{"id":15721,"date":"2024-02-28T10:47:04","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T15:47:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prisonpolicy.org\/blog\/?p=15721"},"modified":"2024-12-13T13:44:26","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T18:44:26","slug":"releases-sex-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prisonpolicy.org\/blog\/2024\/02\/28\/releases-sex-state\/","title":{"rendered":"Since you asked: How many women and men are released from each state\u2019s prisons and jails every year?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nWe often think about incarceration as something only experienced behind bars, but millions of people leave correctional facilities every year in serious need of services and reentry resources. Journalists, advocates, and other users of our website reach out frequently to ask if we know the total number of people released from prisons and jails in their state each year. Many are trying to fight for more resources for people returning home and want to know how these numbers break down by sex. While these are numbers you might expect would be easy to find, they aren’t published regularly in annual reports on prison and jail populations by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). \n<\/p>\n

\nIn fact, the annual data collected by the federal government about local jails (the Annual Survey of Jails) cannot generally be broken down by state at all; only the more infrequently-collected Census of Jails data can be used to make state-level findings. As for prisons, 2019 is also the latest year for which state-level release data by sex 1<\/a><\/sup> have been published by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. (The total <\/i>number of people released by each prison system is published annually by the BJS, most recently reporting 2022 data<\/a>.)\n<\/p>\n

\nTo make this information more accessible, we’ve drilled down into the most recent data available to show how many men and women are released from prisons and jails each year.2<\/a><\/sup>\n<\/p>\n

\n

Releases from prisons and jails in 2019, by sex, by state or other jurisdiction<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics’ National Prisoner Statistics<\/a> (for prisons), extracted through the Corrections Statistical Analysis Tool<\/a> (CSAT), and the 2019 Census of Jails<\/a> (for jails). Local jail data were weighted and aggregated to the state level by the Prison Policy Initiative. Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Vermont operate combined or “unified” prison and jail systems, so all releases from correctional facilities in those states are reported by the Bureau of Justice Statistics as prison releases. Alaska is a partial exception among these states, because there are still 14 locally operated jails that report data separately from the unified system.
\nDeaths in prison, which are generally included in prison release data, were excluded from prison release totals to better reflect the “reentry” population; however, deaths in prisons are not published by sex. As a result, total prison releases will be slightly less than the sum of men’s and women’s prison releases. The number of deaths in federal (BOP) prisons in 2019, subtracted from total releases, comes from Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2019 – Statistical Tables<\/a>. The number of deaths in local jails is not published by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
\nNote about District of Columbia: D.C.’s prison population is part of the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) system. The BOP releases people to all states and territories, and publishes this data each month on its website<\/a>.
\n<\/caption>\n
<\/th>\n<\/th>\nMen<\/th>\n<\/th>\nWomen<\/th>\n<\/th>\nTotals<\/th>\n
<\/th>\n<\/th>\nPrisons<\/th>\nJails<\/th>\nTotal<\/th>\n<\/th>\nPrisons<\/th>\nJails<\/th>\nTotal<\/th>\n<\/th>\nPrisons<\/th>\nJails<\/th>\nTotal Releases,
2019<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Alabama<\/td>\n<\/td>\n10,878 <\/td>\n209,401 <\/td>\n220,279 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n2,187 <\/td>\n76,060 <\/td>\n78,247 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n12,920 <\/td>\n285,461 <\/td>\n298,526 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Alaska<\/td>\n<\/td>\n1,577 <\/td>\n4,171 <\/td>\n5,748 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n140 <\/td>\n1,113 <\/td>\n1,253 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n1,714 <\/td>\n5,284 <\/td>\n7,001 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Arizona<\/td>\n<\/td>\n11,344 <\/td>\n142,106 <\/td>\n153,450 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n1,700 <\/td>\n47,264 <\/td>\n48,964 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n12,933 <\/td>\n189,370 <\/td>\n202,414 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Arkansas<\/td>\n<\/td>\n8,949 <\/td>\n124,039 <\/td>\n132,988 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n1,392 <\/td>\n46,021 <\/td>\n47,413 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n10,259 <\/td>\n170,060 <\/td>\n180,401 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
California<\/td>\n<\/td>\n34,976 <\/td>\n751,994 <\/td>\n786,970 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n2,888 <\/td>\n197,978 <\/td>\n200,866 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n37,462 <\/td>\n949,971 <\/td>\n987,835 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Colorado<\/td>\n<\/td>\n8,289 <\/td>\n165,718 <\/td>\n174,007 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n1,602 <\/td>\n51,879 <\/td>\n53,481 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n9,840 <\/td>\n217,597 <\/td>\n227,488 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Connecticut<\/td>\n<\/td>\n4,161 <\/td>\nn\/a<\/td>\n4,161 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n319 <\/td>\nn\/a <\/td>\n319 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n4,473 <\/td>\nn\/a <\/td>\n4,480 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Delaware<\/td>\n<\/td>\n1,981 <\/td>\nn\/a<\/td>\n1,981 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n296 <\/td>\nn\/a <\/td>\n296 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n2,269 <\/td>\nn\/a <\/td>\n2,277 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
District of Columbia<\/td>\n<\/td>\nn\/a <\/td>\n9,043 <\/td>\n9,043 <\/td>\n<\/td>\nn\/a <\/td>\n1,430 <\/td>\n1,430 <\/td>\n<\/td>\nn\/a <\/td>\n10,473 <\/td>\n10,473 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Federal (BOP)<\/td>\n<\/td>\n46,320 <\/td>\nn\/a<\/td>\n46,320 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n4,738 <\/td>\nn\/a <\/td>\n4,738 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n50,677 <\/td>\nn\/a <\/td>\n50,677 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Florida<\/td>\n<\/td>\n26,498 <\/td>\n500,267 <\/td>\n526,765 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n3,642 <\/td>\n156,695 <\/td>\n160,337 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n29,737 <\/td>\n656,962 <\/td>\n687,102 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Georgia<\/td>\n<\/td>\n15,311 <\/td>\n450,320 <\/td>\n465,631 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n2,044 <\/td>\n126,536 <\/td>\n128,580 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n17,200 <\/td>\n576,856 <\/td>\n594,211 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hawaii<\/td>\n<\/td>\n1,408 <\/td>\nn\/a<\/td>\n1,408 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n259 <\/td>\nn\/a <\/td>\n259 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n1,654 <\/td>\nn\/a <\/td>\n1,667 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Idaho<\/td>\n<\/td>\n3,502 <\/td>\n51,179 <\/td>\n54,681 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n941 <\/td>\n18,889 <\/td>\n19,830 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n4,416 <\/td>\n70,068 <\/td>\n74,511 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Illinois<\/td>\n<\/td>\n21,963 <\/td>\n197,855 <\/td>\n219,818 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n1,930 <\/td>\n56,108 <\/td>\n58,038 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n23,791 <\/td>\n253,962 <\/td>\n277,855 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Indiana<\/td>\n<\/td>\n9,499 <\/td>\n185,643 <\/td>\n195,142 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n1,586 <\/td>\n57,839 <\/td>\n59,425 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n10,988 <\/td>\n243,482 <\/td>\n254,567 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Iowa<\/td>\n<\/td>\n6,166 <\/td>\n100,482 <\/td>\n106,648 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n969 <\/td>\n33,221 <\/td>\n34,190 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n7,114 <\/td>\n133,703 <\/td>\n140,838 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kansas<\/td>\n<\/td>\n5,037 <\/td>\n118,963 <\/td>\n124,000 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n1,005 <\/td>\n40,370 <\/td>\n41,375 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n6,007 <\/td>\n159,332 <\/td>\n165,374 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kentucky<\/td>\n<\/td>\n15,289 <\/td>\n209,733 <\/td>\n225,022 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n4,358 <\/td>\n81,721 <\/td>\n86,079 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n19,580 <\/td>\n291,455 <\/td>\n311,102 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Louisiana<\/td>\n<\/td>\n15,017 <\/td>\n197,568 <\/td>\n212,585 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n1,930 <\/td>\n51,763 <\/td>\n53,693 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n16,835 <\/td>\n249,332 <\/td>\n266,279 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Maine<\/td>\n<\/td>\n623 <\/td>\n23,540 <\/td>\n24,163 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n132 <\/td>\n7,492 <\/td>\n7,624 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n755 <\/td>\n31,032 <\/td>\n31,787 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Maryland<\/td>\n<\/td>\n6,819 <\/td>\n63,722 <\/td>\n70,541 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n649 <\/td>\n15,464 <\/td>\n16,113 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n7,408 <\/td>\n79,185 <\/td>\n86,653 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Massachusetts<\/td>\n<\/td>\n2,088 <\/td>\n52,182 <\/td>\n54,270 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n304 <\/td>\n7,295 <\/td>\n7,599 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n2,362 <\/td>\n59,477 <\/td>\n61,869 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Michigan<\/td>\n<\/td>\n10,580 <\/td>\n217,041 <\/td>\n227,621 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n896 <\/td>\n63,300 <\/td>\n64,196 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n11,440 <\/td>\n280,341 <\/td>\n291,817 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Minnesota<\/td>\n<\/td>\n6,221 <\/td>\n152,126 <\/td>\n158,347 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n811 <\/td>\n49,202 <\/td>\n50,013 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n6,964 <\/td>\n201,329 <\/td>\n208,361 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mississippi<\/td>\n<\/td>\n6,247 <\/td>\n120,815 <\/td>\n127,062 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n800 <\/td>\n29,127 <\/td>\n29,927 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n6,971 <\/td>\n149,942 <\/td>\n156,989 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Missouri<\/td>\n<\/td>\n15,350 <\/td>\n205,784 <\/td>\n221,134 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n3,271 <\/td>\n58,586 <\/td>\n61,857 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n18,533 <\/td>\n264,369 <\/td>\n282,990 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Montana<\/td>\n<\/td>\n2,051 <\/td>\n31,497 <\/td>\n33,548 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n436 <\/td>\n10,927 <\/td>\n11,363 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n2,475 <\/td>\n42,423 <\/td>\n44,910 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nebraska<\/td>\n<\/td>\n2,020 <\/td>\n50,662 <\/td>\n52,682 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n333 <\/td>\n16,192 <\/td>\n16,525 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n2,336 <\/td>\n66,855 <\/td>\n69,208 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nevada<\/td>\n<\/td>\n5,678 <\/td>\n114,718 <\/td>\n120,396 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n1,011 <\/td>\n42,302 <\/td>\n43,313 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n6,646 <\/td>\n157,020 <\/td>\n163,709 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
New Hampshire<\/td>\n<\/td>\n1,166 <\/td>\n16,993 <\/td>\n18,159 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n183 <\/td>\n5,424 <\/td>\n5,607 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n1,339 <\/td>\n22,417 <\/td>\n23,766 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
New Jersey<\/td>\n<\/td>\n7,706 <\/td>\n101,882 <\/td>\n109,588 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n522 <\/td>\n16,867 <\/td>\n17,389 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n8,182 <\/td>\n118,749 <\/td>\n126,977 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
New Mexico<\/td>\n<\/td>\n2,951 <\/td>\n83,350 <\/td>\n86,301 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n595 <\/td>\n29,366 <\/td>\n29,961 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n3,528 <\/td>\n112,716 <\/td>\n116,262 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
New York<\/td>\n<\/td>\n19,482 <\/td>\n137,565 <\/td>\n157,047 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n1,421 <\/td>\n30,049 <\/td>\n31,470 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n20,791 <\/td>\n167,614 <\/td>\n188,517 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
North Carolina<\/td>\n<\/td>\n14,924 <\/td>\n290,436 <\/td>\n305,360 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n2,291 <\/td>\n91,634 <\/td>\n93,925 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n17,106 <\/td>\n382,070 <\/td>\n399,285 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
North Dakota<\/td>\n<\/td>\n1,085 <\/td>\n34,744 <\/td>\n35,829 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n274 <\/td>\n11,765 <\/td>\n12,039 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n1,358 <\/td>\n46,509 <\/td>\n47,868 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ohio<\/td>\n<\/td>\n17,727 <\/td>\n296,495 <\/td>\n314,222 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n2,683 <\/td>\n99,564 <\/td>\n102,247 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n20,275 <\/td>\n396,059 <\/td>\n416,469 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Oklahoma<\/td>\n<\/td>\n7,840 <\/td>\n152,719 <\/td>\n160,559 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n1,603 <\/td>\n54,713 <\/td>\n56,316 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n9,365 <\/td>\n207,432 <\/td>\n216,875 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Oregon<\/td>\n<\/td>\n5,099 <\/td>\n138,541 <\/td>\n143,640 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n801 <\/td>\n44,380 <\/td>\n45,181 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n5,870 <\/td>\n182,921 <\/td>\n188,821 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pennsylvania<\/td>\n<\/td>\n16,256 <\/td>\n159,945 <\/td>\n176,201 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n1,800 <\/td>\n41,487 <\/td>\n43,287 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n17,897 <\/td>\n201,432 <\/td>\n219,488 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rhode Island<\/td>\n<\/td>\n683 <\/td>\nn\/a<\/td>\n683 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n37 <\/td>\nn\/a <\/td>\n37 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n720 <\/td>\nn\/a <\/td>\n720 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
South Carolina<\/td>\n<\/td>\n5,505 <\/td>\n142,470 <\/td>\n147,975 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n774 <\/td>\n39,364 <\/td>\n40,138 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n6,208 <\/td>\n181,834 <\/td>\n188,113 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
South Dakota<\/td>\n<\/td>\n3,725 <\/td>\n48,612 <\/td>\n52,337 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n868 <\/td>\n18,062 <\/td>\n18,930 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n4,576 <\/td>\n66,673 <\/td>\n71,266 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tennessee<\/td>\n<\/td>\n11,728 <\/td>\n287,094 <\/td>\n298,822 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n2,576 <\/td>\n110,837 <\/td>\n113,413 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n14,205 <\/td>\n397,931 <\/td>\n412,235 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Texas<\/td>\n<\/td>\n67,863 <\/td>\n776,801 <\/td>\n844,664 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n10,669 <\/td>\n217,109 <\/td>\n227,778 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n78,119 <\/td>\n993,910 <\/td>\n1,072,442 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Utah<\/td>\n<\/td>\n3,428 <\/td>\n72,275 <\/td>\n75,703 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n610 <\/td>\n24,688 <\/td>\n25,298 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n4,017 <\/td>\n96,963 <\/td>\n101,001 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vermont<\/td>\n<\/td>\n2,216 <\/td>\nn\/a<\/td>\n2,216 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n321 <\/td>\nn\/a <\/td>\n321 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n2,528 <\/td>\nn\/a <\/td>\n2,537 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Virginia<\/td>\n<\/td>\n10,925 <\/td>\n218,493 <\/td>\n229,418 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n1,772 <\/td>\n65,724 <\/td>\n67,496 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n12,602 <\/td>\n284,217 <\/td>\n296,914 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Washington<\/td>\n<\/td>\n21,807 <\/td>\n202,327 <\/td>\n224,134 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n2,684 <\/td>\n64,430 <\/td>\n67,114 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n24,455 <\/td>\n266,757 <\/td>\n291,248 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
West Virginia<\/td>\n<\/td>\n3,465 <\/td>\n33,632 <\/td>\n37,097 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n687 <\/td>\n12,310 <\/td>\n12,997 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n4,124 <\/td>\n45,942 <\/td>\n50,094 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wisconsin<\/td>\n<\/td>\n5,393 <\/td>\n163,160 <\/td>\n168,553 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n471 <\/td>\n44,661 <\/td>\n45,132 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n5,820 <\/td>\n207,820 <\/td>\n213,684 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wyoming<\/td>\n<\/td>\n842 <\/td>\n21,643 <\/td>\n22,485 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n182 <\/td>\n6,779 <\/td>\n6,961 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n1,010 <\/td>\n28,422 <\/td>\n29,446 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Total, 50 states<\/td>\n<\/td>\n491,338 <\/td>\n7,820,699 <\/td>\n8,321,080 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n71,655 <\/td>\n2,373,986 <\/td>\n2,445,641 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n559,177 <\/td>\n10,193,255 <\/td>\n10,766,721 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Total, all jurisdictions<\/td>\n<\/td>\n537,658 <\/td>\n7,829,742 <\/td>\n8,367,400 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n76,393 <\/td>\n2,373,986 <\/td>\n2,450,379 <\/td>\n<\/td>\n609,854 <\/td>\n10,203,728 <\/td>\n10,817,398 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Why we need data disaggregated by sex or gender identity<\/h2>\n

\nFor years, the mass incarceration of women has been overlooked, even though women’s incarceration has grown at twice<\/i> the pace of men’s incarceration in recent decades. Women are disproportionately locked up in local jails<\/a>, where they’re less likely to be able to afford money bail<\/a> if they’re not convicted, or are more likely to be serving a shorter sentence for a property or drug offense. While there, women in jail experience bleak conditions like expensive phone calls<\/a>, a lack of programming and education opportunities, and poor quality healthcare<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

\nBeing locked up in a state prison<\/a> also presents a unique set of challenges for women, including the higher chance of being hundreds of miles away<\/a> from loved ones. No matter how or where a woman is incarcerated, women are generally worse off than men leading up to their incarceration. And entire families are harmed when a woman is put in prison or jail: More than half of incarcerated women are mothers<\/a>, and women are more likely than men to be primary caregivers<\/a> to children. Ultimately, keeping women out of correctional facilities and supporting them post-release should be a top priority for lawmakers.\n<\/p>\n

\nUnfortunately, data regarding women in the criminal legal system are neither updated regularly nor always compatible across years, obscuring our collective view of what’s happening to women in the criminal legal system and how specific reforms impact them. When it comes to gender identity in prisons and jails, the data are even worse, as government surveys typically include trans men under “females” and trans women under “males,” and do not ask further about self-reported gender identity.3<\/a><\/sup> Without better data collection and reporting, the unique needs of women, as well as transgender and nonbinary people, will go on being disregarded in policy and practice.\n<\/p>\n

\nAny work that chips away at mass incarceration for people of all<\/i> genders should include fighting back against carveouts<\/a> of “non-violent” offenses, addressing family separation<\/a>, drastically improving reproductive<\/a> and gender-affirming<\/a> healthcare, and ramping up gender-responsive reentry services<\/a> for these individuals.\n<\/p>\n

What’s changed since these data were collected in 2019?<\/h2>\n

\nThe COVID-19 pandemic caused a dramatic drop in correctional populations in 2020 and 2021 – although this was due to fewer admissions, not more releases – so there have been fewer people eligible for release in the last couple of years. Even though prison and jail populations have unfortunately largely rebounded<\/a> since then, there were still 29% fewer<\/i> releases from prisons and jails in 2022 compared to 2019.4<\/a><\/sup> Because of this dramatic difference from 2019, we also calculated rough estimates of releases by sex in 2022 on the national level for those interested in what more recent release numbers look like:\n<\/p>\n

Estimated releases from prisons and jails, by sex, in 2022<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
With the exception of the total releases from prisons, all numbers are estimates based on 2019 data and should be used with caution. Details may not sum to totals due to rounding.<\/caption>\n
<\/th>\nMen<\/th>\nWomen<\/th>\nTotal<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Releases from state and federal prisons (excluding deaths)<\/td>\n388,355<\/td>\n55,179<\/td>\n443,534<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Releases from local jails<\/td>\n5,537,103<\/td>\n1,678,855<\/td>\n7,215,958<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Releases from all prisons and jails<\/td>\n5,925,457<\/td>\n1,734,034<\/td>\n7,659,492<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nTo estimate what 2022 releases from prisons<\/b> might look like by sex, we started with the number of state and federal prison releases, excluding deaths, reported in 2022 by the Bureau of Justice Statistics: 443,534.5<\/a><\/sup> We then used the 2019 data to find the percentage of all prison releases that were from female prisons, which was about 12%; this percentage was based on all releases including deaths, because deaths in prison aren’t reported by sex. Applying this percentage to total prison releases in 2022, we estimate that about 55,179 people were released from female state and federal prisons in 2022, of which about 3,951 were from federal prisons.6<\/a><\/sup>\n<\/p>\n

\nTo estimate the number of releases from local jails<\/b> in 2022 by sex, we first had to estimate the number of total releases, which the Bureau of Justice Statistics did not publish. We started with the number of jail admissions<\/i> reported for that year: 7.3 million, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.7<\/a><\/sup> Most people are jailed for a relatively short time, typically released from jail the same year they are admitted, so we would expect the number of admissions to be very close to the number of releases.8<\/a><\/sup> In 2019, there were just 1.15% fewer people released from jails nationwide than were admitted that year. We applied this percentage to the 7.3 million jail admissions in 2022, arriving at an estimated 7,215,958 releases from local jails in 2022. To estimate how many of those releases were women, we calculated the percentage of all jail releases in 2019 that were women (23%) and applied that percentage to our estimate for total jail releases in 2022. Because there is no national source of data for jail deaths in 2022, we could not exclude deaths from these estimates of jail releases.\n<\/p>\n

Opportunities for further data analysis<\/h2>\n

\nWe also get lots of questions about the number of people released to local communities (counties, cities, et cetera). While we don’t have a solution that works for every state, we do suggest two different ways to generate estimates in our previous briefing about releases<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

\nData collection efforts regarding incarcerated women are slowly improving in some areas: For example, the Bureau of Justice Statistics is considering adding questions about pregnancy and maternal health<\/a> in its national surveys of correctional facilities. In the meantime, we hope this dataset is useful in your advocacy work. The 2019 release data can be accessed from our Data Toolbox<\/a>; for more information about mass incarceration in your state, see our State Profiles<\/a> pages.\n<\/p>\n

\n

Footnotes<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. \n

    Even the available data that are disaggregated by sex are frustratingly limited, in that they typically only differentiate between “male” and “female,” ignoring the reality that the gender identities of confined people (and all people, for that matter) are not limited to this binary. This field of research has a long way to go before the data are consistently collected and reported by gender identity rather than an administrative categorization of “male” versus “female.”  ↩<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    Astute readers will notice that male and female releases sum up to more than the total number of releases in a state. This discrepancy occurs because the Bureau of Justice Statistics does not publish the number of deaths — which count as a form of “release” — by sex. We removed the number “released” due to death from the total prison releases to better reflect the number of people in the reentry population in each state, but could not do the same calculation by sex. If you are able to find the number of male or female deaths in your state’s prisons or jails in 2019, you can get slightly closer to the number of people released.  ↩<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    One major exception to this is the 2016 Survey of Prison Inmates, a rich government dataset we analyzed to reveal more about gender identity<\/a> and transgender people in state prisons<\/a>. A timely new report from the Vera Institute of Justice and Black and Pink National also details the experiences of transgender people in prisons<\/a>.  ↩<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  4. \n

    In state and federal prisons in 2022, there were 443,534 releases (excluding deaths), a 27% decrease from 609,869 in 2019. In jails, we estimate there were about 7,215,958 releases in 2022, and 10,203,728 releases in 2019, a 29% difference. (Because BJS published only the number of admissions to – and not releases from – jails for 2022, we calculated our own estimate for releases in 2022. To do so, we first calculated the ratio of annual releases to annual admissions in 2019 (98.85%), and then applied that ratio to the published estimate of admissions in 2022 (7,300,000), arriving at our 7,215,958 estimated releases.)  ↩<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  5. \n

    See Table 9 in Prisoners in 2022<\/a>.  ↩<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  6. \n

    We did not attempt state-level estimates by sex for 2022 because the number of women released from some state prisons in 2019 was quite small. For example, just 37 sentenced women were released in Rhode Island that year, and several other states reported fewer than 200 female releases. Because of these small numbers, even small changes in the distribution of releases by sex from 2019 to 2022 would have a sizable impact on the accuracy of our state-level estimates. However, if any readers are looking for back-of-the-envelope estimates at the state level, they could follow the logic of our methodology for our national estimates using the state-level data from 2019.  ↩<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  7. \n

    See Table 1 in Jail Inmates in 2022<\/a>.  ↩<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  8. \n

    In 2022<\/a>, for example, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that the average length of stay in local jails was 32 days.  ↩<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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