By Julie Wertheimer and Tracy Velázquez, Photo: Getty Images, The Pew Charitable Trusts, January 12, 2022
With many jurisdictions nationwide facing large backlogs of court cases because of COVID-related shutdowns, counties are taking a fresh look at ways to manage jail populations. Although much of the focus in recent years has been on reducing admissions, the average amount of time that people spend in jail has been steadily increasing over the past decade. Just-released national data for 2020 shows a 6% jump in average length of stay over the previous year.
A new report by the Data Collaborative for Justice at John Jay College, in partnership with The Pew Charitable Trusts, points to the need for a more comprehensive approach to reducing jail populations that takes into account both how many people are admitted and how long they stay. “Understanding Trends in Jail Populations, 2014 to 2019: A Multi-Site Analysis” reviews detailed data from three county jails and finds that average length of stay over the study period increased 18% in Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky; 20% in St. Louis County, Missouri; and 24% in Durham County, North Carolina—despite significant declines in admissions over the same period.
The longer stays were primarily driven by people whose bail had been set at more than $5,000 (with jail time growing by 54%, 42% and 31% in the three counties, respectively) and people held on more serious charges. Although they made up less than 1 in 4 admissions in 2019, people with these high bail amounts in all three counties occupied more than 2 in 3 jail beds. In 2019, those admitted to the three county facilities for a violent felony charge spent, on average, more than 100 days in jail, compared with fewer than 40 days for a nonviolent felony and fewer than 9 days for a misdemeanor.
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