declined while
rates in the rest of the
United States have
continued to increase
slightly.

Figure 7. Changes in Prison and Adult Population,
1990–2005
180
170
Indexed growth

160
150

Prison population
California adult population

140
130
120
110

05
20

04

03

20

02

20

01

20

00

20

99

20

19

98
19

97

96

19

95

19

94

19

93

19

92

19

91

19

19

19

90

100

Source: Authors’ calculations of 2005 CDCR data and 2005 DOF data.
Note: Population changes have been indexed to 100 for the 1990 population.

Figure 8. Incarceration Rates per 100,000 Adults,
1990–2005
Rate per 100,000 adults

800
700
600
500
400
300
200

California
Rest of U.S.

100

19
90
19
91
19
92
19
93
19
94
19
95
19
96
19
97
19
98
19
99
20
00
20
01
20
02
20
03
20
04
20
05

0

Sources: Authors’ calculations of data from Harrison and Beck (2005) (for rest of U.S. rates) and
CDCR data (for California rates); U.S. Census Bureau population estimates; and California DOF
population data.
Notes: To maintain consistency with rates reported elsewhere in this study, we show California
incarceration rates based on CDCR data. California’s incarceration rates using BJS data are nearly
identical to our results using CDCR data in all available years (e.g., 615 compared to 609 in 2004).

United States, California had
especially high incarceration rates
in the mid to late 1990s. Since
1998, however, California incarceration rates have declined while
rates in the rest of the United
States have continued to increase
slightly. California rates have leveled off at 616 while rates in the
rest of the United States stand at
573. California ranks 17th among
all states for incarceration rates.
The dropoff in the late 1990s
coincides with an economic boom
and lower poverty in California.
Criminological research suggests
a correlation between poverty and
crime (Blau and Blau, 1982). As
poverty declined in the late 1990s
(Reed, 2006), there could have
been a genuine decrease in the
amount of crime and, thus, fewer
11

Public Policy Institute of California

California Counts
The vast majority of
admissions every year
consists of prisoners
being returned from
parole, either for a
new crime or for a
technical violation of
their parole terms.

Who’s in Prison?

prisoners entering the system. The
peak of admissions in 1998 (Figure 9) and subsequent decline is
consistent with this explanation.
Additionally, California enacted
treatment instead of incarceration
for some drug offenders in 2001,
which slowed prison growth.
The California prison population is far more dynamic than is
commonly understood. This population constantly changes, with
new admissions arriving in the system, prisoners being released from
custody on parole or outright, other
prisoners returning for parole violations or new offenses, and inmates
dying while in custody.
At year-end 1990, the system
held 96,794 prisoners in custody.
During the next year, 97,769 pris-

Figure 9. Admissions, Releases, and Net Change in Prison
Population, 1990–2002

Prison population (thousands)

150

Admissions

Releases

Net change

100
50
0
–50
–100
–150
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Source: Authors’ calculations of National Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP) data, 1990–2002.

12

oners were admitted to the system,
either arriving on new sentences
or having had their parole revoked
(Figure 9). Meanwhile, 93,354
prisoners left the system, resulting
in a net population gain of 4,415
prisoners from the previous year,
pushing the prison population to
over 101,200.
Through most of the 1990s,
admissions slightly outpaced
releases; the prison population
grew between 4.5 percent and
9.5 percent each year until 1998.
Admissions peaked in 1998 at
135,812, but releases kept growing,
peaking in 2000 at 131,832. By
that time, releases outnumbered
admissions by almost 4,000 and
the prison population began to
decline slightly, a pattern that
continued until 2002, when it
reversed again.18
The vast majority of admissions every year consists of prisoners being returned from parole,
either for a new crime or for a
technical violation of their parole
terms. In 2004, only 33 percent
of admissions were new admissions; in 1990, 41 percent were
new admissions.19 These numbers
are consistent with the 70 percent
recidivism rate found by Fischer
(2005). But as Fischer notes,
California has a unique parole
process—nearly every prisoner is
released to parole and placed under
supervision for a period of time.
This practice inevitably boosts the
number of technical violators and
perhaps explains why California

Public Policy Institute of California

California Counts
has such a high rate of recidivism
compared to other states.

Demographic Changes
Women constitute 7 percent of
the overall state prison population, and their numbers have been
increasing slightly faster than
those of men. Since 1990, the
number of women in state prison
in California has expanded 77
percent (from 6,440 to 11,418);
the comparable number for men
is 73 percent. Because women are
typically imprisoned for property
and drug offenses, the “war on
drugs” of the 1980s and 1990s
may have increased arrest and
imprisonment among women
(Simpson, 1991). Thirteen percent
of women prisoners were serving
time for drug offenses in 1980 but
by 1990, that share had increased
to 40 percent, peaked at 44 percent in 1999, and stood at 30 percent in 2005. The declining share
in the last few years at least partly
reflects the drug treatment alternatives created by Proposition 36.
Thirty percent of male prisoners were Latino in 1990; by 2005,
Latinos constituted the largest
ethnic group, at 37 percent. The
share of African American and
white men in prison decreased
during this time period, from 36
to 29 percent and from 29 to 27
percent, respectively. A slightly
different pattern emerges among
women prisoners. Both Latina
and white women increased their
shares in prison between 1990 and

Who’s in Prison?

2005, Latinas growing from 23
to 28 percent and the white share
from 35 to 39 percent. African
American women experienced a
pattern identical to that of African
American men, decreasing from
36 to 29 percent of the prison
population.

Regional Representation
Between 1990 and 2002, Los
Angeles County’s share of prison
admissions dropped from 39 percent to 26 percent. The difference
was made up chiefly by the San
Joaquin Valley and the Inland
Empire, whose shares of admissions during the same time rose
from 11 to 14 percent and 8 to 15
percent, respectively. In absolute
terms, these regions’ contribution
to prison admissions is considerable. The San Joaquin Valley
moved from 10,806 admissions in
1990 to 17,145 in 2002, whereas
the Inland Empire’s admissions
increased from 7,459 in 1990 to
17,897 in 2002.
The cumulative effect of this
growth in admissions is echoed in
the disproportionate numbers of
prisoners committed from these
regions. The San Joaquin Valley
and the Inland Empire both experienced significant adult population growth between 1990 and
2005, but the growth in the number of prisoners from these regions
was far greater. The population of
prisoners from the San Joaquin
Valley grew twice as fast as the
region’s general adult population

The San Joaquin Valley
and the Inland Empire
both experienced
significant adult population growth between
1990 and 2005, but the
growth in the number
of prisoners from these
regions was far greater.

(87% compared to 39%); for the
Inland Empire, the prison population grew four times as fast as the
adult population (221% compared
to 48%).

Age Structure
The prison population is becoming older for at least three reasons:
The state’s overall population is
aging, prisoners are aging in place
because they are serving longer
sentences, and older adults are
increasingly likely to be admitted
into prison. Table 1 shows that
young adults represent a declining
share of the prison population and
older prisoners a greater share. In
1990, 20 percent of prisoners were
younger than age 25; in 2005,
only 14 percent of prisoners were
under age 25. Across this same
time period, the share of prison13

Public Policy Institute of California

California Counts

Who’s in Prison?

Table 1. Changing Age Distribution of the Prison
Population and Admissions, 1990–2005
Stock Population, %

Admissions, %

Incarceration Rates per
100,000 Adults

Year

18–24

50+

18–24

50+

18–24

50+

1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005

20
20
20
20
19
17
17
16
16
15
15
15
15
15
15
14

4
4
4
4
4
5
5
6
6
7
8
8
9
9
10
11

19
18
19
19
17
16
15
15
14
14
15
15
16
—
—
—

3
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
5
5
6
6
7
—
—
—

550
582
649
706
708
722
763
772
767
733
708
680
681
677
655
646

59
62
67
73
80
89
102
118
130
140
147
149
155
163
172
185

Source: Authors’ calculations of CDCR, NCRP, and California DOF data, 1990–2005.
Note: Incarceration rates are age-specific per 100,000 under age 25 and ages 50+.

ers age 50 and older has nearly
tripled—from 4 percent in 1990
to 11 percent in 2005. Admissions
records echo this trend.
Age-specific incarceration rates
are included in Table 1 to account
for age trends in the general population. Rates for the youngest
group rose swiftly during the
first part of the decade, peaking
at 772, then fell back to 646 per
100,000. But for those age 50 and
older, incarceration rates more
than tripled during the period,
from 59 to 185 per 100,000.
Changes in the age structure
of admissions help to illustrate
this aging trend. Between 1990
and 2002, the median age of
14

prison admissions rose from age
31 to 34. Figure 10 displays agespecific admissions rates, to separate these trends from the overall
aging of the state’s population.
The rates for each age group under
age 40 show moderate overall fluctuation throughout the decade,
whereas the rates for each age
group age 40 and over increase
dramatically. Particularly notable
is the rate for the 40–49 age
group, nearly doubling from 304
per 100,000 in the population in
1990 to 576 in 2002, and in the
process surpassing the admissions
rate for the under age 25 group.
The aging of the prison population could exacerbate the health

care problem as the population
in need expands (see the textbox
“Prisoner Health”). Responsibility
for the California prison health
care system has already been
wrested from state authorities by
the federal courts and given to
a receiver because of the state’s
failure to provide adequate health
care to prisoners. Furthermore,
some researchers question the
cost-effectiveness of incarcerating
older people who are beyond their
prime offending years (Schmertmann, Amankwaa, and Long,
1998; Brown and Jolivette, 2005).

Why Is the
California
Prison Populaton
Changing?

M

any factors contributed to
the demographic changes
highlighted in the last section,
including state-level economic and
demographic trends and criminal
justice strategies concerning law
enforcement, prosecution, and
sentencing. We do not attempt to
account for all these factors or to
draw a direct causal link to the
outcomes we observe, but we do
pay particular attention to the
policy interventions implemented
from 1990 to 2005 with an eye
toward identifying their likely
effects.
Three recent policy interventions merit particular consider-

Public Policy Institute of California

California Counts

Who’s in Prison?

California is unique
among states with
three strikes laws in
that the triggering
felony need not be
serious or violent—
any felony conviction
can be the second or
third strike.

Figure 10. Age-Specific Admissions Rates, 1990–2002

Rate per 100,000 in population

1,200

< 25
25–39
40–49
50+

1,000
800
600
400
200

02
20

01
20

00
20

99
19

98
19

97
19

96
19

95
19

94
19

93
19

92
19

91
19

19

90

0

Source: Authors’ calculations of NCRP data, 1990–2002.

ation. First, the Three Strikes and
You’re Out law, as discussed above,
enhances the sentences of offenders
with one or more prior serious or
violent felonies. Second, Truth in
Sentencing, a federal program initiated in 1994, provided financial
incentives to states requiring that
violent offenders serve at least 85
percent of their sentences without
the possibility of earlier parole
(Sabol et al., 2002). California met
the Truth in Sentencing criteria
in 1994. Third, Proposition 36,
known formally as the Substance
Abuse and Crime Prevention Act
of 2000, diverts nonviolent drug
offenders from prison to probation
and community-based treatment
centers.
Tougher sentencing policies (including three strikes and

truth in sentencing legislation)
explain much—although by no
means all—of the demographic
change that we see in the general
prison population over the 15-year
period. Most clearly, the three
strikes law established a new sentencing dimension in California,
creating a determinate sentence
category for second-strikers (with
double the penalty) and an indeterminate sentence category (25
years to life) for third-strikers.
California is unique among states
with three strikes laws in that
the triggering felony need not
be serious or violent—any felony
conviction can be the second or
third strike. Beyond sentencing,
three strikes legislation also affects
the actual time served by strikers.
Prisoners sentenced under three

strikes can reduce their sentences
by only one-fifth, rather than onehalf, as nonstriker prisoners can,
through credits for good behavior.
The innovative drug treatment
policy (Proposition 36) partially
explains the more recent slowdown in prison population growth
and the shift to a higher share of
prisoners serving time for violent
crimes.

New Sentencing Structure
In 1990, 90 percent of California
state prison inmates were serving
a sentence of determinate length,
and 10 percent were serving either
a term of life (8.4%), life without
parole (0.9%), or death (0.3%).
Beginning in 1994, with the passage of the three strikes legislation,
new felony admissions who had
15

Public Policy Institute of California

California Counts
Three strikes legislation has affected
African Americans
disproportionately.
Thirty-eight percent
of strikers are African
American, compared to
29 percent in the overall prison population.

Who’s in Prison?

previously been convicted of serious or violent felonies began to
be classified as second-strikers or
third-strikers.
Figure 11 shows the changes
in composition of inmates by
sentence type that resulted. At
year-end 1995, after the first full
year of implementation of three
strikes, 11.4 percent of prisoners
were serving sentences handed
down by the courts under this
law, and 10.6 percent were serving
a term of life or more. The striker
group continued to grow throughout the 1990s in both absolute and
percentage terms. In recent years,
the number of second-strikers
has begun to stabilize around the
year-end 2005 level of 35,412,
whereas the number of thirdstrikers has continued to climb,

reaching 7,815 by that time. Collectively, strikers account for 26
percent of the prison population,
and those serving life or more
constitute 15 percent.
In addition, an undetermined
number of second-strikers currently
live in the broader community
and if arrested and convicted of
a felony—even a nonserious, nonviolent felony—can be imprisoned
for 25 years to life.20 The longer
sentences imposed on both secondand third-strikers under this law
will likely continue to increase the
prison population (Greenwood et
al., 1996; Sorensen and Stemen,
2002).
Three strikes legislation has
affected African Americans disproportionately. Thirty-eight
percent of strikers are African

Figure 11. Distribution of Sentence Type, 1990–2005

Prison population (thousands)

180
160

Death row

140

Life without
parole

120

Life
Third-striker

100

Second-striker

80

Determinate
sentence

60
40
20
0
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Source: Authors’ calculations of CDCR data, 1990–2005.

16

Public Policy Institute of California

California Counts
American, compared to 29 percent
in the overall prison population.
White and Latino shares of strikers (26% and 33%, respectively)
are similar to their representation
in the overall prison population.
Although the striker population
tripled in size between 1995 and
2005, its racial/ethnic representation remained exactly the same.

The Nexus of Tougher
Sentencing and Aging
As noted above, the prison population is aging. Age-specific incarceration rates for people ages 50
and older (Table 1), which control
for population size and growth,
have tripled from 59 per 100,000
population in 1990 to 185 in 2005.
This growth, in rate as well as in
share, shows that the aging phenomenon is not driven entirely by
demographic changes, but it is at
least partly the consequence of the
enactment of three strikes and truth
in sentencing legislation in 1994. At
the end of 1995, the year after three
strikes went into effect, California
prisons held 15,308 second- and
third-strikers. Of these, most (61%)
were younger than age 35 (Figure
12). The largest group was between
ages 30 and 34 (26%) and the
next largest, between ages 25 and
29 (22%).
Ten years later, the picture of
strikers had changed substantially.
At year-end 2005, the total number had almost tripled (to 43,227)
and the age distribution had
shifted considerably—the largest

Who’s in Prison?

group of strikers was those ages
40 to 44, and a clear majority
(65%) was age 35 or older. This
aging of the striker population
is consistent with other research
on longer sentencing and the
resulting older prison population
(Brown and Jolivette, 2005; Aday,
2003; Schmertmann, Amankwaa,
and Long, 1998).
Very similar patterns emerge
in the age distribution of prisoners
serving sentences of life, life without parole, or death. This category
comprises nearly 25,000 inmates
and is aging rapidly. Between 1995
and 2005, the median age rose
from 34 to 39, and the proportion
of prisoners age 50 and over grew
from 10 percent to 20 percent.

. . . incarceration rates
for people ages 50 and
older, which control
for population size and
growth, tripled from 59
per 100,000 population
in 1990 to 185 in 2005.

Drug Treatment in Lieu of
Incarceration
The enactment of Proposition 36
in 2001 has dramatically diminished the number of prisoners serving time for drug offenses—the
period from 2000 to 2005 saw
a decrease of more than 10,000
prisoners. This was to be expected,
as the law’s intent was to provide
rehabilitative alternatives for drug
addicts outside the prison system.
The decrease in prisoners with drug
convictions meant an increase in
the share of prisoners serving time
for all other types of offenses.
Prisoners serving time for violent crimes constituted the largest
offense type throughout the time
interval, and as of year-end 2005,
that group represents a majority of

the population, at just over 50 percent (Figure 13). (This category of
prisoners has also grown steadily
in absolute terms throughout this
interval, from 40,000 in 1990 to
over 83,000 in 2005.) During the
1990s, property crimes and drugrelated crimes alternated as the
second- and third-most-common
offense types. Between 1995 and
2000, drug crimes outpaced property crimes, peaking at 28 percent
in 1999. But following the implementation of Proposition 36, the
share (and absolute number) of
prisoners serving time for drug
crimes declined, slowly at first, then
more rapidly, and recently settling
around 21 percent of the total.
17

Public Policy Institute of California

California Counts

Figure 12. Age Distribution of Strikers, 1995, 2000,
and 2005
10,000
9,000
8,000
Number of strikers

The enactment of
Proposition 36 in 2001
has dramatically diminished the number of
prisoners serving time
for drug offenses—
the period from 2000
to 2005 saw a decrease
of more than 10,000
prisoners.

Who’s in Prison?

7,000
6,000
5,000

< 25
25–29
30–34
35–39
40–44
45–49
50+

4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
1995

18

2000

2005

Source: Authors’ calculations of CDCR data, 1995–2005.

Figure 13. Change in Composition of Prisoners, by Offense
Type, 1990–2005
60
50

Percentage

40
30
20
10
0

19
90
19
91
19
92
19
93
19
94
19
95
19
96
19
97
19
98
19
99
20
00
20
01
20
02
20
03
20
04
20
05

As noted above, the offenses
for which men and women are
committed to prison differ. Drug
charges drove the largest movements of women into and out of
the prison system over the past
decade, peaking in 1999 with over
50 percent of women admitted to
the system for this type of crime
(Figure 14). Drug crime admissions dropped (in share and in
absolute numbers) after 1999. The
pattern for releases (not shown) is
very similar but with a delayed
decline in releases for drug crimes.
Drug charges figure in most prominently among releases, peaking in
2001, when more than half of
women released from prison had
been serving time on drug charges;
releases from prison for property
crimes remain at about 33 percent
of the total.
For men, drug crime admissions show a very similar pattern
(Figure 15), peaking in 2000 at

Source: Authors’ calculations of CDCR data, 1990–2005.

Violent
crimes
Property
crimes
Drug
crimes
Other
crimes

Public Policy Institute of California

California Counts

Who’s in Prison?

Figure 14. Change in Composition of Admissions of
Women, by Offense Type, 1990–2002
60
Violent
crimes
Property
crimes
Drug
crimes
Other
crimes

50

Percentage

40
30
20
10

02

01

20

00

20

99

20

98

19

97

19

96

19

95

19

94

19

93

19

92

19

91

19

19

19

90

0

Source: Authors’ calculations of NCRP data, 1990–2002.

Figure 15. Change in Composition of Admissions of Men,
by Offense Type, 1990–2002
60
Violent
crimes
Property
crimes
Drug
crimes
Other
crimes

50

Percentage

40
30
20

35 percent of the total and declining thereafter, whereas violent and
property crimes remain at around
26 and 30 percent, respectively.
As of 2002, drug crimes were still
the most common type of admission among men, but the emerging trend was toward nearly equal
proportions of violent, property,
and drug crimes.
These patterns show that
Proposition 36 has reduced admissions to California state prisons.
However, drug crimes remain an
important source of admissions.
The only offenders who would
be serving prison time for drug
charges after Proposition 36 are
those with offenses for sale or
manufacturing of drugs or those
who were ineligible because of a
history of violent or serious crimes,
a concurrent non-drug offense, or
repeated violations following Proposition 36–mandated treatment.
The remaining drug offenders
would be getting treatment in lieu
of incarceration. This diversion
into treatment rather than incarceration means that a higher share
of prisoners will be serving time
for violent and other offenses.

10

Conclusion
02

01

20

00

20

99

Source: Authors’ calculations of NCRP data, 1990–2002.

20

98

19

97

19

96

19

95

19

94

19

93

19

92

19

91

19

19

19
9

0

0

A

ll Californians have a stake
in the state’s prison system.
Per capita spending on adult
corrections has increased by 78
percent in the past 16 years, from
$109 in 1990 to $194 (inflation19

Public Policy Institute of California

California Counts
Large numbers of
prisoners flow into and
out of the system each
year. Many of these
prisoners are parents,
and thus the effects
of incarceration reach
far beyond the prisons
themselves.

adjusted) in 2006. The governor’s
2006–2007 budget proposes to
spend more than $7.2 billion on
adult corrections. The California
Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation consumes 6 percent
of the overall budget and is the
fourth-largest general fund expenditure. Moreover, serious problems
have been identified in the state’s
prison system, with the federal
government placing prison health
care in the hands of a receiver and
the U.S. Supreme Court requiring that the state desegregate its
prisons. Large numbers of prisoners flow into and out of the system

20

Who’s in Prison?

each year. Many of these prisoners
are parents, and thus the effects of
incarceration reach far beyond the
prisons themselves.
The current size of the California state prison system, whose
growth since 1990 has outpaced
that of the state’s overall adult
population by three times, presents the obvious problems of
overcrowded prison facilities and
increased health care costs. A
detailed examination of this population’s recent changes in composition puts a finer point on these
emerging concerns and suggests
some results of recent policy interventions in the corrections system.
Because crime and the potential responses to it continue to rank
high among public policy concerns,
it may be instructive to observe
the effects of recent legislation on
the prison population. The three
strikes and truth in sentencing
laws have produced longer sentences and increased time served,
respectively. Together with Proposition 36, they are helping to transform the prison population into
one composed of more serious or
violent offenders, although drug

crimes still constitute a major cause
of imprisonment. Most clearly, the
population is getting older.
The aging of the prison population, accelerated by the passage
of stricter sentencing laws in the
previous decade, presages greater
health care needs and costs for the
near future, especially given already
high rates of infectious disease
among prisoners. Because of high
turnover in the system every year,
these health issues could have a
significant effect on the entire
California population, especially
on the communities from which
these prisoners come and to which
many eventually return. It remains
to be seen whether the management of state prison health services
by a receiver accountable to a federal court will bring any relief.
The impetus behind the three
strikes and truth in sentencing
legislation was to reduce crime, not
to change the prison population.
However, given the continued
growth and shifting composition
we have identified in this population, it will be important to consider such effects when formulating
any future policy interventions. U

Public Policy Institute of California

California Counts

Who’s in Prison?

Text Box 1. Focus and Data Sources
Focus on prisoners
In this California Counts, we describe California prisoners housed in state-run adult
facilities. We do not address the approximately 15 federal prisons in California,
which held 18,154 prisoners as of February 2006, nor do we consider those persons
held in local or county jails throughout the state.
Readers should note that imprisonment represents one of the end stages of the
criminal justice system. Many processes, institutional actors, and practices precede incarceration. We are not accounting for the differences, demographic and
otherwise, that may exist in the commission of crimes, policing activities, arrests,
prosecution, legal counsel, or sentencing. Likewise, we are not explicitly examining
prisoner reentry, recidivism, substance abuse, poverty, or employment—all factors
that may influence imprisonment. Our goal is to describe California prisoners today
and how this population has changed over the past 15 years.
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation data
We obtained annual data on state prisoners from the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation, Offender Information Services Branch, for 1980 and
1990 through 2005. Specifically, CDCR provided us with tabulated data for county
of commitment, offense category, admission and return status, sentence status, and
commitment type. We received each of these substantive pieces of information by
age (categorical), race and ethnicity, sex, and nativity. In this report, we focus only
on adult prisoners who are incarcerated in the state-run adult facilities, including
institutions, camps, community correctional centers, and mental health hospitals.
Our numbers may differ from published CDCR reports because of differing dates
for population counts or different base populations (e.g., we do not have information on temporary releases, interstate cooperatives, or interstate parole units).
Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities data
The Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research provided us with the
California state sample (confidential data) from the 1997 Survey of Inmates in State and
Federal Correctional Facilities (SISFCF). The survey provides nationally representative
data on state prison inmates and, because of the large California subsample, is representative of the California state prison population (n = 151,496). The data collectors used
personal interviews to get information about prisoners’ current offense and sentence,
criminal history, family background, prior drug and alcohol use and treatment programs, and much more. The survey was conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the
Bureau of Justice Statistics and Bureau of Prisons in five- to six-year intervals from 1974
to 1997 and has not been administered since that time.

21

Public Policy Institute of California

California Counts

Text Box 1. continued
National Corrections Reporting Program data
The National Corrections Reporting Program, a project of the Bureau of Justice
Statistics, collects yearly comprehensive data on convicted persons’ entrance into
and departure from correctional custody and supervision. California has reported
every year since 1983, providing a full set of records for each year through 2002.
Beginning in 1983, the NCRP included inmates with sentences of a year or
less—prisoners sentenced to state prison but admitted to or released from a local
jail, for instance, were included in the accounting. Multiple admissions or releases
during the year, including those entering parole or having had their parole revoked,
were recorded as separate records. For these reasons, a simple tallying of admissions
less releases does not give the net growth in the prison population as measured by
CDCR data.
Since our interests lay solely with those persons in physical custody, we used
the information on admissions to and releases from California state institutions
and ignored the portion concerned with release from parole. Data collected include
race, gender, and age of inmates; type of offense; type of admission and release;
prior time served; maximum and minimum sentence length; and, for persons being
released, time served on the current conviction. Unfortunately, we found the race/
ethnicity data to be fraught with missing values and suspiciously low numbers for
Latino prisoners for selected years, so we were not able to use these data for determining the racial/ethnic composition of the yearly flow of prisoners into and out of
the system.

22

Who’s in Prison?

Public Policy Institute of California

California Counts

Who’s in Prison?

Text Box 2. Prisoner Health
We have shown that California’s prison population is aging and now has a sizable
share of people older than age 50 (11%). As this population ages and as current policies incarcerate people for longer periods of time, greater demands will be placed
on the prison health care system. Currently, that system is in crisis and in federal
receivership, and conditions may worsen as older prisoners require more health care.
Additionally, the lack of adequate health care for prisoners may heighten the prevalence and spread of infectious diseases in prisons.
As with any institutionalized group, prisoners are at high risk for contraction
and spread of tuberculosis (TB). Many prisoners, especially those with a history
of IV drug use, are also considered high risk for HIV and hepatitis B and C. The
prevalence of these diseases among prisoners varies according to the specific year
and data source, but prisoners generally have a higher infection rate than the general population. According to self-reports, 16 percent of prisoners in California have
TB.21 Tuberculosis infection varies by race and ethnicity. One of every four prisoners classified as “other” race (including Asians and Pacific Islanders) report a positive
TB test. Twenty-two percent of Latinos are positive for TB whereas a lower share of
African Americans and whites report TB infection (15% and 8%, respectively).
HIV infection rate estimates vary by data source (from 1% to 4% of the prison
population), but all sources confirm that rates differ by race and ethnicity. Three
percent of African American prisoners and 1 percent of white prisoners self-report
HIV positive status.22 Other groups’ rates are significantly lower. A cross-sectional
study of new admissions to California prisons in 1999 found that 1.4 percent tested
positive for HIV, 3.5 percent had current/chronic hepatitis B, and 33 percent had
current hepatitis C (Ruiz et al., 2001). HIV rates were higher for women prisoners
than for men. African American women and men, however, had the highest rates
of HIV infection, with 2.8 and 2.3 percent positive, respectively. Hepatitis C, common among IV drug users, was prevalent in the prison population, with an astonishing one in three men and one in four women testing positive in the 1999 new
admissions study.
In addition to physical problems, many prisoners experience mental and emotional difficulties. Nearly one-third of women prisoners in California report taking
medication for emotional or mental problems; 18 percent of men say that they have
taken prescription medicine for emotional and mental health reasons.23 Emotional
problems may be related to other traumas in prisoners’ backgrounds and their current situation. Forty-five percent of women prisoners in California report physical
abuse in their pasts; 39 percent report sexual abuse. These shares are much lower for
imprisoned men.

23

Public Policy Institute of California

California Counts
Notes
According to the CDCR website, the 33
prisons range from minimum to maximum
custody and are located in 19 counties.
Several cities within these counties house at
least two prison facilities (http://www.cya.
ca.gov/ReportsResearch/OffenderInfoServices/
OffenderInformation.html).

1

Who’s in Prison?

tody have a USICE hold (54%) or potential
hold (22%) (Authors’ calculations of CDCR
data, March 2006.) Further, the Legislative
Analyst’s Office shows that California budgeted approximately $700 million in 2005–
2006 to incarcerate illegal immigrants who
committed crimes in California. The state
anticipated about $78.5 million from the federal government to partially offset this cost.
Data on the place of birth for foreign-born
residents are from CDCR and are current
as of March 31, 2006. The share of foreignborn as of this date was the same as our
share at year-end 2005 (17%).

17 Moreover, this 15-year period itself followed a decade of unprecedented—and since
unmatched—growth in the prison population, attributed in large part to increased
arrests and sentencing for violation of new
drug laws, as well as to the use of determinate sentencing, which California adopted
in 1977. Between 1980 and 1990, the California prison population quadrupled, from
24,165 to 96,794.

9

On May 31, 2006, the total CDCR population was 310,949—170,713 in institutions,
116,530 on parole, and 23,706 classified as
“non-CDCR jurisdiction,” which includes
people under other state or federal jurisdiction, out of state parole, inmates out to
court, escapees, and so forth.

2

The U.S. incarceration rate was 578 per
100,000 adults in 2004 (authors’ calculations
using the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics
(BJS) data). The national ranking reported
here is based on year-end 2004 data from BJS.

3

The other race group reported here comprises Asian, Pacific Islander, Native Hawaiian,
American Indian, Alaska Native, and a
catch-all “other race” category.

4

California is not unique in the high share
of young African American men behind
bars. Harrison and Beck (2005) report that
8.4 percent of African American males
between ages 25 and 29 in the nation were
in state or federal prison at year-end 2004.
For further discussion of race, imprisonment, and inequality see Pettit and Western
(2004).

5

Authors’ calculations using arrest data from
California Department of Justice (2004,
Table 30) and population data from the
California Department of Finance.

6

Authors’ calculations using the 2005 Current Population Survey show that 35 percent
of California’s adult population is foreign-born.

7

A foreign-born person who is convicted of
a crime in a California court and receives a
prison sentence will serve that sentence in a
California state prison, regardless of immigration status. After serving the sentence,
immigrants with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (USICE) “holds” will be
paroled to the federal immigration authorities
for deportation. Approximately three-quarters
of current foreign-born prisoners in state cus8

24

We define the San Joaquin Valley as
Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, San
Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tulare Counties.
The Inland Empire consists of Riverside and
San Bernardino Counties. Alameda, Contra
Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San
Mateo, Santa Clara, and Solano Counties
form the Bay Area. We define the South
Coast as Orange and Ventura Counties.

10

Information about prisoners’ educational
attainment comes from the authors’ calculations of data from the 1997 Survey of
Inmates in State and Federal Correctional
Facilities (SISFCF), except where otherwise
noted. Unfortunately, more recent data are
not available. For comparison, the educational attainment of the general California
adult population is based on 1997 Current
Population Survey data.

Data for admissions and releases from the
NCRP are currently available only through
2002.
18

19 Authors’ calculations using admissions
data from California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (2005).
20 The Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates
that, as of December 31, 2004, about 80,000
second-strikers have been sent to state
prison since 1994 and approximately half of
these have served their time and have been
released. District attorneys have discretion to
use three strikes sentence enhancements.

11

Information about parental status and
living arrangements before incarceration is
based on the California sample of the 1997
SISFCF data.

12

13 For more information on the effects of
incarceration on children, see Powell and
Nolan (2003).

Third-strikers who receive a life sentence
are not part of the group we refer to as
“lifers”—those serving a life sentence with or
without the possibility of parole. These sentence types are mutually exclusive categories.

14

http://www.corr.ca.gov/DivisionsBoards/
AOAP/FactsFigures.html.

15

http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/ReportsResearch/
OffenderInfoServices/Monthly/TPOP1A/
TPOP1Ad0605.pdf.

16

21 Authors’ calculations using 1997 SISFCF
data.

Authors’ calculations using 1997 SISFCF
data.

22

23 Authors’ calculations using 1997 SISFCF
data.

Public Policy Institute of California

California Counts
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Public Policy Institute of California

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In This Issue

California’s
Changing Prison
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