The Bureau of Justice Statistics released preliminary data for each state from 2013 through 2023, of all incarcerated individuals under the jurisdiction of state and federal correctional authorities and those sentenced to more than one year under the same authorities.
Alabama’s incarceration rate rose slightly between 2022 and 2023, with a 1.5 percent increase in inmates. Alabama saw a jump in the number of women incarcerated between the two years with a 6.3 percent increase.
Most prisons in Alabama are operating above their capacity and incarceration rates continue to rise. At the end of 2023, the Alabama Department of Corrections was housing around 8,000 inmates past capacity.
In response to overcrowding, Alabama has begun constructing the $1.08 billion Governor Kay Ivey Correctional Complex, which is expected to open May 2026.
The numbers align with national trends. The U.S. prison population was 1,254,200 at the end of 2023, a 2 percent increase from 2022.
These increases in incarceration are happening at a time when statewide crime data is incomplete. Changes in the reporting system have left only partial data available, making it difficult to assess the impact of higher incarceration on public safety.
