In the context of prisons, the general population refers to the group of inmates who are not given any specific treatment. They are typically minimum to medium custody male inmates who are provided with safe and secure housing while maximizing opportunities for rehabilitation through participation in work, vocational and academic programs, substance abuse treatment, and self-help programs. The number of people in the general population varies depending on the state and federal prison systems. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, at yearend 2020, the United States held 1,215,800 persons in state and federal prisons, and an additional 19,000 persons in state and federal prison at yearend 2020 were unsentenced, which is almost 2% of the total U.S. prison population. In the first year of the pandemic, the number of people in prisons dropped by 15% .