NCJ Number
77104
Date Published
1979
Length
60 pages
Annotation
Statistics on commitments to county and city jails and city jail farms during fiscal year 1979 in Virginia are presented.
Abstract
Tables include data on commitments by type of offense, race and sex, county or city, by month, and month of commitment. The data do not reflect the prisoners' guilt or innocence, and recommitments are counted separately. A data analysis shows that 174,350 commitments took place during the fiscal year -- a 14.9 percent increase over fiscal 1978. Of these, 63.8 percent were white, 36.2 percent nonwhite, and 90 percent male. Youths under the age of 18 years made up 2.3 percent of the total -- a 5.5 percent increase over fiscal 1978. Offenses against decency, peace, and good order were the most frequent (31.3 percent). and traffic offenses ranked second (21.1 percent). Incarceration for violations of the narcotics laws accounted for only 4.2 percent. Of the total committed, 54.1 percent were charged with misdemeanors, 25.4 percent with the violation of local ordinances, and 20.6 percent with felony offenses. Counties accounted for 49.3 percent of the commitments and cities for 50.7 percent. The average of the rated capacities for Virginia jails was 52 beds, and the total capacity was 5,033 beds. The average daily population was 49.7 persons, and the average length of stay per commitment was 10.1 days. Comparison figures for fiscal 1978 are included. Additional data on jail use are appended.