Census of State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 1995

In the 5 years between censuses, prison construction nearly kept pace with prison population growth. Between 1990 and 1995 State and Federal governments added 213 prisons and more than 280,000 prison beds -- representing a 41% increase in prison capacity. In 1995 State prisons were on average operating at 4% above rated capacity and Federal prisons at 25% above capacity. At mid-1995 about 1 in 4 State correctional facilities were under court order or consent decree to limit population or to address specific conditions.

In 1995, correctional authorities recorded more than 14,000 assaults on prison staff, up 32% from 1990, and nearly 26,000 assaults on inmates, up 20% from 1990. Relative to the number of inmates, however, the annual number of assaults on other inmates dropped from 31 per 1,000 inmates in 1990 to 27 per 1,000 in 1995, and the number of assaults on staff remained unchanged at 15 per 1,000 inmates.
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