Prison population expected to rise through 2018

The population of inmates in state prisons is on the rise, according to projections from the Pew Charitable Trusts’ public safety performance project, reported The Crime Report.
Researchers for the project collected projections from 34 states and found the country’s overall state prison population is expected to rise 3 percent by 2018. However, researchers note that "when measured against projected growth in the U.S. population, however, the overall state imprisonment rate could remain steady or even decline by 2018.”
Among those in Pew’s study, 28 states expect increases in their inmate populations; Iowa projected the largest increase (16 percent).
Pennsylvania expects the greatest decline in inmate population (6 percent); six states total project declines.
“This snapshot suggests that, without policy reforms, the recent uptick in the number of state inmates reported by the Justice Department in 2014—the first increase in four years—could continue over the next four years,” researchers write.
Read the full study HERE.