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On this page, the Prison Policy Initiative has curated all of the research about jails that we know of. You can also see a selection of our best original research on this topic on our Jails page. For research on other criminal justice topics, see our Research Library homepage.
The Distribution of Carceral Harm: County-Level Jail Incarceration and Mortality by Race, Sex, and Age Anneliese N. Luck, October, 2024“In late adulthood (ages 50-64)...increases in jail [incarceration] rates are associated with roughly 3% increases in mortality across all race-sex groups...[with] more marked and consistent penalties among women than among men.”
Does pretrial detention influence time until re-involvement with the criminal legal system?Ian A. Silver, Jason Walker, Matthew DeMichele, et al, September, 2024“Spending 2-3 days, 3-7 days, & >7 days in pretrial detention was associated with an increased probability of a new criminal arrest & new violent criminal arrest earlier...compared to spending 0-1 day in pretrial detention.”
Prescription Patterns in Jails Before and Since the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multisite Serial Cross-Sectional Investigation Amber H. Simpler, William Jett, Abdullah Ahsan, & Yash Arun Patade, August, 2024“[From 2019-2023], the number of prescriptions in jails for various drug classes [grew], particularly central nervous system agents (13.5% to 17.7%)...The increase in prescriptions points toward a growing demand for managing pain, psychiatric conditions...”
The Perils of Late-Night ReleasesSandra Susan Smith, June, 2024“Within 185 of the 200 most populated cities in the United States, there are 141 jails. Of the 141 jails, 131 release during the late night and only 10 do not.”
Evaluating Firearm Violence After New Jersey's Cash Bail ReformJaquelyn L. Jahn, Jessica T. Simes, & Jonathan Jay, May, 2024“Although New Jersey's pretrial detention population dramatically decreased under bail reform, the study did not find evidence of increases in overall firearm mortality or gun violence, or within racialized groups during the postpolicy period.”
Share of Adult Suicides After Recent Jail ReleaseTed R. Miller, Lauren M. Weinstock, Brian K. Ahmedani, et al., May, 2024“Among 7 million adults released from incarceration in 2019, nearly 20% of suicides occurred among those who were released from jail in the past year and 7% were by those in their second year of jail release.”
New data and visualizations spotlight states' reliance on excessive jailingPrison Policy Initiative, April, 2024“In 28 states & D.C., more than 10% of the jail population is held on behalf of a state or federal authority. This both skews the data and gives local jail officials a powerful financial incentive to endorse policies that contribute to jail expansion.”
Jail Characteristics and Availability of Opioid Treatment Services: Results from a Nationally Representative Survey Paywall :(Albert M. Kopak & Sierra D. Thomas, March, 2024“Jail facilities located in the Northeast, larger jails, those in urban areas, and detention centers with higher turnover rates are significantly more likely to provide a wider variety of opioid treatment services.”
Women and Massachusetts County Jails: An Introduction Women & Incarceration Project, Center for Women's Health & Human Rights at Suffolk University, March, 2024“The large majority of women in Massachusetts county jails are aged 39 or younger. In contrast, ages are more evenly distributed among women at MCI-Framingham (a Massachusetts state prison).”
(New)Cautionary jails: Deconstructing the three "C"s of jail construction arguments Prison Policy Initiative, February, 2024“Greene County, Missouri, for instance, built a new 552-bed jail in 2001. This was supposed to resolve their capacity needs for at least a decade; however, within just 2 years, the jail had surpassed capacity again.”
Racial differences in testing for infectious diseases: An analysis of jail intake data Alysse G. Wurcel, Rubeen Guardado, Emily D. Grussing, et al., December, 2023“In one Massachusetts jail 2016-2020, Black non-Hispanic and Hispanic people were more likely to opt-in to and complete infectious disease testing than white people. These findings could be related to racial disparities in access to care in the community.”
Barriers to access to psychiatric medications in Missouri county jailsJessica K Burval, Courtney A Iuppa, Carrie R Kriz, Shelby E Lang, Leigh Anne Nelson, Nicole A Gramlich, Ellie S R Elliott, & Roger W Sommi, October, 2023“Of the 51 jails surveyed, only 57% of jails were able to provide long-acting injectable antipsychotics, 22% charged a fee for administration of medications, and 31% would not adjust medication times based on food requirements.”
Forgotten but not gone: A multi-state analysis of modern-day debt imprisonment Johann D. Gaebler et al, September, 2023“Between 2005 and 2018, around 38,000 residents of Texas and around 8,000 residents of Wisconsin were jailed each year for failure to pay (FTP), with the median individual spending one day in jail in both Texas and Wisconsin.”
The aging prison population: Causes, costs, and consequences Prison Policy Initiative, August, 2023“According to the most recent data on local jails in the U.S., from 2020-2021 ...the segment of the jail population aged 55+ grew by a greater proportion than any other age group, 24% compared to an average increase of 15% across all other ages.”
The State of New York City Jails: One Year of Measuring Jail Operations and Management on the Comptroller's DOC Dashboard Office of the New York City Comptroller, August, 2023“The share of incarcerated people [in NYC jails] with a serious mental illness increased 2% since August 2022, with the number of individuals nearly doubling since 2020, from 672 to 1,207.”
Does Jail Contribute to Individuals Churning in and Out of the Criminal Legal System? A Quasiexperimental Evaluation of Pretrial Detention on Time Until New Arrest Ian A. Silver, Jason Walker, Matthew DeMichele, and Ryan M. Labrecque, July, 2023“Spending more than 7 days in pretrial detention was associated with an increased probability of a new arrest and new violent arrest earlier when compared to spending 1 day or less in pretrial detention.”
Jail Conditions And Mortality: Death Rates Associated With Turnover, Jail Size, And Population Characteristics Jessica L. Adler and Weiwei Chen, June, 2023“Jails with higher turnover rates, capacity occupied, & populations were more likely to have higher overall mortality. Deaths due to suicide, drugs and alcohol, and homicide showed a significant association with high turnover.”
Unhoused and under arrest: How Atlanta polices poverty Prison Policy Initiative, June, 2023“Most strikingly, we find that 1 in 8 Atlanta city jail bookings in 2022 -- or 12.5% -- were of people who were experiencing homelessness.”
Jails in Indian Country, 2022Bureau of Justice Statistics, May, 2023“Indian country jails admitted 5,570 persons during June 2022, a 4% decline from the 5,780 admissions during June 2021.”
Reformers Looking To Intervene in Mass Incarceration Must Understand the Role of Rural County JailsSarah Walton, May, 2023“In communities that lack alternatives, jails may become a catchall solution to local health and economic crises...healthcare facilities, schools, employers, and housing agencies are all necessary partners in addressing rising rural jail incarceration.”(Read more in Sarah Walton, "The Gateway to Mass Incarceration: A County-Level Analysis of Jails in the United States," Ohio State University, forthcoming.)
New West Virginia Capias Law - Effective June 9, 2023West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, May, 2023“In March 2023, lawmakers passed legislation to address a growing reason why people are taken to West Virginia jails: capiases (also known as bench warrants). Senate Bill 633 provides a uniform standard for addressing capiases...”
Understanding Trends in Jail Populations, 2014 to 2019: A Multi-Site Analysis Data Collaborative for Justice at John Jay College, December, 2022“People who were charged, but not yet convicted of a crime (pretrial admissions) were the majority of admissions in all three counties (St. Louis, MO, Durham, NC, and Louisville, KY) in 2014 and 2019.”
Jail Health and Early Release PracticesBrandon L. Garrett, Deniz Ariturk, Jessica Carda-Auten, and David L. Rosen, December, 2022“Few states have rules that create formal legal vehicles for non-admission or release from jails for health-related reasons.”
Jail Inmates in 2021 - Statistical TablesBureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2022“At midyear 2021, 29% of jail inmates (185,000) were convicted, either serving a sentence or awaiting sentencing on a conviction, while 71% of inmates (451,400) were unconvicted, awaiting court action on a current charge or held in jail for other reasons.”
Women's Pathways Into and Out of Jail in Buncombe CountyVera Institute of Justice, November, 2022“Very high bond amounts present an insurmountable challenge, leaving women with no other option but pretrial incarceration. Many women with bond amounts less than $10,000 found this sum impossible to pay, even when required to post only 10 percent...”
Louisiana Justice: Pre-trial, Incarceration, & Reentry Incarceration Transparency and Public Welfare Foundation, November, 2022“This report significantly expands understanding of the state's practice of confining almost half of the prison population in local jails...creating political and financial incentives at the local level to build larger and higher-capacity facilities.”
Jail-based polling locations: A way to fight voter disenfranchisement Prison Policy Initiative, October, 2022“In the June 2022 primary, roughly 25% of people detained at the [Cook County, Ill.] jail cast their ballots. This location was so successful that people at the jail actually voted at a higher rate than registered voters in Chicago (20%).”
There Are Better Solutions: An Analysis of Fulton County [Georgia]'s Jail Population Data, 2022 American Civil Liberties Union, October, 2022“The county's failure to account for ability to pay bail, confinement of people charged only with misdemeanors, failure to timely indict people, and failure to fully utilize diversion programs has led to population levels above capacity at the jail.”
Voting From Jail (Working Paper) Anna Harvey and Orion Taylor, October, 2022“Registered voters booked into county jails for the full duration of 2020 voting days were on average 46% less likely to vote in 2020, relative to registered voters booked into the same jails within 7-42 days after Election Day.”
First Report of the Task Force on Issues Faced by TGNCNBI People in CustodyTask Force on Issues Faced by TGNCNBI People in Custody, August, 2022(This report details findings and recommendations of the Task Force on Issues Faced by Transgender, Gender Non-Conforming, Non-Binary, and Intersex (TGNCNBI) People in Custody, created to assess conditions and policies in New York City jails.)
Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2022 Prison Policy Initiative, March, 2022“This big-picture view is a lens through which the main drivers of mass incarceration come into focus; it allows us to identify important, but often ignored, systems of confinement.”
Hepatitis C Epidemiology in a Large Urban Jail: A Changing Demographic Emily Hoff, Andrea Warden, Ruby Taylor, and Ank E. Nijhawan, March, 2022“Among people in Dallas County Jail from 2015-19, HCV antibody positivity was significantly associated with older age, female sex, non-Hispanic White race versus non-Hispanic Black race, & being released to prison versus not.”
New data: The changes in prisons, jails, probation, and parole in the first year of the pandemic Prison Policy Initiative, January, 2022“Most of the drop in prison populations occurred within the federal Bureau of Prisons and just three states: California, Florida, and Texas.”
Availability of Medications for the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder Among Pregnant and Postpartum Individuals in US Jails Carolyn Sufrin, Camille T. Kramer, Mishka Terplan et al, January, 2022“A substantial proportion of US jails did not provide access to MOUD to pregnant people with OUD. Although most jails reported continuing to provide MOUD to individuals who were receiving medication before incarceration, few jails initiated MOUD..”
The Paid Jailer: How Sheriff Campaign Dollars Shape Mass Incarceration Common Cause and Communities for Sheriff Accountability, December, 2021“Sheriffs are politicians who make major decisions about health and safety for millions of Americans--and they shouldn't be up for sale to the highest bidder.”
Jail Inmates in 2020Bureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2021“The number of inmates in local jails across the United States decreased 25% from midyear 2019 (734,500) to midyear 2020 (549,100), after a 10-year period of relative stability.”
Cold, Rotting & Moldy Meals: Food Oppression in the Orange County Jails Stop the Musick Coalition, December, 2021“The food served in Orange County jails has never been healthy, but before COVID, the jails served two hot meals a day...For almost two years, people incarcerated in Orange County jails have been eating three bagged, cold, spoiled meals every day.”
Mortality in Local Jails, 2000-2019Bureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2021“A total of 1,200 persons died in local jails in 2019, a more than 5% increase from 2018 (1,138 deaths) and a 33% increase from 2000 (903), when the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) began its Mortality in Correctional Institutions data collection.”
Beyond Jails: Community-Based Strategies for Public Safety Vera Institute of Justice, November, 2021“Genuine partnership with nonprofit organizations and advocacy groups must be at the center of efforts to create a network of supports that function effectively, equitably, and without funneling people into the criminal legal system.”
The U.S. criminal justice system disproportionately hurts Native people: The data, visualized Prison Policy Initiative, October, 2021“We're lucky when criminal justice data is broken down by race and ethnicity enough to see how Native populations are criminalized and incarcerated. Here's a roundup of what we know.”
The Perils of Probation: How Supervision Contributes to Jail Populations Vera Institute of Justice, October, 2021“People held for probation violations can make up a fairly large proportion of the average daily jail population even in sites with relatively low jail admissions for violations.”
What to Do About Closing RikersVital City, September, 2021“Closing Rikers and the policies that make the closure possible will determine whether New York City remains the safest large city in the country with the fewest people jailed per capita.”
Jail and Overdose: Assessing the Community Impact of Incarceration on Overdose Grant Victor et al., July, 2021“Each prior booking increased the hazard of mortality by approximately 20%, while the presence of a syringe charge at most recent booking prior to release more than tripled the hazard of mortality.”
Smoke and mirrors: A cautionary tale for counties considering a big, costly new jail Prison Policy Initiative, July, 2021“How law enforcement and jail architects almost duped taxpayers into approving a new jail far bigger than the county needs, by offering biased analysis and misleading arguments.”
Pretrial Detention, Release, and Bail Practice in OregonOregon Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, June, 2021“There is a lack of data collected by Oregon's county and municipal jails...there are 16 different jail management systems across the state.”
Empire State of IncarcerationVera Institute of Justice, May, 2021“As bail setting practices changed and counties moved to release more people to prevent the spread of COVID-19 across the state, Black people were left behind.”
Jails, Sheriffs, and Carceral PolicymakingAaron Littman, May, 2021“Sheriffs have a unique combination of controls over how big and how full their jails are, but this role consolidation does not produce the restraint that some have predicted. Their disclaimers of responsibility are a smokescreen...”
Bottleneck: The Place of County Jails in California's COVID-19 Correctional Crisis Hadar Aviram, May, 2021“The closure of prisons created a bottleneck in jails, jamming the flow of residents in and out of county facilities. This resulted in serious overcrowding, which was documented in several lawsuits brought on behalf of jail population.”
What Doesn't Get Measured Doesn't Get Done: A Roadmap for Data Collection and Reporting in the Era of Bail Reform Joanna Thomas, Abdiaziz Ahmed, New York City Criminal Justice Agency, April, 2021“Proper pretrial data collection, analysis, and reporting can help to build systems that meet local needs, save money, improve program practices, and decrease jail crowding.”
What Jails Cost: A Look at Spending in America's Large Cities Vera Institute of Justice, April, 2021“Since 2011, jail budgets increased 13 percent--accounting for inflation--while jail populations declined 28 percent.”
Mapping U.S. Jails' Use of Restrictive Housing: Trends, Disparities, and Other Forms of Lockdown Vera Institute of Justice, April, 2021“Units that are not classified as restrictive housing by corrections agencies also held people in their cells for 22 hours or more per day.”
Freedom, Then the Press: New York Media and Bail Reform FWD.us, April, 2021“Media outlets across New York played a major role in generating the fear and backlash that is driving the increase in the jail population and exposing thousands more people to the possibility of illness and death behind bars.”
Paternal Jail Incarceration and Birth Outcomes: Evidence from New York City, 2010-2016 Paywall :(Yi et al., April, 2021“We found strong positive baseline associations (p < 0.001) between paternal jail incarceration during pregnancy with probabilities of all adverse outcomes examined.”
The cumulative risk of jail incarcerationBruce Western, Jaclyn Davis, Flavien Ganter, and Natalie Smith, April, 2021“The contours of jail incarceration observed in New York City follow the pattern of mass criminalization where large numbers of Black and Latino men are subject to penal control, in most cases for low-level offenses.”
ALC Court Watch Docket Report #02 Maintaining Apartheid: Arrest and Cash Bail in Allegheny County Abolitionist Law Center, April, 2021“In a county that is less than 13% Black, 56% of all arrests between Aug 14 and Dec 31 of 2020 were of Black residents.”
What Jails Cost Statewide: Spending on Jails Across the Rural-Urban Spectrum Vera Institute of Justice, March, 2021“Three out of five people incarcerated in local jails were in smaller cities and rural communities.”
Hidden Figures: Rating the COVID Data Transparency of Prisons, Jails, and Juvenile Agencies COVID, Corrections, and Oversight Project, March, 2021“Correctional agencies -- especially jails and juvenile agencies -- are failing at publishing adequate data on how COVID is impacting the people who work and live in these institutions.”
Reducing the Misuse and Overuse of Jails in Safety and Justice Challenge Sites: An Interim Progress Report CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance, February, 2021“Since implementation of the initiative began in 2016, ADP has declined substantially in many SJC sites. Ten of the 14 sites represented in this report experienced ADP reductions by Year 3, for a combined reduction of 18 percent.”
New York City Jails: COVID Discharge Policy, Data Transparency, and Reform Eli Miller, Bryan D. Martin, and Chad Topaz, February, 2021“Their success with discharge during the early stages of COVID-19 suggests that low-risk inmates could be discharged sooner in general.”
Grave Consequences: How the Criminalization of Disability Leads to Deaths in Jail Disability Rights Oregon, February, 2021“DRO's investigation found the following jail conditions put individuals with disabilities at risk of deadly harm.”
The Cost of Incarceration in New York State: How Counties Outside New York City Can Reduce Jail Spending and Invest in Communities Vera Institute of Justice, January, 2021“In 2019, the 57 counties outside New York City -- which are responsible for funding their own jails -- collectively spent more $1.3 billion to staff and run their jails.”
ALC Court Watch Docket Report #01 Cash Bail, Arbitrary Detention and Apartheid in Allegheny County Abolitionist Law Center, November, 2020“Black residents of Allegheny County are more likely to be arrested, charged, and have monetary bail imposed against them.”
Defund Sheriffs: A Toolkit for Organizers Working Families, Sheriffs for Trusting Communities, Faith in Action Fund, & Community Resource Hub for Safety and Accountability, October, 2020“Defunding sheriffs should be an urgent priority for anyone concerned with mass incarceration and police violence.”
Monitoring Pretrial Reform in Harris County: First Sixth Month Report of the Court-Appointed Monitor Independent Monitor for the Odonnell v. Harris County Decree, September, 2020“Second, contrary to bail industry and prosecutor propaganda, the data shows that recidivism has not increased, but is actually slightly down. This suggests that systems can release far more people while also reducing the rates of new arrests.”
No Access to Justice: Breaking the Cycle of Homelessness and Jail Vera Institute of Justice, August, 2020“Researchers have found that homelessness is between 7.5 and 11.3 times more prevalent among the jail population, and in some places the rate is much higher.”
Confronting the Demographics of Power: America's Sheriffs Women Donors Network, June, 2020“Ninety two percent of sheriffs are white. Ninety percent are white men.”
The "Radical" Notion of the Presumption of InnocenceSquare One Project, May, 2020“Of the approximately 612,000 individuals that are currently being held in county jails, the vast majority, about 460,000, are awaiting some type of adjudication and thus are presumed innocent.”
Pregnancy Prevalence and Outcomes in U.S. JailsSufrin et al., May, 2020“About 3% of admissions of females to U.S. jails are of pregnant people; extrapolating study results to national female jail admission rates suggests nearly 55,000 pregnancy admissions in 1 year.”
Flattening the Curve: Why Reducing Jail Populations Is Key to Beating COVID-19 ACLU, Washington State University, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Tennessee, April, 2020“Models projecting total U.S. fatalities to be under 100,0001 may be underestimating deaths by almost another 100,000 if we continue to operate jails as usual.”
Protecting Rural Jails from CoronavirusData for Progress and The Justice Collaborative, April, 2020“Our analysis shows that a significant percentage of people being held in jails--12% nationally and over a third in some states--are housed in counties without any ICU beds.”
Jail Inmates in 2018Bureau of Justice Statistics, March, 2020“The male jail inmate population decreased 9% from 2008 to 2018, while the female inmate population increased 15%.”
Mortality in Local Jails, 2000-2016Bureau of Justice Statistics, February, 2020“From 2006 to 2016, suicide was the leading single cause of death in local jails each year; it accounted for nearly a third of jail deaths in 2016 (31%).”
County Jail Incarceration Rates and County Mortality Rates in the United States, 1987-2016Sandhya Kajeepeta, Caroline G. Rutherford, Katherine M. Keyes, Abdulrahman M. El-Sayed, and Seth J. Prins, January, 2020“Within-county increases in jail incarceration rates are associated with increases in subsequent mortality rates after adjusting for important confounders.”
People in Jail in 2019Vera Institute of Justice, December, 2019“At midyear 2019, there were an estimated 758,400 people in local jails, up 13,200 (1.8 percent increase) from midyear 2017.”
Paying for Jail: How County Jails Extract Wealth from New York Communities Worth Rises and Brooklyn Community Bail Fund, December, 2019“We estimate that in 2017 the 57 counties outside of New York City extracted over $25.1 million for phone calls, $14.1 million for commissary, and $0.2 million for disciplinary tickets.”
Broken Ground: Why America Keeps Building More Jails and What It Can Do Instead Vera Institute of Justice, November, 2019“Rural areas, suburban areas, and midsized cities remain in a jail population boom and continue to build larger jails.”
Suicide in North Carolina Jails: High Suicide and Overdose Rates Require Urgent Jail Reform Action Disability Rights North Carolina, October, 2019“Jail deaths by overdose nearly tripled between 2017 and 2018, increasing by 175%”
Summit Food Services Provides Inadequate Nutrition at Missouri JailKevin Bliss, Prison Legal News, October, 2019“[An independent registered dietitian's] report stated, "the food is too high in sodium, too high in processed, refined carbohydrates and sugars and too low in fiber."”
How many people in your state go to local jails every year?Prison Policy Initiative, September, 2019(The number of people who go to jail each year varies dramatically from state to state. In South Dakota, 2,888 people per 100,000 go to jail each year, while in California 934 per 100,000 go.)
Arrest, Release, Repeat: How police and jails are misused to respond to social problems Prison Policy Initiative, August, 2019“Our analysis confirms that people who are repeatedly arrested and jailed are arrested for lower-level offenses, have unmet medical and mental health needs, and are economically marginalized.”
Gone but Not Forgotten: The Untold Stories of Jail Deaths in Washington Columbia Legal Services, May, 2019(Over 200 people died in Washington jails between January 1, 2005 and June 15, 2016.)
Does our county really need a bigger jail? A guide for avoiding unnecessary jail expansion Prison Policy Initiative, May, 2019“Counties will likely find that most people incarcerated in their local jail do not need to be incarcerated and would be better served in the community, allowing the county to avoid the costly and harmful route of jail expansion altogether.”
An Analysis of Texas Jail Bookings: How Texas Counties Could Save Millions of Dollars by Safely Diverting People From Jail Texas Appleseed, April, 2019“Our overarching finding is that tens of thousands of people who are booked into Texas jails each year never need to be booked in jail at all.”
Misdemeanors by the NumbersSandra Mayson and Megan Stevenson, April, 2019“With a single exception, the per-capita misdemeanor case-filing rate is higher for black people than for white people for every offense type, in every jurisdiction.”
Jail Inmates in 2017Bureau of Justice Statistics, April, 2019“County and city jails held 745,200 inmates at midyear 2017.”
A New Path to Justice: Getting Women Off Rikers Island Vera Institute of Justice, November, 2018“The advisory group developed several recommendations for how New York City can embrace a different approach at three critical junctures in the criminal justice system: (1) at arrest; (2) at arraignment; and (3) when women are held at RMSC.”
A Failure in the Fourth Degree: Reforming the State Jail Felony System in Texas Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, October, 2018“This report demonstrates through data and personal interviews with 140 incarcerated individuals the defective nature of Texas' state jail system, and it puts forth actionable policy recommendations for consideration by the 2019 Texas Legislature”
Criminal justice reform at the ballot box: Even County Auditors are worth your attention Prison Policy Initiative, October, 2018“In some counties - like Multnomah County, Oregon - auditors are joining the movement to hold jails accountable.”
Toward Misdemeanor Justice: Lessons from New York City Greg Berman & Julian Adler, June, 2018“This article seeks to articulate a new approach to misdemeanor justice that reconciles the maintenance of public safety with the urgent need to reduce unnecessary incarceration.”
From Bondage to Bail Bonds: Putting a Price on Freedom in New Orleans The Data Center, May, 2018(This report examines the extent to which money bail in New Orleans is a descendant of slavery and subsequent practices of racial exploitation.)
Open Roads and Overflowing Jails: Addressing High Rates of Rural Pretrial Incarceration Right On Crime, May, 2018(This report examines the contributors to rural pretrial incarceration and makes evidence-based recommendations to improve public safety while reducing the number of defendants held pretrial.)
Misdemeanor Disenfranchisement? The demobilizing effects of brief jail spells on potential voters Ariel White, March, 2018“Jail sentences arising from misdemeanor cases decrease voter turnout in the next election, especially for black defendants.”
Cuyahoga County Bail Task Force: Report and Recommendations Cuyahoga County Bail Task Force, March, 2018(Money bail should not be used to simply detain defendants. Rather than relying on bond schedules, courts should assess each defendant's risk of non-appearance and danger to the community using a uniform risk assessment tool.)
Presumed Innocent for a Price: The Impact of Cash Bail Across Eight New York Counties New York Civil Liberties Union, March, 2018(This report shows that over a five year period, tens of thousands of New Yorkers were jailed without having had their day in court simply because they could not pay bail.)
Jail Inmates in 2016Bureau of Justice Statistics, February, 2018“At midyear 2016, about 740,700 inmates were confined in county and city jails in the United States.”
Divided Justice: Trends in Black and White Jail Incarceration, 1990-2013 Vera Institute of Justice, February, 2018(This report looks at incarceration trends from 1990 to 2013, finding that although significant racial disparities still exist between black & white jail incarceration rates, rates for black people are declining while rates for white people are rising.)
State of Phone Justice: Local jails, state prisons and private phone providers Prison Policy Initiative, February, 2018(Charging pretrial defendants high phone rates punishes people who are legally innocent, drives up costs for their appointed counsel, and makes it harder for them to contact family members and others who might help them post bail or build their defense.)
Jails: Inadvertent Health Care Providers: How county correctional facilities are playing a role in the safety net The Pew Charitable Trusts, January, 2018(This report examines two ways in which jails can deliver healthcare more effectively: by providing high-value care within their walls and by facilitating well-designed health handoffs to community providers at re-entry.)
Less is More in New York: An Examination of the Impact of State Parole Violations on Prison and Jail Populations Columbia University Justice Lab, January, 2018(This research brief examines the decline in the number of people in New York's state prisons and local jails, including Rikers Island, and the simultaneous rise in the number of people incarcerated for state parole violations.)
Empire State of IncarcerationVera Institute of Justice, December, 2017(This report analyzes county-level factors that lead people to jail in New York state, providing a deeper understanding of the drivers of local incarceration.)
Money and Power: Corruption in Local Sheriff Departments Prison Policy Initiative, December, 2017“This practice has led to an unfortunate temptation: some sheriffs try to spend as little as possible on jail food (a cruel practice that also raises public health concerns), so that they can keep any unspent funds for themselves.”
Jails in Indian Country, 2016Bureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2017“An estimated 2,540 inmates were held in 80 Indian country jails at midyear 2016, a 1.2% increase from the 2,510 inmates held in 76 facilities at midyear 2015.”
The Price for Freedom: Bail in the City of L.A. Million Dollar Hoods, December, 2017(The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), using the Los Angeles County Superior Court's misdemeanor and felony bail schedules, levied over $19 billion in money bail on persons they arrested between 2012 and 2016.)
The State of Pretrial Justice in AmericaPretrial Justice Institute, November, 2017(This report uses basic indicators to document and grade current pretrial practice in all fifty states.)
Yakima County, Washington Pretrial Justice System Improvements: Pre- and Post- Implementation Analysis Smart Pretrial Demonstration Initiative, November, 2017“Jurisdiction can reduce pretrial detention & improve racial/ethnic equity by replacing high use of secured money bail with non-financial release conditions guided by actuarial-risk-based decision making, with no harm to public safety or court appearance.”
Pretrial Detention Reform: Recommendations to the Chief Justice Judicial Branch of California Pretrial Detention Reform Workgroup, October, 2017(California's pretrial detention system unnecessarily compromises victim & public safety because it bases a person's liberty on financial resources, not their likelihood of future criminal behavior, exacerbating socioeconomic disparities & racial bias.)
Economic Impacts of Cash Bail on the City of PhiladelphiaCity of Philadelphia Office of the Controller, October, 2017(The City of Philadelphia, by eliminating the cash bail system, could save over $75 million annually and provide a viable alternative to jail for a significant number of those arrested in Philadelphia in a given year.)
Women's Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2017 Prison Policy Initiative, October, 2017“This report provides a first-of-its-kind detailed view of the 219,000 women incarcerated in the United States, and how they fit into the even larger picture of correctional control.”
Injuries associated with bunk beds that occur in jailRandall T. Lodera and Jocelyn Cole Young, October, 2017“Jails account for 29% of all bunk bed injuries resulting in an ED visit in the USA (for people age 10 and over). Addressing this problem will require a multidisciplinary approach involving medicine, material engineering, and criminal justice.”
The Effects of Pre-Trial Detention on Conviction, Future Crime, and Employment: Evidence from Randomly Assigned Judges Will Dobbie, Jacob Goldin, and Crystal S. Yang, September, 2017(Pre-trial detention significantly increases the probability of conviction, primarily through increases in guilty pleas. Pre-trial detention has no net effect on future crime, but decreases employment & the receipt of certain government benefits.)
California Probation in the Era of ReformPublic Policy Institute of California, August, 2017(California's public safety realignment shifted the management of lower-level offenders from state prison and parole to county jail and probation. This report discusses how these changes affected local corrections systems.)
Travis County Jail in 2015: Data points to racism and longer confinement of African Americans Grassroots Leadership, July, 2017“Booking data from the Travis County Jail in 2015 reveals signi cant and persistent discrepancies in the number of days spent in the County jail by people of color, particularly Blacks, as compared to Whites.”
Out of Sight: The Growth of Jails in Rural America Vera Institute of Justice, June, 2017“America’s 3,283 local jails are the “front door” to mass incarceration, but for too long have grown outside of public view. Our latest analysis reveals an unexpected finding: there has been a dramatic shift in the geography of incarceration.”
Orange County JailsAmerican Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, June, 2017“Failing to remedy poor conditions of confinement and hold deputies accountable for misconduct, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department has implicitly endangered the constitutional rights of incarcerated individuals.”
Indicators of Mental Health Problems Reported by Prisoners & Jail Inmates: 2011-12 Bureau of Justice Statistics, June, 2017“About 1 in 7 state and federal prisoners (14%) and 1 in 4 jail inmates (26%) reported experiences that met the threshold for serious psychological distress (SPD) in the 30 days prior to a survey that was conducted between February 2011 and May 2012.”
The downstream effect of 35 years of jail growth? A state prison boom Prison Policy Initiative, June, 2017“Putting more people in jail for minor crimes will soon mean a state prison system bursting at the seams.”
Examining Racial Disparities in Criminal Case Outcomes among Indigent Defendants in San Francisco The Quattrone Center & The University of Pennsylvania Law School, May, 2017“Our analysis revealed that Black, White and Latinx indigent defendants in San Francisco have substantially different experiences during the criminal adjudication process.”
Era of Mass Expansion: Why State Officials Should Fight Jail Growth Prison Policy Initiative, May, 2017“In most states over the last three decades, the number of people in jails has outpaced population growth by 2, 3 or even 4 times. In 12 states, the jail population has grown more than 3 times faster than the general population.”
Selling Off Our Freedom: How insurance corporations have taken over our bail system Color of Change and the American Civil Liberties Union, May, 2017“Fewer than 10 insurance companies are behind a significant majority of bonds issued by as many as 25,000 bail bond agents.”
The Devil in the Details: Bail Bond Contracts in California UCLA School of Law, May, 2017“After analyzing the fine print in more than 100 contract documents online corresponding to 10 sureties, we identified 20 problems with bail bond contracts that violate common notions of fairness and justice.”
The Impact of Police on Criminal Justice Reform: Evidence from Cincinnati, Ohio Robin S. Engel, Nicholas Corsaro, M. Murat Ozer, May, 2017“When arrest becomes systematically viewed by police as a limited and precious commodity, to be used sparingly and for the most chronic or serious offenders, change throughout the criminal justice system will likely result.”
Bail Reform in CaliforniaUCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, May, 2017(This report examines California's system of commercial surety bail, recommending that it be replaced with risk assessment tools and non-bail release to improve predictive accuracy, race neutrality, and other outcomes such as fiscal impact.)
"Not in it for Justice": How California's Pretrial Detention and Bail System Unfairly Punishes Poor People Human Rights Watch, April, 2017“Nearly every offense in California is bail-eligible, yet many defendants cannot afford to pay. In California, the majority of county jail prisoners have not been sentenced, but are serving time because they are unable to pay for pretrial release.”
Jail in New York City: Evidence-Based Opportunities for Reform Center for Court Innovation, March, 2017“The report models the impact of several potential reform scenarios based on risk score including the possible cost savings to the city from downsizing the jail system.”
Caged In: Solitary Confinement's Devastating Harm on Prisoners with Physical Disabilities American Civil Liberties Union, January, 2017“In Florida, only 44 of 792 grievances by prisoners with disabilities were resolved from 2013 to 2015.”
Pretrial Justice: How Much Does It Cost Pretrial Justice Institute, January, 2017“The evidence shows that current pretrial practices--especially those that use money bail and over-use jail beds for lower risk people--are needlessly expensive and doesn't produce positive results.”
Greater Oklahoma City Chamber Criminal Justice Reform Task Force: Report and Recommendations Vera Institute of Justice, December, 2016“The Oklahoma County pretrial justice system needs greater collaboration and oversight to ensure that the jail—the county’s most restrictive and most costly criminal justice resource—is being used judiciously.”
Preventable Tragedies: How to Reduce Mental-Health Related Deaths in Texas Jails The University of Texas School of Law Civil Rights Clinic, November, 2016“In Texas, state health officials estimate that 30 percent of jail inmates have one or more serious mental illnesses.”
Moving Beyond Money: A Primer on Bail Reform Criminal Justice Policy Program, Harvard Law School, October, 2016“When pretrial detention depends on whether someone can afford to pay a cash bond, two otherwise similar pretrial defendants will face vastly different outcomes based merely on their wealth.”
Local Justice Reinvestment: Strategies, Outcomes, and Keys to Success Urban Institute, August, 2016“Over the past six years, 17 local jurisdictions across the country have worked diligently to implement [Justice Reinvestment Initiative], and it appears these efforts have generally paid off.”
Overlooked: Women and Jails in an Era of Reform Vera Institute of Justice, August, 2016“At this critical moment in jail and local justice system reform, Vera has taken stock of the existing research on women in jail to begin to reframe the conversation to include them.”
New Orleans: Who's in Jail and Why? Vera Institute of Justice, August, 2016“This report aims to advance an important public conversation about how we are using our jail and how it impacts safety in our city.”
Individuals With Serious Mental Illnesses in County Jails: A Survey of Jail Staff's Perspectives Public Citizen's Health Research Group and The Treatment Advocacy Center, July, 2016(This report uses data from 230 sheriff's departments in 39 states to examine how correctional staffs understand and deal with inmates struggling with serious mental illnesses.)
The Downstream Consequences of Misdemeanor Pretrial DetentionUniversity of Pennsylvania Law School, July, 2016“We find that detained defendants are 25% more likely than similarly situated releasees to plead guilty, 43% more likely to be sentenced to jail, and receive jail sentences that are more than twice as long on average.”
Individuals With Serious Mental Illnesses in County Jails: A Survey of Jail Staff's Perspectives Public Citizen's Health Research Group, The Treatment Advocacy Center, July, 2016“The purpose of our survey was to understand the perspectives of county jail sheriffs, deputies, and other staff with respect to individuals with serious mental illnesses in jails.”
Texas Custodial Death Report Police, jail, and prison deaths 2005-2015 Texas Justice Initiative, July, 2016(This report examines who is dying in the Texas criminal justice system and how they are dying.)
Some private prisons are, um, public.Prison Policy Initiative, June, 2016“It is time to accept the counter-intuitive truth: sometimes the government profits off of mass incarceration.”
Correctional Control: Incarceration and supervision by state Prison Policy Initiative, June, 2016“For the first time, this report aggregates data on all of the kinds of correctional control: federal prisons, state prisons, local jails, juvenile incarceration, civil commitment, Indian Country jails, parole and, lastly but importantly, probation.”
Is Downsizing Prisons Dangerous? The Effect of California's Realignment Act on Public Safety Criminology and Public Policy, May, 2016“Significant reductions in the size of prison populations are possible without endangering public safety.”
Detaining the Poor: How money bail perpetuates an endless cycle of poverty and jail time Prison Policy Initiative, May, 2016“A majority of people unable to meet bail fall within the poorest third of the national income distribution.”
Distortion of Justice: How the Inability to Pay Bail Affects Case Outcomes University of Pennsylvania Law School, May, 2016“While previous research has shown correlations between pretrial detention and unfavorable case outcomes, this paper is the first to use a quasi-experimental research design to show that the relationship is causal.”
The Heavy Costs of High Bail: Evidence from Judge Randomization Columbia Law School, May, 2016“Our estimates suggest that the assignment of money bail causes a 6 percentage point rise in the likelihood of pleading guilty, and a 4 percentage point rise in recidivism.”
Protecting Written Family Communication in Jails: A 50-State Survey Prison Policy Initiative, May, 2016“[W]e find a strong correlation between the states that have strong language protecting letter writing and the states in which no jails are experimenting with banning letters.”
Roadblocks to Reform: District Attorneys, Elections, and the Criminal Justice System Status Quo ACLU of Oregon, April, 2016“DAs are arguably the most powerful people in the criminal justice system, but voters don’t seem to know who DAs are or all that they do[.]”
How Has Proposition 47 Affected California's Jail PopulationPublic Policy Institute of California, March, 2016“Taken together, we find significant changes in the level and composition of those incarcerated in jails following the passage of Prop 47.”
Children, Parents, and Incarceration: Descriptive Overview of Data from Alameda and San Francisco County Jails Alameda County Children of Incarcerated Parents Partnership; San Francisco Children of Incarcerated Parents Partnership, March, 2016“The survey was structured to gather information to inform program and policy decisions in consideration of the children’s well-being when their parents become incarcerated in local jails.”
Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2016 Prison Policy Initiative, March, 2016(The American criminal justice system holds more than 2.3 million people in thousands of facilities, and we go deeper to provide further detail on where and why.)
The Human Toll of Jail Fact SheetVera Institute of Justice, February, 2016“Today, about 14.5 percent of men and 31 percent of women in jails have a serious mental illness, compared to 3.2 and 4.9 percent respectively in the general population.”
Paying the Price: Failure to Deliver HIV Services in Lousiana Parish Jails Human Rights Watch, 2016“The state of Louisiana is 'ground zero' for the dual epidemics of HIV and incarceration.”
Census of Jails: Population Changes, 1999-2013 Bureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2015“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.”
In Our Own Backyard: Confronting Growth and Disparities in American Jails Vera Institute of Justice, December, 2015“Rather, mid-sized and small counties--which account for the vast majority of jails--have largely driven growth, with local jail populations increasing since 1970 by 4.1 times in mid-sized counties and 6.9 times in small counties.”
Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2015 Prison Policy Initiative, December, 2015(The U.S. locks up more than 2.3 million people in prisons, jails, and other facilities on any given day.)
Who is in jail? Deep divePrison Policy Initiative, December, 2015“It's very important that we get local officials to focus on the policies that impact the size of their pretrial populations because that's the overwhelming majority of the people in jail on a given day.”
Probation in CaliforniaPublic Policy Institute of California, December, 2015“Probation is the most widely used form of correctional supervision in California.”
In Jail & In Debt: Ohio's Pay-to-Stay Fees ACLU of Ohio, November, 2015(Ohioans are getting billed up to $66.09 a day to be in jail.)
Justice in Katrina's Wake: Changing Course on Incarceration in New Orleans Vera Institute of Justice, November, 2015“This report documents the groundbreaking reforms that the City of New Orleans has engaged in to safely decrease its use of detention, from reducing the physical size of its jail to implementing risk-based pretrial release practices.”
Changing Gears: California's Shift to Smart Justice ACLU of California, November, 2015“By June 2015, almost 160,000 petitions had been filed to reduce a felony to a misdemeanor.”
Proposition 47 Progress Report: Year One Implementation Stanford Law School Stanford Justice Advocacy Project, October, 2015“Since the enactment of Proposition 47 on November 14, 2014, the number of people incarcerated in California's prisons and jails has decreased by approximately 13,000 inmates, helping alleviate crowding conditions in those institutions.”
Debtors' Prisons in New HampshireACLU of New Hampshire, September, 2015(In 2013 New Hampshire judges jailed people who were unable to pay fines and without conducting a meaningful ability-to-pay hearing in an estimated 148 cases.)
Public Safety Realignment: Impacts So Far Public Policy Institute of California, September, 2015“Realignment did not increase violent crime, but auto thefts rose. Research so far shows no dramatic change in recidivism rates.”
Jails matter. But who is listening?Prison Policy Initiative, August, 2015“Jails matter because a staggering 11 million people cycle through them each year.”
Louisiana's Debtors Prisons: An Appeal to Justice ACLU of Louisiana, August, 2015“The ACLU of Louisiana (“ACLU”) investigated the imposition and collection of fines, fees and court costs or other legal financial obligations (LFOs) in twelve parishes and two cities from across Louisiana.”
Realignment and Crime in 2014: California's Violent Crime in Decline Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, August, 2015“Contrary to alarms raised about potential increases in crime, consistent reports examining offenses at the county level over time show Realignment and crime do not have a causal relationship.”
Breaking the Silence: Civil and Human Rights Violations Resulting from Medical Neglect and Abuse of Women of Color in Los Angeles County Jails Dignity and Power Now, August, 2015“This Report by Dignity and Power Now ("DPN") documents how jail and prison officials violated the rights of seven women of color, and highlights the mental health consequences of the medical neglect and abuse these women suffered.”
Pretrial Detention and Jail Capacity in CaliforniaPublic Policy Institute of California, July, 2015“But California’s high rates of pretrial detention have not been associated with lower rates of failure to appear or lower levels of felony rearrests.”
Tribal Crime Data Collection Activities, 2015Bureau of Justice Statistics, July, 2015“At midyear 2013, a total of 2,287 inmates were confined in 79 Indian country jails--a 3.3% decrease from the 2,364 inmates confined at midyear 2012.”
Jail Inmates at Midyear 2014Bureau of Justice Statistics, June, 2015“The jail population remained steady at the 2012 level and was significantly lower than the peak of an estimated 785,500 at midyear 2008.”
San Francisco Justice Reinvestment Initiative: Racial and ethnic disparities analysis for the reentry council The W. Haywood Burns Institute for Juvenile Justice Fairness & Equity, June, 2015“Black adults are 7.1 times as likely as White adults to be arrested, 11 times as likely to be booked into County Jail, and 10.3 times as likely to be convicted of a crime in San Francisco.”
Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Jails: Recommendations for Local Practice Brennan Center for Justice, June, 2015“Overuse of Pre-Trial Detention: Studies consistently find that African American and Hispanic defendants are more than twice as likely to be detained in jail pending trial.”
Charging Inmates Perpetuates Mass IncarcerationBrennan Center for Justice, May, 2015“Every aspect of the criminal justice process has become ripe for charging a fee. In fact, an estimated 10 million people owe more than $50 billion in debt resulting from their involvement in the criminal justice system.”
The Price of Jails: Measuring the Taxpayer Cost of Local Incarceration Vera Institute of Justice, May, 2015“But as high as $22.2 billion sounds, it actually underestimates the price of jails, because other government agencies bear a large share of jail costs that are not reflected in jail budgets.”
Pretrial Release in CaliforniaPublic Policy Institute of California, May, 2015“This report uses newly available data to provide information about pretrial release in California and to give policymakers a better understanding of the defendants who tend to be released and the form of release they secure.”
From Silo to System: What Makes a Criminal Justice System Operate Like a System? The Justice Management Institute, April, 2015“JMI conducted in-depth interviews with and collected quantitative and qualitative data from eight county-based criminal justice systems that have been cited over the years as being "highly effective."”
Corrections Statistics by StateNational Institute of Corrections, February, 2015“This unique compilation of data provides a visual representation of key statistics for each state as well as a comparison of each state in relation to other states.”
Locked in the Past: Montana's Jails in Crisis ACLU of Montana, February, 2015“Many county detention centers in Montana have severe conditions issues and are underfunded, inadequately staffed, and largely ignored by county commissioners, county law enforcement departments, and the public.”
Incarceration's Front Door: The Misuse of Jails in AmericaVera Institute of Justice, February, 2015“With nearly 12 million annual admissions- almost 19 times those to state and federal prisons- jails have an impact that is both far-reaching and profound.”
New York City Department of Investigation Report on the Recruiting and Hiring Process for New York City Correction Officers City of New York Department of Investigation, January, 2015“DOI has now reviewed over 150 applications of recently hired COs. Of these, 54 had significant red flags that should have either precluded their hiring altogether or at least required significant follow up or monitoring.”
Rising Up, Speaking Out: Youth Transforming Los Angeles County's Juvenille Justice System Children's Defense Fund - California, January, 2015“Five young people [...] share their own unique experiences inside probation camps and amplify key recommendations from an important UCLA focus group study on how to improve conditions inside Los Angeles County's camps.”
Screening Out Family Time: The for-profit video visitation industry in prisons and jails Prison Policy Initiative, January, 2015(In order to stimulate demand for their low-quality product, jails and video visitation companies work together to shut down the traditional in-person visitation rooms and instead require families to pay up to $1.50 per minute for visits via video.)
Realignment and Recidivism in CaliforniaPublic Policy Institute of California, 2015“California’s historic public safety realignment has had a modest effect on the state’s persistently high recidivism rates, varying across groups of offenders and counties.”
"Money Bail": Making Ohio a More Dangerous Place to Live The Buckeye Institute, 2015“Ohio should address the demonstrated shortcomings of the cash bail system by expanding the judiciary’s access to proven risk-assessment tools that can provide a fairer, more efficient way to keep our communities safe and secure.”
Women Injustice: Gender and the Pathway to Jail in New York City John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Prisoner Reentry Institute, 2015“Only 12% to 15% of the average daily population of women at Rikers have been sentenced to jail, as most are detained on pending cases.”
The Justice Reinvestment Initiative Experiences from the Local SitesUrban Institute, November, 2014“Seven sites adopted strategies that expanded jail diversion (e.g., deferred prosecution programs) and jail programming (e.g., inmate transition programs) as well as increased access to employment and education services.”
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2012 - Statistical TablesBureau of Justice Statistics, October, 2014“In 2012, 4,309 inmates died while in the custody of local jails or state prisons-an increase of 2% (67 deaths) from 2011. The number of deaths in local jails increased, from 889 in 2011 to 958 in 2012, which marked the first increase since 2009.”
Video Visitation: How Private Companies Push for Visits by Video and Families Pay the Price Grassroots Leadership; Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, October, 2014“Video-only visitation policies strip away that choice; they are simply another outgrowth of the idea that offering services to prisoners and their families can be commercialized.”
ClaimStat AlertOffice of the New York City Comptroller, August, 2014(The 37 percent increase in personal injury correctional facility claims activity from FY 2013 to FY 2014 corresponds to a rise in the number of serious allegations of violence at Rikers.)
Tribal Crime Data Collection Activities, 2014Bureau of Justice Statistics, July, 2014“At midyear 2012, a total of 2,364 inmates were confined in 79 Indian country jails--a 5.6% increase from the 2,239 inmates confined at midyear 2011.”
Jails in Indian Country, 2013Bureau of Justice Statistics, July, 2014“Since 2010, about 31% of inmates held in Indian country jails have been confined for a violent offense, a decline from about 39% in each year between midyear 2004 and 2009.”
Key Factors in California's Jail Construction NeedsPublic Policy Institute of California, May, 2014“This report highlights two important factors in addressing jail capacity constraints: aging jail facilities and long - term needs.”
Jail Inmates At Midyear 2013 - Statistical Tables (Revised)Bureau of Justice Statistics, May, 2014“After a peak in the number of inmates confined in county and city jails at midyear 2008 (785,533), the jail population was significantly lower by midyear 2013 (731,208).”
Profiting from Probation: America's "Offender-Funded" Probation Industry Human Rights Watch, February, 2014“The central problem with offender-funded, pay only probation is this: the longer it takes offenders to pay off their debts, the longer they remain on probation and the more they pay in supervision fees.”
Contra Costa County: A Model for Managing Local Corrections JFA Institute, January, 2014“Over a three-year period, people on felony probation in the County had a recidivism rate of 20% - far lower than the 60% or higher rates statewide found in other studies.”
Voices from the Field How California Stakeholders View Public Safety Realignment Stanford Criminal Justice Center, January, 2014“...counties now must handle virtually all drug and property crime sentences, which represented 54% of all felony arrestees convicted in California in 2010.”
The Burden of Criminal Justice Debt in Alabama: 2014 Participant Self-Report Survey UAB TASC Jefferson County's Community Corrections Program, 2014“The purpose of this study was to evaluate the success of this approach and the impact of these policies in Alabama. With the general knowledge that increased court costs have not produced projected revenue, we sought to understand why.”
California Prison Downsizing and Its Impact on Local Criminal Justice Systems Joan Petersilia, Harvard Law & Policy Review, 2014“Everyone agreed county officials are working more collaboratively toward reducing recidivism, and that new funding has fostered innovative programming. But our interviews also found counties struggling...to carry out an initiative...imposed overnight.”
Realigning the Revolving Door: An Analysis of California Counties' AB 109 2011-2012 Implementation Plans Stanford Law School Criminal Justice Center, September, 2013“Sheriff's departments were allocated the largest amount of funding at $125,655,502, or 34.9 percent of all expenditure.”
Jails in Indian Country, 2012Bureau of Justice Statistics, June, 2013“At midyear 2012, a total of 2,364 inmates were confined in Indian country jails—a 5.6% increase from the 2,239 inmates confined at midyear 2011.”
Jail Inmates at Midyear 2012 - Statistical TablesBureau of Justice Statistics, May, 2013“The average daily population (ADP) in jails remained stable from 735,565 during the 12-month period ending June 30, 2011, and 735,983 during the 12-month period ending June 30, 2012.”
The Outskirts of Hope: How Ohio's Debtors' Prisons Are Ruining Lives and Costing Communities ACLU of Ohio, April, 2013“In the second half of 2012, over 20% of all bookings in the Huron County Jail were related to failure to pay fines. Between July 15 and August 31, 2012 at least 45 people in Cuyahoga County and 57 in Erie County were jailed for failure to pay,”
Dawson State Jail: The Case for Closure Sentencing Project, Grassroots Leadership, March, 2013“In recent years there have been reports of horrible conditions in the Dawson State Jail involving medical care and inadequate staffing levels. According to reports by CBS News DFW, DSJ has experienced seven deaths since 2004.”
Dawson State Jail: The Case for Closure Sentencing Project, Grassroots Leadership, March, 2013“In recent years there have been reports of horrible conditions in the Dawson State Jail involving medical care and inadequate staffing levels. According to reports by CBS News DFW, DSJ has experienced seven deaths since 2004.”
New Jersey Jail Population Analysis: Identifying Opportunities to Safely and Responsibly Reduce the Jail Populations Luminosity and Drug Policy Alliance, March, 2013“Inmates who had been indicted but had not yet had a trial had been in custody on average 314 days. 12% of the entire jail population was held in custody solely due to an inability to pay $2500 or less to secure their release pending disposition.”
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2010 Statistical TablesBureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2012“The suicide rate in local jails declined over time from 49 per 100,000 inmates in 2001 to 36 per 100,000 in 2007. Since 2007, the rate has increased slightly to reach 42 per 100,000 inmates in 2010.”
The Texas Commission on Jail Standards: The State's Solution for Implementing A Strong County Jail System While Protecting Counties From Liability Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, November, 2012“Texas Commission on Jail Standards guards Texas counties from damaging lawsuits, specifically by setting constitutional jail standards for counties to follow, conducting facility inspections, and enforcing compliance with rules and procedures.”
Putting How to Reform Texas' Expensive, Ineffective State Jail System Texas Public Policy Foundation, November, 2012“State jails were designed to be a low-cost alternative to prison, with dual goals of reducing prison populations and reducing recidivism rates in low-risk defendants. Unfortunately, state jails are universally failing in their objective.”
Jails in Indian Country, 2011Bureau of Justice Statistics, September, 2012“At midyear 2011, a total of 2,239 inmates were confined in Indian country jails, a 5.7% increase from the 2,119 inmates confined at midyear 2010.”
The Family And RecidivismVera Institute of Justice, September, 2012“Among the inmates surveyed, 84 percent reported that their families were supportive during their incarceration.”
Women's pathways to jail: The roles & intersections of serious mental illness & trauma Bureau of Justice Assistance, September, 2012“[C]hildhood victimization and adult trauma increased the risk of poor mental health, and poor mental health predicted a greater offending history.”
"She Doesn't Deserve to be Treated Like This": Prisons as Sites of Reproductive Injustice Rachel Roth, Center for Women Policy Studies, July, 2012“[T]he well-established nature of women’s rights has not stopped prison and jail personnel from trying to deny women abortion care, or at least obstruct women’s access to abortion.”
Public Safety Realignment: California at a Crossroads American Civil Liberties Union of California, March, 2012“Based upon our review, at least 32 of California's 58 counties have plans to expand jail capacity using AB 109 funds or other tax dollars, even though realignment provides more effective and affordable options for addressing jail overcrowding.”
Receipt of A(H1N1)pdm09 Vaccine by Prisons and Jails United States, 2009-10 Influenza Season Center for Desease Control, January, 2012“This report summarizes the results of that survey, which found that 55% of jails did not receive A(H1N1) pdm09 vaccine during the pandemic period, whereas only 14% of federal prisons and 11% of state prisons did not receive the vaccine.”
Jails in Indian Country, 2010Bureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2011“Between 2004 and 2010, the number of inmates held in Indian country jails increased by 21%, from 1,745 to 2,119.”
Jail Needs Assessment for San Mateo County: A preliminary analysis Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, December, 2011“Based on current trends, CJCJ recommends deferring construction of new jail space until alternative pretrial release [...] expanded probation supervision, reduced probation revocation, and expanded community treatment alternatives have been fully explored”
Census of Jail Facilities, 2006Bureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2011“A total of 3,283 jail facilities, including jails in the federal system, were operating in 2006, down 93 from 3,376 in 1999.”
Close To Home: Building on Family Support for People Leaving Jail Vera Institute of Justice, October, 2011“Among incarcerated people, 84 percent reported that their family members continued to be supportive.”
Jails in Indian Country, 2009Bureau of Justice Statistics, February, 2011“Over the 12 months ending June 2009, the average daily jail population in Indian country increased by 12%, and the percentage of occupied bed space increased from 64.2% to 73.5%.”
Independent Correctional Oversight Mechanisms Across the United States: A 50-State Inventory Pace Law Review, September, 2010(Although this report is thick with examples of entities that perform (or have the authority to perform) some kind of oversight function, it should be clear upon closer examination that formal and comprehensive external oversight is truly rare.)
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails Reported by Inmates, 2008-09Bureau of Justice Statistics, August, 2010“An estimated 4.4% of prison inmates and 3.1% of jail inmates reported experiencing one or more incidents of sexual victimization by another inmate or facility staff in the past 12 months or since admission to the facility if less than 12 months.”
Mortality in Local Jails 2000-2007Bureau of Justice Statistics, July, 2010“Suicide was the single leading cause of unnatural deaths in local jails, accounting for 29% of all jail deaths between 2000 and 2007, but the suicide rate declined from 48 to 36 deaths per 100,000 inmates.”
Jail Inmates at Midyear 2009 - Statistical TablesBureau of Justice Statistics, June, 2010“During the 12 months ending June 30, 2009, the number of male (-1.7%), female (-6.0%), and adult (-2.2%) inmates declined.”
More Mentally Ill Persons Are in Jails and Prisons Than Hospitals: A Survey of the States Treatment Advocacy Center, May, 2010“Among the ten states mostly likely to have mentally ill individuals in jails and prisons, five were also among the states spending the least money per capita.”
National Study of Jail Suicide: 20 Years Later U.S. Department of Justice, April, 2010“In 2006, the suicide rate in detention facilities was 36 deaths per 100,000 inmates, which is approximately 3 times greater than that in the general population. This rate represents a dramatic decrease in the rate of suicide in detention facilities.”
2009 Annual Report Massachusetts Department of Correction Massachusetts Department of Correction, December, 2009“2009 Releases to the Street from Massachusetts Department of Correction: Top 10 Cities”
Jails in Indian Country, 2008Bureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2009“The report includes data on the number of adults and juveniles held, type of offense, number of persons confined on the last weekday of each month, average daily population, peak population, and admissions in June 2008.”
Jailing Communities The Impact of Jail Expansion and Effective Public Safety Strategies Justice Policy Institute, April, 2009“In 2006, prison population growth was half what it was in 1996, but in recent years, jail population growth has exceeded that of prisons.”
Jails in Indian Country, 2007Bureau of Justice Statistics, November, 2008“Eighty-three jails in Indian country held an estimated 2,163 inmates at midyear 2007, up from 1,745 inmates held in 68 facilities at midyear 2004.”
The Health and Health Care of US Prisoners: Results of a Nationwide Survey Andrew P. Wilper et al, August, 2008“Among [incarcerated people] with a persistent medical problem, 13.9% of [people in federal prison], 20.1% of [people in state prison], and 68.4% of [people in jail] had received no medical examination since incarceration.”
Sexual Victimization in Local Jails Reported by Inmates, 2007Bureau of Justice Statistics, June, 2008“An estimated 5.1% of female inmates, compared to 2.9% of male inmates, said they had experienced one or more incidents of sexual victimization.”
Jail Inmates at Midyear 2007Bureau of Justice Statistics, June, 2008“The total rated capacity of local jails at midyear 2007 reached 813,502 beds, up from an estimated 677,787 beds at midyear 2000.”
Jailing Juveniles: The Dangers of Incarcerating Youth in Adult Jails in America Campaign for Youth Justice, November, 2007“The report”
Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2006Bureau of Justice Statistics, June, 2007“For the 12 months ending June 30, 2006, State systems reported a larger increase than the Federal system in the number of inmates housed in private prisons.”
Impacts of Jail Expansion in New York State: A Hidden Burden Center for Constitutional Rights, May, 2007“The growth in the number of people held in jail has not been caused by an increase in crime, as index crime reports decreased by 30 percent in the last decade in upstate and suburban New York overall.”(Construction of new prisons in New York poses a financial, employment and environmental burden on communities.)
Medical Problems of Jail InmatesBureau of Justice Statistics, November, 2006“More than a third of jail inmates reported having a current medical problem.”
Jails in Indian Country, 2004Bureau of Justice Statistics, November, 2006“At midyear 2004 jails in Indian country held 1,745 inmates; 39% of inmates were confined for a violent offense.”
Turning Jails Into Prisons: Collateral Damage from Kentucky's War on Crime Robert G. Lawson (Published in Kentucky Law Journal, Volume 95), 2006
Fees Paid by Jail Inmates: Fee Categories, Revenues, and Management Perspectives in a Sample of U.S. Jails National Institute of Corrections, December, 2005“Survey responses indicate that 90% of the jails that responded are currently charging jail inmate fees.”
Jail Crowding: Understanding Jail Population Dynamics National Institute of Corrections, January, 2002“Three indicators are available for analysis nationally: serious crime, adult arrests, and county resident population.”
Census of Jails 1999Bureau of Justice Statistics, September, 2001“At midyear 1999 the Nation's jails held 605,943 inmates, up 32% since the last census in 1993.”
Veterans in Prison and JailBureau of Justice Statistics, January, 2000“Male military veterans are incarcerated at less than half the rate of non-veterans”
Locked Away: Immigration Detainees in Jails in the United States Human Rights Watch, September, 1998
A Review of the Jail Function within State Unified Corrections SystemsNational Institute of Corrections, September, 1997“This document describes the provision of jail services in the six states that have integrated state-level prison and jail systems. This type of correctional system is often described as a "state unified system."”
HIV in Prisons and Jails, 1995Bureau of Justice Statistics, August, 1997“Between 1991 and 1995 about 1 in 3 inmate deaths were attributable to AIDS-related causes.”
Mental Illness in US Jails: Diverting the nonviolent, low-level offender Center on Crime Communities and Culture, November, 1996
Profile of Jail Inmates, 1989Bureau of Justice Statistics, April, 1991“Results from the 1989 Survey of Inmates in Local Jails indicate that between 1983 and 1989, while the jail population increased by 76.9%, its composition changed significantly.”
Jails: Intergovernmental Dimensions of a Local Problem Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, May, 1984“According to the latest survey of jails, there currently are 3,493 such facilities in the United States, holding more than 212,000 people at any given time, and approximately 7 million over the course of the year.”
