NCJ Number
130836
Date Published
1991
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Surveys conducted in 1983 and 1989 form the basis of this analysis of the characteristics of jail inmates, with emphasis on inmates charged with or convicted of a drug law offense or who had used drugs.
Abstract
The 1989 survey was conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of Justice Statistics, using interviews with a representative sample of 395,554 inmates held in 3,312 city and county jails. Data for 1983 were gathered in a similar survey. Findings revealed that persons charged with drug offenses accounted for 23 percent of all persons held in local jail in 1989, compared with 9 percent in 1983. Among those charged with a drug offense, the percentage of blacks, Hispanics, and women rose between 1983 and 1989. Half the offenders convicted of a drug offense and sentenced to a local jail had a sentence of 9 months or less in both 1983 and 1989. More than 70 percent of those in jail for a drug charge in 1989 had served at least one prior sentence of probation or incarceration. While about three- quarters of all jail inmates in 1989 had used at least one illegal drug during their life, 55 percent reported having used a major drug such as cocaine, crack, heroin, and others. An estimated 30 percent of convicted offenders in local jails in 1989 had been using drugs daily in the month before their offense. Forty-eight percent of these had taken part in a drug treatment program; 15 percent were taking part in one while incarcerated. Drug use was the most prevalent among jail inmates reporting that their parents had abused drugs. These jail inmates also reported substantially younger ages of first drug use. Tables