"Comparisons of changes in the racial composition of prison populations over time are constrained by new data collection methodologies. Following guidelines provided by the Office of Management and Budget, beginning in 2005 BJS estimated racial composition of the prison population separately for persons identifying with one race (97%) and those identifying with two or more races (3%). These guidelines have reduced the number and percent of persons identified as non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic black prisoners. In addition, administrative data on the race and Hispanic origin of prisoners reported to BJS by corrections officials also overstate the number of non-Hispanic white and black prisoners and understate the number of Hispanics and persons of two or more races.2

"Both administrative and estimated data indicate an overall decline among black prisoners from 2000 through 2006. The 2006 administrative data show a decline from 46.2% to 41.6%, while the estimated data indicate a decline from 42.4% to 37.5% (table 8)."

"2 Some jurisdictions are not able to report Hispanics or persons of two or more races as a separate category as requested under OMB guidelines."

Table: Estimated number of adults on probation, in jail, in prison, or on parole and their percent of the adult population, by sex and race, 1990.

Table: Imprisonment rate of sentenced people in state and federal prisons per 100,000 U.S. residents, by demographic characteristics, December 31, 2014

Table: Number of sentenced people under jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, by age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin, December 31, 2014

Table: Number of sentenced people under State or Federal jurisdiction, by gender, race, Hispanic origin, and age, 2000

Table: Sentenced people under State or Federal jurisdiction per 100,000 residents, by gender, race, Hispanic origin, and age, 2000

Table: Characteristics of adults on probation in the US, 2000, 2013, and 2014

Table: Characteristics of adults on parole in the US, 2000, 2013, and 2014

Source

William J. Sabol, PhD, Heather Couture, and Paige M. Harrison. Prisoners in 2006. Washington, DC: US Dept of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, Dec. 2007. NCJ219416.
Carson, E. Ann. Prisoners In 2014. Washington, DC: US Dept of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, Sept. 2015. NCJ248955.
Kaeble, Danielle, Maruschak, Laura M., and Bonczar, Thomas P. Probation and Parole in the United States, 2014. Washington, DC: US Dept of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, Nov. 2015. NCJ249057, Table 4, p. 5, Table 6, p. 7, and Table 1, p. 2.
Beck, Allen J., PhD, and Harrison, Paige M. Prisoners in 2000. Washington, DC: US Dept of Justice Statistics, Aug. 2001. NCJ188207.
Jankowski, Louis W. Correctional Populations in the United States, 1990. Washington, DC: US Dept of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, July 1992, NCJ134946.