JUSTICE SYSTEM SWELLS TO RECORD 6.6. MILLION

WASHINGTON -- One in 32 U.S. adults was behind bars or on probation or
parole by the end of last year, according to a government report Sunday that
found a record 6.6 million people in the nation's correctional system.

The number of adults under supervision by the criminal justice system rose
by 147,700, or 2.3 percent, between 2000 and 2001, the Justice Department
reported. In 1990, almost 4.4 million adults were incarcerated or being
supervised.

"The overall figures suggest that we've come to rely on the criminal justice
system as a way of responding to social problems in a way that's
unprecedented," said Marc Mauer, assistant director of the Sentencing
Project, an advocacy and research group that favors alternatives to
incarceration. "We're setting a new record every day."

Nearly 4 million people were on probation, 2.8 percent more than in 2000,
while there was a 1 percent increase of those on parole, to 731,147. The
number of people in prison grew by 1.1 percent to 1.3 million, the smallest
annual increase in nearly three decades. There was a 1.6 percent increase of
people in jails, to 631,240. More than half of those on probation -- 53
percent -- had been convicted of felonies, according to the Bureau of
Justice Statistics report.

Texas had more adults under correctional supervision than any other state,
755,100. California was second with 704,900. Texas also had the most adults
on probation, 443,684, followed by California at 350,768.

Anglos accounted for 55 percent of those on probation, while blacks made up
31 percent, statistics show. On the other hand, 46 percent of those
incarcerated were black, and 36 percent were Anglo.

Experts noted the recent trend of arrests declined for murder, rape and
other violent crimes. Many of those on probation were convicted of using
illegal drugs or driving while intoxicated, the report showed.

Also, some states have eliminated mandatory minimum sentences for certain
crimes. California's Proposition 36, passed in 2000 with 61 percent of the
vote, requires treatment rather than incarceration for nonviolent drug
offenders. Most of those drug users wind up on probation.

"The collection of reforms, from drug courts to treatment in lieu of
incarceration to sentence reforms like getting rid of mandatory minimums and
expanding community correction options, have the effect of redirecting
people from prison to probation," said Nick Turner, director of national
programs for the Vera Institute of Justice, a nonprofit research group.

The government report found that 46 percent of those discharged from parole
in 2001 had met the conditions of supervision, while 40 percent went back to
jail or prison for violations.