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Home | Corrections | Local jail inmates and jail facilities
Local jail inmates and jail facilities
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About this Topic

BJS collects information on jail inmates and jail facilities from administrative records maintained by local jurisdictions and through periodic personal interviews with inmates held in local jails (See Jail Data Collections and Surveys for more information). Jails are correctional facilities that confine persons before or after adjudication and are usually operated by local law enforcement authorities.  Jail sentences are usually for 1 year or less.  Jails also—

  • receive individuals pending arraignment and hold those awaiting trial, conviction, or sentencing
  • remit probation, parole, and bail-bond violators and absconders
  • temporarily detain juveniles pending transfer to juvenile authorities
  • hold mentally ill persons pending transfer to appropriate mental health facilities
  • hold individuals for the military, for protective custody, for contempt, and for the courts as witnesses
  • release inmates to the community upon completion of sentence
  • transfer inmates to federal, state, or other authorities
  • house inmates for federal, state, or other authorities because of crowding of their facilities
  • sometimes operate community-based programs as alternatives to incarceration.

Summary findings

Recent data from Jail Inmates at Midyear 2010 - Statistical Tables—

  • At midyear 2010, 748,728 inmates were held in custody in local jails.
  • Local jails operated at about 86% of their rated capacity as of June 30, 2010.
  • From June 30, 2009, to June 30, 2010, the nation’s jail capacity increased by 17,079 beds, while the number of inmates decreased by 18,706.

Trend data from Jail Inmates at Midyear 2010 - Statistical Tables—

  • From 2000 to 2010, the number of jail inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents rose from 220 to 242. The incarceration rate peaked at 259 in 2007.
  • From 2000 to 2009, the number of inmates held in local jails grew an average rate of 2.4% per year.
  • Jail capacity occupied rose from 92% in 2000 to 96% in 2007, then it dropped to 86% in 2010.

 

Table 1. Inmates confined in local jails at midyear, average daily jail population, and incarceration rate, 2000-2010

 
Year Inmates confined at midyear   Average daily populationa   Incarceration
rateb
Number Percent Number Percent
2000 621,149     2.5%   618,319    1.7%   220
2001 631,240 1.6   625,966 1.2   222
2002 665,475 5.4   652,082 4.2   231
2003 691,301 3.9   680,760 4.4   238
2004 713,990 3.3   706,242 3.7   243
2005 747,529 4.7   733,442 3.9   252
2006 765,819 2.4   755,320 3.0   256
2007 780,174 1.9   773,138 2.4   259
2008c 785,536 0.7   776,573 0.4   258
2009c 767,434 -2.3     767,992 -1.1     250
2010 748,728 -2.4     748,553 -1.1     242
Average annual increase              
2000-2009     2.4%       2.4%    
2009-2010   -2.4       -2.5      
aAverage daily population is the sum of the number of inmates in jail each day for a year, divided by the number of days in the year.
bNumber of inmates confined at midyear per 100,000 U.S. residents.
cBased on revised data from selected jail jurisdictions for the number of inmates confined at midyear 2008 and 2009 and for the average daily population in 2009. See Methodology in Jail Inmates at Midyear 2010 - Statistical Tables for description of revised data.

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Key Facts

Thumbnail   Adult correctional population trends
The number of adults in the correctional population has been increasing.
Chart Page | Data Table | Spreadsheet | d_link
Thumbnail   Imprisonment rate
After sharp increases in the 1980s and 1990s, the incarceration rate has recently grown at a slower pace.
Chart Page | Data Table | Spreadsheet | d_link
Thumbnail   Suicide and homicide rates
Suicide and homicide rates in state prisons and jails declined.
Chart Page | Data Table | Spreadsheet | d_link
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Terms & Definitions

Incarcerated population Incarcerated population is the population of inmates confined in a prison or a jail. This may also include halfway-houses, bootcamps, weekend programs, and other entities in which individuals are locked up overnight.
 
Indian country jails Indian country adult and juvenile detention centers, jails, and other correctional facilities operated by tribal authorities or the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), U.S. Department of the Interior.
 
Jail inmates Jail inmates are offenders confined in short-term facilities that are usually administered by a local law enforcement agency and that are intended for adults but sometimes hold juveniles before or after adjudication. Jail inmates usually have a sentence of less than 1 year or are being held pending a trial, awaiting sentencing, or awaiting transfer to other facilities after a conviction.
 
Prison Compared to jail facilities, prisons are longer-term facilities owned by a state or by the Federal Government. Prisons typically hold felons and persons with sentences of more than a year; however, the sentence length may vary by state. Six states (Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, Delaware, Alaska, and Hawaii) have an integrated correctional system that combines jails and prisons. There are a small number of private prisons, facilities that are run by private prison corporations whose services and beds are contracted out by state or federal governments.
 
Rated capacity The number of beds or inmates assigned by a rating official to institutions within the jurisdiction.
 
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