Pubdate: Sun, 26 Nov 2000
Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)
Copyright: 2000 Houston Chronicle
Contact:  Viewpoints Editor, P.O. Box 4260 Houston, Texas 77210-4260
Fax: (713) 220-3575
Website: http://www.chron.com/
Forum: http://www.chron.com/content/hcitalk/index.html
Author: Deborah Tedford

STATE, FEDERAL PRISON POPULATION PASSES 1.2 MILLION

The number of inmates in state and federal prisons hit an all-time 
high this year, as the prosecution of drug crimes pushed the convict 
population past the 1.2 million mark, according to a Department of 
Justice study.

Federal crime initiatives along the Southwest border fueled the 
increase after Attorney General Janet Reno assigned the highest 
priority to the prosecution of drug crimes.

According to the department study, more than half of the 93,708 men 
and women incarcerated in federal prisons are serving time for 
drug-related crimes.

Texas has logged so many drug arrests this year that the district 
attorneys along the border are, again, declining to prosecute federal 
drug prisoners.

And the burgeoning federal case load has forced judges in Texas' 
western districts to sentence some drug criminals via video 
conference.

In California -- where one in three state prisoners is serving time 
for a drug-related crime -- a new law will send first- and 
second-time nonviolent, drug offenders to treatment facilities 
instead of prison. That move will reduce the state's prison 
population by as many as 36,000 inmates a year, according to a 
legislative analyst.

But despite increases in state drug prosecutions, local district 
attorneys still put a priority on punishing violent criminals, the 
department study shows.

State prisons house more than 900,000 men and women for crimes 
ranging from theft and robbery to drunken driving. But, by far, the 
majority of men and women imprisoned by state authorities are serving 
time for crimes of violence. The department study shows that 47 
percent of men and 32 percent of women in state custody committed an 
act of violence.

Twenty-one percent of men incarcerated in state prisons and 33 
percent of women are serving time for drug-related crimes, according 
to the study.

Figures from the study do not include detainees awaiting prosecution 
or deportation, or juvenile offenders.

Texas houses 163,190 inmates, making Texas prisons the most populous 
in the country.
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MAP posted-by: Kirk Bauer