MORE THAN 6 MILLION IN CORRECTIONS SYSTEM

In Illinois, About 234,300 Adults Were Under Supervision At The End Of 2001

WASHINGTON, D.C. - 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.

In Illinois, about 234,300 adults were under correctional supervision at
the end of 2001. About 171,700 Illinoisans were either incarcerated or on
probation, and 62,700 were on parole.

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.

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.

Whites 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 white.