PRISON POPULATION UP NEARLY 100,000 NATIONALLY IN 1997

The U.S. prison population increased by nearly 100,000 inmates, to more
than 1.7 million, in the 12 months that ended June 30, the Justice
Department reported Sunday.

The department's annual report said the number of prisoners increased by
more than 96,000, or nearly 5 percent, from July 1, 1996, to June 30, 1997.

On June 30,there were nearly 1.1 million state prisoners, more than 560,000
local-jail inmates and more than 99,000 federal prisoners. The report said
the steepest increase took place in local jails, which held about 9,100
juveniles.

The number of jail inmates jumped 9.4 percent, almost double its average
annual increase since 1990 of 4.9 percent, while the number of state and
federal prisoners rose only 4.7 percent, less than its annual average since
1990 of 7.7 percent.

The largest jail populationwas in Los Angeles County, with 21,900
inmates.New York City had 17,500 inmates.

Since 1990,the number of people in custody has risen by more than 577,000
inmates. The report found that one of every 155 U.S. residents was behind
bars in mid-1997

The trend of more incarcerated criminals dates back to 1980. The report
gave no reason for the increase in the prison population, but experts have
cited a number of factors, including tough new sentencing laws and more
drug arrests.