The Bureau of Justice Statistics examined data collected in surveys of former prisoners about their time behind bars.

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According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 7, 225, 800 people were on probation, in jail, or on parole in the U.S. during 2009.

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This 8.8% rate is also far smaller than the recidivism rate of criminals in the United States, which currently stands around 67.5%, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

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Alabama, California, Delaware, Illinois and North Carolina were among states reporting inmate populations significantly above their intended capacity, according to a Bureau of Justice Statistics report based on 2009 data.

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However, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, an arm of the Justice Department, cautioned that the previous study was based on a survey of current inmates in both state and federal institutions.

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The median prison sentence for sex abusers was 70 months in 2006, up from 44 months in 1996, according to the most recent data from the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics.

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Before you decide, consider that according to Bureau of Justice Statistics, the firearm crime rate dropped from 6 victims per 1, 000 residents in 1994, to 1.4 victims per 1, 000 residents in 2009.

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The March Pew study, drawn from numbers obtained from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also found a dramatic drop in gun crime over the past two decades.

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