The average inmate population decreased by 3,000 (6 percent) in 1990 and by 1,300 (3 percent) in 1989. The population at the end of 1990 was 2,600 less than in the previous year. The average population in police cells was 660, higher than in 1989 (110), but lower than in 1988 (1,080). The Certified Normal Accommodation (CNA) on June 30, 1990, was 2,600 lower than a year earlier. The average remand population including those inmates in police cells decreased by 600 (5 percent) to 9,900 in 1990, following a decrease of 900 in 1989. The average sentenced populations decreased by 2,400 (6 percent) to 35,500 reflecting a fall of 16 percent in the number of sentenced receptions in 1990. Among the population sentenced for offenses of burglary, theft, handling, fraud, and forgery, further decrease occurred between mid-1989 and mid-1990 together with the first substantial fall among those sentenced for violence against the person. However, there was a further increase in the population sentenced for rape. The proportion of prisoners from ethnic minority communities is estimated to be 16 percent in mid-1990, the same as a year earlier, having increased from 12.5 percent in mid-1985. 7 figures, 7 tables, and 11 notes