NCJ Number
213571
Date Published
December 2005
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This bulletin discusses the use of jail exit surveys in providing guidance and practical information to inform policy change initiatives in the improvement of community responses to women offenders.
Abstract
Jail exit surveys have the ability to provide jurisdictions with invaluable information about populations flowing into and out of the local jail, information that can be used to craft more meaningful responses to offenders. Through thoroughness and diligence in the design of the exit survey process and the collecting of targeted data, a rich source of information will be the result that can guide future information gathering and policy development efforts. This in turn will help jurisdictions craft the most cost-effective strategies for responding to women offenders. This bulletin discusses the what, why, and how of jail exit surveys. It discusses the benefits and challenges of conducting these surveys with step-by-step instructions for implementing a survey, analyzing the data, and applying the results to implement policy and practice change. It draws on lessons learned from analyzing the results of exit surveys in diverse local jurisdictions that are working directly on issues affecting women offenders. Three jurisdictions and examples of how jail exit surveys can inform policy change initiatives are described and include: Davidson County in Nashville, TN; Maui County in Hawaii and Tulsa County in Oklahoma.