Prison Population Trends in Alabama Since 1994

According to the 2014 annual report from the Alabama Department of Corrections, the jurisdictional populations of inmates in Alabama correctional facilities has been on the rise since about 1978, until recently. The report shows that the rate has been slowly declining since 2012.

Here is a little more information about population trends in Alabama since 1994.

Males vs. Females

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, at year-end in 1994, the total number of inmates under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities in Alabama was 19,573, with 19,074 sentenced to terms of longer than one year.

Of those inmates, the number of female prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities in Alabama was 1,214, representing 6.2 percent of the total population.

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Since then, Alabama’s inmate population has grown by 41 percent, according to AL.com. The last annual report indicates that the total population under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities in Alabama was 31,999. The female population was 2,654, representing 8.3 percent of the total population.

Types of Crimes Committed

The types of crimes committed in Alabama over the last two decades has not shown a distinct trend either up or down.

Since 1994, the amount of violent crimes committed in Alabama has fluctuated between 28,844 as the highest rate in 1994 to 18,363 in 2010.

The property crime rate in Alabama has also varied since 1994, with a high in 2008 of 190,292, and a low in 2013 of 161,993.

Vehicles theft hit a high in 1996 with 15,632, and bottomed out in 2012 with 9,874.

Capital Punishment Sentences

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 31 prisoners were executed in 13 states during 1994. Alabama had 135 inmates being held under a death sentence, 24 of which were added between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 1994.

In 2013, the number had jumped to 190 inmates being held under a death sentence, with five new inmates added during 2013.

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