Prison Population Trends in Connecticut Since 1994

Connecticut has made efforts to reduce the state's prison population as well as reduce overall crime, which have fluctuated since 1994. In that year, the total supervised inmates, according to the Connecticut Department of Correction, was 15,968 inmates.

In comparison, 2014 showed a 23 percent increase to 20,678 inmates. However, these numbers don’t tell the whole story since the gap between the percent of Connecticut’s population that are incarcerated versus how many people are not has grown.

Since 2009, Connecticut has seen a reduction in its crime and incarceration rates. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said in a release of 2013’s “Crime in Connecticut” report: “As the release of these national statistics today show, Connecticut is making sustained progress in crime reduction. Our approach prioritizes violent crime and is based on state-of-the-art risk assessment tools. We credit our success to close collaboration between local, state and federal agencies.”

VOTE NOW: Should Convicted Felons Be Allowed to Vote?

Malloy and other lawmakers also gave credit to other initiatives at the state and local levels that have helped reduce crime and prison populations over the past six years, such as community nonprofits that provide services to at-risk youth in addition to a renewed focus on more violent crimes.

A report by the New Haven Register shows the following factors that have contributed to Connecticut’s violent crime offenses dropping from about 1.3 million to under 1.175 million, with a big drop of 10.1 percent since 2012. These factors for the drops since 2012 include:

• Robberies declining 4.8 percent
• Rape down 28.4 percent
• Property crime decreasing 8 percent
• Murder rates dropping (one report shows 40 percent, but that number has been challenged)
• Drop in youth (ages 18-21) inmates of 44 percent

In addition, the Connecticut government released the “2012 Prison Population Forecast,” which took a look back and toward the future of the state of Connecticut’s prison population. It concluded in 2012, “The current prison population is at its lowest level in a decade. On February 1, 2012, 17,262 people were incarcerated in Connecticut prisons. The last year in which the prison population was lower on February 1 was in 1999.”

This positive downward trend will hopefully continue for Connecticut taxpayers.

VOTE NOW: Is Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy Doing a Good Job?

Related Stories:

• 5 Facts About Coffee With a Cop
• 5 Pros and Cons of Police Wearing Body Cameras