ABSTRACT
Institutional corrections have been a fundamental component of the United States criminal justice system for multiple centuries. While both jails and prisons make up this form of corrections it is the latter that has received a considerable amount of attention within empirical literature. However, some of the most important and foundational information involves basic statistics and data about the inmates and their offenses. The current chapter focuses on addressing two specific questions: who goes to prison, and why? Pertaining to who goes to prison, attention is placed on demographic characteristics and experiential factors. In regard to why they go to prison, attention is subdivided into different offense categories. Discussion is also provided regarding private prisons.
