NCJ Number
130982
Date Published
1990
Length
110 pages
Annotation
This study surveyed jail operating costs for fiscal year 1987-88 in 15 California counties and 20 specific facilities.
Abstract
The facilities were all constructed and opened since 1980. The sample covered the full range of California counties and the full variety of facility types. The study is reasonably representative of California's newer facilities, although operating costs in older facilities may be somewhat different. The study addressed direct costs, including personnel salaries and benefits, services and supplies, and contract services with the private sector or with other county departments. One clear conclusion from the study is that each detention system and each facility is different; each offers varying mixes of services; and each has distinctive inmate profiles. Data indicate that total jail operating costs in California rose by 55 percent from 1984-85 to 1987-88. In the counties studied, the costs per citizen averaged close to $27 per citizen. Costs per inmate in the facilities studied averaged approximately $39 per day in high-security, pretrial facilities and $28 per day in dormitory-style facilities that house mostly sentenced inmates. Among the systems studied, those that use nonsworn custody staff had the highest cost per inmate and the fewest inmates per staff. Appended survey, 18 tables, and 2 figures