No, in fact it is increasing dramatically.
Do to security reasons you are not allowed to know the exact number of federal prisons.
There are more prisons in the United States than Universities because prisons can only house a certain number of inmates and the inmate population is increasing.
there are about 156,000 In the us and about 300,000 in the world
Yes, there are private prisons in California. The state has a number of private companies that operate correctional facilities under contract with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). These private prisons house a portion of the state's inmate population.
Get the ID by doing an inmate search using the inmates full committed name. The returned search results will give the inmates ID or booking number. Good place to start your search is through this directory of prisons and jails. http://www.konmart.com
The Federal Bureau of Prisons has an inmate locator tool. It is possible to use this by inputting the prisoner name or register number and it will provide search results.
An inmate number for a state or federal inmate is a number assigned by the Department of Corrections or Bureau of Prisons, while an inmate number for a county jail inmate is a number assigned by the county jail, not a court case number or agency arrest number. It can be a booking number or other assigned number by the jail. Federal inmates are issused a Bureau of Prisons registry number, even if he is pretrial or eventually acquitted.
There are several online sites that allow you to search for inmates these include write A Prisoner , Federal Bureau of Prisons Federal Inmate locator and Corrections Connection. State Departments of Correction websites also have searches providing the name or number of the inmate is known.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons provides an online inmate locator tool for inmates incarcerated from 1982 to present. This database includes federal inmates, as well as a significant number of pre-sentenced offenders for the US Marshals Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the District of Columbia felons. The database can be searched by ID number or inmate name. Search results include the inmates name, register number, physical description, location, and release date (actual or projected).
3261 inmates
It may be a a space issue. It is not unusual for prisons to house locally sentenced inmates or local jails to house felony prisoners. Some (many?) prison and jail systems house each other's inmates on a space available basis, so that they do not fall afoul of court decisions which limit the number of inmates that they can house without exceeding a court-imposed limit.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons have all the inmates data all across the country. Their website provide an inmate search by ID number. GO to their website at http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/LocateInmate.jsp where you can do your research on inmate search.