Jails in Indian Country, 2014

• NCJ Number: 248974
• Author(s): Todd D. Minton
• Date Published: October 2015
• Length: 21 pages
• Publication Series: BJS Bulletins
• Agencies: BJS
• Publication Type: Statistics; Report (Annual/Periodic)

Annotation

This report on jails in Indian Country in 2014 addresses the number and characteristics of inmates and their offenses, jail staff, and the number of inmate deaths and suicides.

Abstract

Presents findings from the 2014 Survey of Jails in Indian Country, an enumeration of 79 jails, confinement facilities, detention centers, and other correctional facilities operated by tribal authorities or the Bureau of Indian Affairs. This report examines the trends from 2000 to 2014 in the number of adults and juveniles held, type of offense, number of persons confined on the last weekday in June, peak population, average daily population, admissions in June, and expected average length of stay in jail at admission. It also provides data on rated capacity, facility crowding, and jail staffing in June 2014. The report includes counts of inmate deaths and suicide attempts for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2014, along with comparisons to counts in prior years.

• At midyear 2014, an estimated 2,380 inmates were confined in 79 Indian country jails4% increase from the 2,287 inmates confined at midyear 2013.
• The number of inmates admitted into Indian country jails during June 2014 (10,460) was nearly five times the size of the average daily population (2,170).
• For the 79 facilities operating in June 2014, the expected average length of stay at admission for inmates was about 6 days.
• Since 2010, about 3 in 10 inmates held in Indian country jails have been confined for a violent offense, a decline from about 4 in 10 since peaking in 2007.
• Domestic violence (12%) and aggravated or simple assault (9%) accounted for the largest percentage of violent offenders at midyear 2014, followed by unspecified violence (5%) and rape or sexual assault (2%).