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Jails

Jail populations include individuals who are awaiting trial, who have been convicted and are serving a short sentence, and who may be awaiting placement elsewhere.

Jails are ubiquitous in every jurisdiction, yet policymakers may have difficulty finding population statistics for their local jail with any regularity or accuracy. For policymakers to ensure that jails are properly resourced for occupants and employees, it is necessary to understand the population and staffing dynamics as well as how effectively jails adhere to their policies and procedures.

Get to know the Jails metrics

Metric

Description

1. Capacity & Costs

2. Population Movements

3. Operations and Dynamics

4. Public Safety

5. Equity

6. Fairness

1.1 Annual Budget – amount of annual budget of the jail system 

  1. Total jail system’s budget (in dollars) 

Agency Customization: How does the agency define the fiscal year? 

1.2 Total Staff – number of full-time staff employed by the jail system 

  1. Total number of full-time staff 
  2. Optional: Number of full-time security staff 
  3. Optional: Number of full-time support staff 
  4. Optional: Number of full-time clinical staff 
  5. Optional: Number of full-time other (please specify) type staff 
  6. Optional: Number of full-time staff of unknown type 

Agency Customization: Do the categories above include programmatic staff? 

1.1 Annual Budget – amount of annual budget of the jail system 

  1. Total jail system’s budget (in dollars) 

Agency Customization: How does the agency define the fiscal year? 

1.2 Total Staff – number of full-time staff employed by the jail system 

  1. Total number of full-time staff 
  2. Optional: Number of full-time security staff 
  3. Optional: Number of full-time support staff 
  4. Optional: Number of full-time clinical staff 
  5. Optional: Number of full-time other (please specify) type staff 
  6. Optional: Number of full-time staff of unknown type 

Agency Customization: Do the categories above include programmatic staff? 

2.1 Admissions – number of new admissions to the jail system 

  1. Total number of new admissions 
  2. Optional: Number of new admissions awaiting trial 
  3. Optional: Number of new admissions serving a sentence 
  4. Optional: Number of new admissions on transfer or hold status 
  5. Optional: Number of new admissions with an unknown admission type 

Agency Customization: What is the jail system’s definition of an admission? Does that definition include people admitted for a violation of supervision conditions? 

2.2 Average Daily Population – average daily population of individuals held in jail custody 

  1. Average daily population 
  2. Optional: Average daily pretrial population 
  3. Optional: Average daily sentenced population 
  4. Optional: Average daily transferred/held population 
  5. Optional: Average daily population of unknown type 

Agency Customization: Do the figures above include people admitted for a violation of supervision conditions? 

2.3 Releases – number of new releases from the jail system 

  1. Total number of releases 
  2. Optional: Number of releases for sentence completions 
  3. Optional: Number of releases for pretrial release 
  4. Optional: Number of releases for transfers 
  5. Optional: Number of releases for unapproved absences 
  6. Optional: Number of releases for compassionate release 
  7. Optional: Number of releases for other (please specify) or unknown release type 

Agency Customization: Does the jail system have the authority to make release decisions? If so, in what instances? 

3.1 Readmission Rate – number of individuals admitted who had at least one other jail admission within the prior 12 months 

  1. Total number of admissions with at least one prior admission 
  2. Optional: new admissions with a prior admission 
  3. Optional: admissions for a violation of conditions with a prior admission 
  4. Optional: admissions with another (please specify) or unknown admission type with a prior admission 

Agency Customization: How does the jail system define an admission? Do the figures above match readmissions within a single facility, jail system, or across statewide admissions? 

4.1 Staff Use of Force/Response to Resistance – number of staff use-of-force incidents and the number found to be justified/substantiated versus a sustained finding of unreasonable and/or excessive use of force 

  1. Total number of use-of-force incidents 
  2. Number of justified/substantiated use-of-force incidents 
  3. Number of sustained findings of unreasonable and/or excessive use-of-force incidents 
  4. Number of incidents pending review 
  5. Optional: Number of incidents involving physical use of force 
  6. Optional: Number of incidents involving restraint 
  7. Optional: Number of incidents involving use of a weapon 
  8. Optional: Number of incidents involving an unknown type of force 

Agency Customization: What is the jail system’s definition of use of force? Does that definition include counts of handcuffing without resistance? Does the jail system review every use-of-force incident? If not, which ones are reviewed? 

5.1 Average Daily Population by Race or Ethnicity – average daily population of individuals of a certain race or ethnicity held in jail custody 

  1. Average daily population 
  2. Average daily population of White individuals 
  3. Average daily population of Black individuals 
  4. Average daily population of individuals of another (please specify) or unknown gender 
  5. Average daily population of Asian individuals 
  6. Average daily population of American Indian or Alaska Native individuals 
  7. Average daily population of Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander individuals 
  8. Average daily population of individuals of another (please specify), multiple, or unknown race or ethnicity 

Agency Customization: How does the jail system define and record race or ethnicity? 

5.2 Average Daily Population by Gender – average daily population of individuals of a certain gender held in jail custody 

  1. Average daily population 
  2. Average daily population of men
  3. Average daily population of women
  4. Average daily population of another (please specify), or unknown individuals 

Agency Customization: How does the jail system define and record gender? 

6.1 Grievances Upheld – number of grievances filed within the jail system and the number that were founded/substantiated versus the number denied 

  1. Total number of grievances filed and determined to be founded/substantiated 

Agency Customization: How does the jail system define grievance, founded/substantiated, and denied/unsubstantiated? How does the jail system handle a grievance if someone exits the system while it is still pending?