But rate was still ninth-highest in the nation
NOELLE STRAUB Star-Tribune Washington bureau | Posted: Wednesday, June 7, 2006 12:00 am
WASHINGTON - Wyoming's prison population is still growing but at a slower rate than in the past few years, a new Justice Department report shows.
Wyoming had the ninth-highest percentage increase in prison inmates of any state from mid-2004 to mid-2005, the study shows.
A total of 1,923 prisoners were under the state's jurisdiction on June 30, 2004. That number jumped to 2,026 exactly one year later, according to the Justice Department report.
The 5.4 percent increase shows a slower growth rate than in previous years. From mid-2003 to mid-2004, Wyoming's prison population increased by 6.3 percent.
And the number of Wyoming inmates grew by 7.8 percent between Dec. 31, 2002, and the end of 2003. That made it the fourth-fastest-growing in the nation at that time, which state officials attributed to growth in property and drug crimes, particularly methamphetamine.
The state is spending millions of dollars to expand its correctional facilities to accommodate the growing numbers, including construction of a new medium-security prison in Torrington.
In the most recent data, Montana ranked highest of all states at 7.9 percent growth, followed closely by South Dakota at 7.8 percent. Twelve states was declines in their prison populations, led by Vermont, Idaho and New York.
Nationwide, nearly 2.2 million people were incarcerated in the United States in mid-2005, with two-thirds of those in the state and federal system and the other third in local jails. The nation's prison and jail population grew 2.6 percent, or about 1,085 new inmates every week of the year.
At midyear 2005, one in every 136 U.S. residents was in prison or jail.
Louisiana and Georgia led the nation in the percentage of their state residents incarcerated, with more than 1 percent of their population in prison or jail. Wyoming had nearly 0.7 percent.
Maine and Minnesota had the lowest rates of incarceration, with 0.3 percent or less of their state residents incarcerated.
Wyoming admitted 769 sentenced prisoners in 2004, a 20.5 percent increase over 2000. The state released 658 sentenced prisoners in 2004, or 5.6 percent fewer than the 697 released in 2000.