U.S. PENAL SYSTEM BULGES AT SEAMS

Justice Department -- 6.6 Million In Jail, On Parole Or Probation

Washington --- One in every 32 adults in the United States 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.''

Almost 4 million people were on probation, 2.8 percent more than in 2000,
while the number of people in prison grew by 1.1 percent to 1.3 million,
the smallest annual increase in nearly three decades.

More than half of those on probation --- 53 percent --- had been convicted
of felonies, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics report.

Experts noted 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. In addition, 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. The nonprofit research group
works with governments on criminal justice issues.

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.

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. Georgia had
459,200 on probation, 378,800 incarcerated and 80,400 on parole, according
to the Justice Department.

Whites accounted for 55 percent of those on probation, while blacks made up
31 percent, statistics show. In contrast, 46 percent of those incarcerated
were black, and 36 percent were white.