Based on information from the 2005 Census of Jails, a sample of individual jail reporting units was selected for the 2007 survey. The sample included public and private jails in 874 selected jail jurisdictions including 63 regional jails. A stratified random sample of county or city jurisdictions was stratified by average daily population (ADP) as reported by the 2005 Census of Jails. Large jails and regional jails were included in the sample with certainty.
All sampled jail jurisdictions (i.e., counties, municipalities, boroughs, etc.) identified through from the 2005 Census of Jail Inmates.
survey data
mail questionnaire
web-based survey
The response rate for the survey was 100 percent
for the following critical data items: confined persons (CONFPOP), number of adult male and adult
female inmates (ADMALE, ADFEML), average daily population (ADP), and total rated capacity of
jails (RATCAP). Extensive follow-up, including additional mail and fax requests and repeated
telephone contacts, resulted in a nearly 100 percent response rate for the number of juvenile male and
juvenile female inmates (JUVMALE, JUVFEML), and nearly 90 percent for the number of inmates by race and
Hispanic origin (WHITE, BLACK, HISP, AMINDALK, ASIAN, HAWPAC, TWORACE) and for the number of male
and female inmates by conviction status (CONVMALE, CONVFML, UNCONVML, UNCONVFM).