The average prison population in 1999 was 64,770, a reduction of 1 percent on the average for 1998 (65,300), which was the largest ever recorded. Home detention curfew was introduced at the end of January 1999; it reduced the prison population by approximately 2,000 inmates. Between 1998 and 1999, the average female prison population increased by 5 percent to 3,250. The greatest proportion of male sentenced prisoners (21 percent) was held for violent offenses against the person. Among sentenced females, more than one-third were held for drug offenses. There were over 4,200 inmates serving life sentences on June 30, 1999; three-fourths of these were convicted murderers. The number of inmates in England and Wales, expressed as a rate per 100,000 population, was the second highest in western Europe in 1999. Fifty-seven percent of inmates discharged from prison in 1996 were reconvicted of a standard list offense within 2 years of release. 4 figures and 1 table