NCJ Number
123264
Editor(s)
T Hester
Date Published
1990
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Findings of the sixth annual survey of local jails conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics revealed that local jails held an estimated 395,553 persons at midyear 1989, an increase of 15 percent over the previous year.
Abstract
The data came from questionnaires mailed to a representative sample of 1,128 jails in 809 jurisdictions; these jails amounted to approximately one-third of all jails. Results also revealed that the overall jail occupancy was 108 percent of the rated capacity of the jails, an increase from 65 percent in 1978, 85 percent in 1983, and 101 percent in 1988. The average daily jail population for the year ending June 30, 1989 was 386,845, a 15-percent increase from 1988. More than 19 million jail admissions and releases took place during the year. Males represented 91 percent and females 9 percent of the jail inmates. Fifty-one percent were white, 47 percent were black, 2 percent were of other races, and 14 percent were Hispanics. Fifty-two percent of the adults held in jails were unconvicted inmates. More than 80 percent of the jail population was housed in the jails of 508 jurisdictions, each with an average daily population of at least 100 inmates. Tables