Todd D. Minton, William J. Sabol, Ph.D.

June 6, 2008    NCJ 221945

Presents data on numbers of jails and jail inmates at midyear 2007 and analyzes patterns of growth from 2000 through 2007. This report includes data on rated capacity of jails, percent of capacity occupied, and capacity added. It provides estimates of admissions to jails and details the volume of movement among the jail population. This Bulletin includes total numbers for jail inmates by gender, race, and Hispanic origin as well as counts of jail inmates by conviction and confinement status. Standard errors for jail estimates are only provided in the appendix tables of the electronic version of this report. See also Prison Inmates at Midyear 2007.

Highlights include the following:

• The total rated capacity of local jails at midyear 2007 reached 813,502 beds, up from an estimated 677,787 beds at midyear 2000.
• At midyear 2007, jail jurisdictions (173) with an average daily jail population of 1,000 or more inmates accounted for about 6% of all jail jurisdictions and about 52% of the jail inmate population.
• At midyear 2007, the 50 largest jail jurisdictions held about 29% (or 227,901 inmates) of the nation’s jail population.

Part of the Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear Series

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