Census of Jails: Population Changes, 1999-2013

• NCJ Number: 248627
• Author(s): Todd D. Minton; Scott Ginder; Susan M. Brumbaugh; Hope Smiley-McDonald; Harley Rohloff
• Date Published: December 2015
• Length: 1 page
• Agencies: BJS
• Publication Type: Statistics; Report (Annual/Periodic)

Annotation

This summary of U.S. jail population changes from 1999 through 2013 addresses the number and demographics of jail inmates during this period and trends in local jail admissions and population growth.

Abstract

Presents state-level estimates of the number of inmates confined in local jails at year end 2013, by sex, race, and Hispanic origin. This report provides information on changes in the incarceration rate, average daily population, admissions, expected length of stay, rated capacity, percent of capacity occupied, and inmate-to-correctional officer ratios. It also includes statistics, by jurisdiction size, on the number of inmates confined to jail and persons admitted to jail during 2013. It features a special section on the 12 facilities that functioned as jails for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. 

• From 1999 to 2013, the number of inmates in local jails increased by 21%, from 605,943 to 731,570. During this period, the growth in the jail population was not steady, as the jail confined population peaked in 2008 at 785,533 then declined to its 2013 level. „„
• The adult jail incarceration rates changed slightly between midyear 1999 (304) and yearend 2013 (310). „„
• Nearly half (46%) of all local jail inmates were confined in jurisdictions holding 1,000 or more inmates in 2013, down slightly from 50% in 2006. „„
• Between 1999 and yearend 2013, the female inmate population increased by 48%, from approximately 68,100 to 100,940. The male inmate population increased by 17%, from approximately 537,800 to 630,620. „„
• The juvenile population (persons age 17 or younger) held in adult jail facilities in 2013 (4,420) decreased by more than half from its peak in 1999 (9,458).