Federal, State, and Local Governments
Criminal Justice Surveys, Programs, and Censuses
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Contents
- Introduction
- Bureau of Justice Statistics Sponsored Projects
- Census of Jails
- Annual Survey of Jails
- National Judicial Reporting Program
- Criminal Justice Expenditure and Employment Extracts
- Census of State and Federal Correctional Facilities
- National Prisoner Statistics
- Deaths in Custody - Quarterly and Annual
- Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Sponsored Projects
Introduction
The Criminal Justice Statistics Branch conducts reimbursable projects for the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). As the data collection agent , we collect data on a range of topics including prison and jail inmate movements, juvenile delinquents and the facilities in which they reside, and sentencing patterns of convicted felons, just to name a few. The U.S. Department of Justice uses these data for research and evaluation, development of policies and procedures, and legislative and funding issues..
For additional information on any of the criminal justice surveys, please visit the BJS website at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/ or the OJJDP website at http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org.
| Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) Sponsored Projects |
The Census of Jails is conducted approximately every five years. The Criminal Justice Statistics Branch conducted the first census of local jails in 1970 in response to congressional interest in prison and jail overcrowding. The current census collects basic information on the number of inmates by legal status, race and sex, capacity, staffing, programs, etc. Data for the census are normally collected through mail canvass operations, however, a Web reporting option was offered to larger units for the first time beginning with the 1999 Census of Local Jails. Data from this census are keyed, edited, corrected and tabulated by project staff. A public use data file and corresponding documentation are prepared for the BJS.
Annual Survey of Local Jails (ASJ)
The Annual Survey of Jails (ASJ) is a sample survey that collects data for all jails within selected jurisdictions (city or county area). The ASJ tracks key characteristics of the Nations jails and jail inmates and provides national estimates of the number of inmates by legal status, average daily population, admissions, releases, and facility characteristics such as capacity and jail programs. The sample is selected from the Census of Jails universe, and the survey is then conducted annually for four consecutive years. Data are collected primarily by mail canvass with a Web reporting option. Data from this survey are keyed, edited, corrected and tabulated by project staff. A public use data file and corresponding documentation are prepared for the BJS. Data are released and published by the BJS.
National Judicial Reporting Program (NJRP)
This biennial survey provides national estimates of persons convicted and sentenced on felonies, their characteristics, such as age, race, gender, conviction offense(s) and type and length of sentence (i.e., prison, jail, probation, etc.). This survey provides the only source of this essential information at the national level. Data are collected from a sample of state courts in a variety of formats, (e.g., electronically via the Internet or on CD or diskette, and photocopies of court documents). These data are keyed, re-coded, reformatted, edited, corrected and tabulated by project staff. A public use data file and corresponding documentation are prepared for the BJS. Survey findings are published in a series of reports including, "Felony Sentences in State Courts".
Criminal Justice Expenditure and Employment (CJEE) Extracts
This survey extracts justice expenditure and employment data from Governments Division's annual surveys of finance and employment and adjusts them to provide comparable data with the former CJEE series. In conjunction with this data series, we provide additional unpublished detail for larger government units and custom tabulations for publications. BJS publishes these data under the title, "Justice Expenditure and Employment in the United States" (by collection year).
Census of State and Federal Correctional Facilities
This census is conducted every five years and is the sixth in a series begun by the U.S. Department of Justice in 1974. The census collects detailed data on state and federal correctional facilities, including the number and characteristics of inmates housed, rated and design capacity, building plans, court orders, staff characteristics, and facility programs and policies. Data for the census are collected through mail canvass operations. Project staff conduct all phases of data processing, corrections and tabulations. A public use data file and corresponding documentation are prepared for the BJS. These data are published under the title, "Census of State and Federal Correctional Facilities".
National Prisoner Statistics (NPS)
The NPS is conducted to provide information on adults incarcerated in state and federal correctional institutions including their characteristics, movements, and history. There are three data collection systems: NPS-1 collects the annual summary counts of inmate admissions and releases by gender and race, and NPS-1A and NPS-1B collect semiannual population summary counts by gender and sentence length. Beginning with calendar year 2003, respondents were provided with a Web reporting option. An analyst page has been developed that enables the BJS to track response rates, review completed forms, and obtain tabulated data.
Deaths in Custody - Quarterly and Annual
The Deaths in Custody series provides a count of inmate deaths in all state correctional facilities and local jails. The Quarterly survey provides basic information on all deceased inmates. The Annual Summary is conducted to obtain inmate counts including the number of inmates on December 31, yearly admissions totals, average daily population counts, and total inmate deaths. Beginning with calendar year 2003, respondents were provided with a Web reporting option for local jails. The State correctional facilities were provided the Web reporting option in 2004.
| Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Sponsored Projects |
Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement (CJRP)
This biennial census collects individual data for young persons held in juvenile residential facilities that have been charged with or court-adjudicated for an offense (on a particular reference date). Data collected include, name, date of birth, gender, most serious offense and adjudication status, just to name a few. Data are collected by mail canvass operations, electronic submission (preformatted spreadsheets for data entry), and internet submission. Project staff conduct all phases of data processing, corrections and tabulations. Census documentation are prepared and forwarded to OJJDP. These data are published in the "Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement Databook". Data collections for 1995 and earlier were published in a prior collection series titled, ‘Children in Custody."
Juveniles in Residential Facilities Census (JRFC)
This biennial census, beginning in 2000, collects data on the characteristics of juvenile residential facilities. Data collected include, type of facility, capacity, number of juveniles held on a specific reference date, physical and mental health care services, substance abuse services, and education services. Data for the JRFC are collected solely by mail canvass operations. Project staff conduct all phases of data processing, corrections and tabulations. Census documentation are prepared and forwarded to OJJDP. These data are published by the OJJDP.
National Juvenile Justice Directory Program (NJDP)
This is a comprehensive name and address listing of juvenile justice agencies in the United States. This list serves as a universe or sample frame for all of our OJJDP work. Along with the sponsor, we are in the process of developing this listing to meet our immediate and future survey needs. At the present time we have public and private residential juvenile facilities and juvenile probation offices in the directory.
