Approximately how many inmates does the Federal Bureau of Prisons oversee?

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is responsible for the custody and care of federal inmates within the United States. As of the most recent data, the BOP oversees more than 200,000 inmates. This number reflects the vast scope of the federal prison system, which includes a variety of facilities, from minimum-security camps to high-security prisons. The oversight of such a large inmate population characterizes the extensive operations of the BOP in managing not only the security and rehabilitation of inmates but also addressing the challenges that arise within the correctional system, such as healthcare, education, and recidivism. Understanding this context is important for grasping the scale of the federal correctional system and its implications for criminal justice policy and practice.