U.S. PRISONS SWELLING BY 900 INMATES PER WEEK, REPORT FINDS

WASHINGTON - Growing at a rate of about 900 inmates each week between
mid-2003 and mid-2004, the nation's prisons and jails held 2.1 million
people, or one in every 138 U.S. residents, the government reported
Sunday.

By June 30, there were 48,000 more inmates, or 2.3 percent, more than
the year before, according to the latest figures from the Bureau of
Justice Statistics.

The total inmate population has hovered around 2 million for the past
few years, reaching 2.1 million June 30, 2002, and just below that
mark a year later.

Although the crime rate has fallen in the past decade, the number of
people in prison and jail is outpacing the number of inmates released,
said Paige Harrison, the report's co-author. For example, the number
of admissions to federal prisons in 2004 exceeded releases by more
than 8,000, the study found.

Harrison said the increase can be attributed largely to get-tough
policies enacted in the 1980s and 1990s. Among them are mandatory drug
sentences, "three-strikes-and-you're-out" laws for repeat offenders
and "truth-in-sentencing" laws that restrict early releases.

"As a whole most of these policies remain in place," she said.

By the numbers

The number of prisoners under the jurisdiction of state and federal
correctional authorities June 30, 2003, and June 30, 2004, and the
percent change.

State2003 2004 Change

N.C.33,334 34,917 4.7%

S.C.24,247 24,173 -0.3%

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.