Jails and Jail Inmates 1993-94

• NCJ Number: 151651
• Author(s): C A Perkins; J J Stephan; A J Beck
• Date Published: April 1995
• Length: 16 pages
• Publication Series: BJS Bulletins
• Agencies: BJS
• Publication Type: Survey

Annotation

Data presented in this report are based on results from the 1993 Census of jails and the 1994 Annual Survey of Jails, which provide detailed information on local jail inmates, staff, facilities, and programs.

Abstract

Drawing on results from the Census of Jails, 1993, this Bulletin presents for each State and the District of Columbia the number of inmates, the incarceration rates, rated capacity, and percent of capacity occupied on June 30. It summarizes data on the number of jail employees, demographic characteristics of the staff, inmate-to-staff ratios, and changes since 1983 in these measures. Information from the Annual Survey of Jails, 1994, provides the latest estimates of the Nation's jail population.

• After a decade of record growth, the number of inmates in local jails reached a high of 490,442 on June 30, 1994.
• The number of jail inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents increased from 96 in 1983 to 188 in 1994
• In 1993, 8 States had over 200 local jail inmates per 100,000 residents: Louisiana (377), Georgia (328), Texas (307), Tennessee (282), Florida (250), Virginia (225), California (222), and Nevada (215).
• Between 1983 and 1993 the number of jail inmates increased 106%; the total jail staff increased 156%; and the number of correctional officers grew 165%.
• At midyear 1994 the capacity of the Nation's local jails was 504,324 inmates, as measured by the number of beds allotted by State or local rating officials.
• The jail population was 97% of rated capacity. Jail space increased 93% between 1983 and 1994.
• White non-Hispanics made up 39% of the jail population; black non-Hispanics, 44%; Hispanics, 15%; and non-Hispanics of other races, 2%.