Report on County Jails

• NCJ Number: 86389
• Author(s): M Cunniff
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 16 pages
• Corporate Author: National Assoc of Criminal Justice Planners
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

This report presents the results of a 1981 survey of county jails regarding size, bedspace configuration, occupancy rates, inmate population, construction plans, and litigation against jail facilities.

Abstract

The questionnaire was mailed to 1,964 sheriff's offices, or 65 percent of all sheriff's offices in the United States, in December 1981. The overall response rate was 29 percent, but the rate grew steadily from 25 percent for counties with populations under 50,000 to 44 percent for those with 250,000 persons or more. The report estimates that 75 percent of all jails serve populations of 50,000 or less, but these facilities constitute only 33 percent of the estimated jail space. In contrast, counties with populations of 250,000 or more account for only 6 percent of the jails, but 38 percent of the estimated jail bed space. The jail's size affects its operations, with larger facilities being able to offer more specialized services and segregate different types of offenders. The survey discovered that 48 percent of total jail bed capacity was in the form of dormitory housing, but planned new jail bed capacity was oriented toward single bed units. Occupancy rates varied considerably, with a 53 percent rate for counties under 50,000 population and 100 percent for counties with 250,000 or more. Of the inmate populations, 61 percent were on pretrial status, 33 percent on post trial status, and 6 percent were awaiting transfer to a State prison. The survey returns showed considerable construction and renovation activity in all jurisdictions. Jail facilities were relatively new compared to prisons, with 75 percent of existing jail capacity being built since 1950 and 40 percent since 1975. According to survey responses, one out of every five jails had been involved in litigation over physical conditions. Being under court order or litigation surfaced much more frequently in large counties than in small ones and greatly affected the decision to build. Nearly 73 percent of the jails under court order were contemplating some new construction. Tables are included.