Revealing Racial Disparities in Jails Through the Jail Data Initiative

Slide Note

Explore the significance of the Jail Data Initiative in shedding light on racial disparities within the U.S. criminal justice system. Learn why current and detailed jail data is crucial, how the initiative aims to improve data accessibility, and what insights have been uncovered regarding the over-representation of Black individuals in jails. Discover the impact of this data-driven approach on decision-making and societal awareness.

stag_bor Follow

Uploaded on Sep 10, 2024 | 2 Views

Download Presentation

Please find below an Image/Link to download the presentation.

The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author. Download presentation by click this link. If you encounter any issues during the download, it is possible that the publisher has removed the file from their server.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

How to use the new Jail Data Initiative for explorations of race and other topics

Quick overview of jails Multi-use local correctional facilities: about 3,000 On average over past decade, over 10 million admissions annually, with over 700,000 people in jail at any one time Average length of stay is 32.8 days (a 44% increase since 2011) About 15% of people in jail at midyear 2021 (95,000 people) were in jails operating over 100% of their rated capacity

Why is current and detailed jail data important? Jails are disease incubators and poor places for people with health issues They are expensive: about $34,000 per person per year ($25 billion a year cost to counties) Officials, the public and the media should know who is being held in jail, for how long and why Good decision-making relies on good and timely data

Why create the Jail Data Initiative? Federal BJS data: Released 18 months after data collection date Provides limited demographic info Most data is aggregated to national level only In 5 years out of 6, just use a sample of ~900 jails No charge types JDI: Data goes through end of prior month Data by race, sex, age Trend and point in time data by jail, county, state, or U.S. Charge data when available Length of stay data Customizable reports & downloadable data Now covers ~1300 jails

JDI electronically scrapes & stitches together online jail rosters

GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE JDI collects data from about 1,300 jails

What did JDI show about racial disparities in jails?

Black People were over-represented in almost all JDI jails; in almost 3 in 10 jurisdictions Black people s share of the jail was 4x or more that of the locality 29% 29% % of jails, by level of over-representation 30% 26% 20% 16% 10% 0% Up to double Double to triple Triple to 4 times Over 4 times Over-representation of Black people in jail Note: 595 jails had data available by race for both the jail and the local jurisdiction.

Black Individuals Saw A Larger Post-Pandemic Rebound in the Jail Population Black 8.0% White 0.4% 0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0% Percentage change, March 2020 December 2022 Note: Data from 349 jails with data available by race over the time period.

Black people spent more time on average in jail than White people in 2022 Black 42 White 35 0 10 20 30 40 50 Average days in jail in 2022 Note: Data from 641 jails with data available by race

132 The admission rate for Black people in 2022 was four times that of White people 140 Average admission rate per 120 1,000 adult residents 100 80 60 33 40 20 0 Black White Note: Data is from 595 jails and counties with breakdowns by race available for the studied period.

JDI allows analysis by race AND sex Black women saw the largest increase in admissions since the pandemic White women had a slightly larger increase in admissions than their male counterparts % Change Average Daily Admissions, March 2020 - December 2022 50% 38% 40% 29% 30% 16% 20% 15% 10% 0% Black men White men Black women White women Black men Black women White men White women