Mills, Tonya

Nelson, Erin

Travis County Criminal Justice Planning Department

Texas ScholarWorks

                    TRAVIS COUNTY JAIL  INMATE PROFILE   TRAVIS COUNTY INMATE POPULATION STATISTICS  VS.  SIMILAR NATIONAL STATISTICS        PREPARED BY: TONYA MILLS, TRAVIS COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE ERIN NELSON, CRIMINAL JUSTICE PLANNING  DATE PREPARED:  15 APRIL 2008  Travis County Inmate Profile  1OVERVIEW This report is intended to create an inmate profile of the Travis County Jail and to compare local statistics to those reported nationally.   This report will look at:  The growth of the Travis County Jail as compared to the growth in the population of Travis County as a whole.  The demographic make-up of persons incarcerated in Travis County as compared to national statistics.   National recidivism rates compared to re-arrest rates in Travis County. The majority of the national statistics contained in this profile are collected from a publication compiled annually by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.  The Travis County Sheriff’s Office contributes data to the Bureau of Justice Statistic’s publication, titled “Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear,” each year.             Travis County Inmate Profile  2COUNTY POPULATION VERSUS JAIL POPULATION I. TRAVIS COUNTY POPULATION GROWTH Since 1990, Travis County’s population has grown significantly.  The majority of this growth occurred between 1990 and 2000 when overall the county’s population grew 41% from 576,407 to 812,280.  Since 2000, it is estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of Travis County has increased 13%, for a total of 921,006 residents.  Table 1, below, outlines this data from the U.S. Census Bureau.  The data from 1990 and 2000 are based on complete census counts, while the 2006 data is a U.S. Census Bureau estimate.   Table 1 - Travis County Census Data Census Year Total Population % Increase in Total Adult Population % Increase in Adult 1990 (a) 576,407  438,196  2000 (a) 812,280 40.9% 619,336 41.3% 2006 (b) 921,006 13.4% 692,597 11.8% (a) U.S. Census Bureau-General Population and Housing Characteristics: 1990 & 2000 (b) U.S. Census Bureau-State & County QuickFacts Population Estimate 2006  II. JAIL POPULATION GROWTH Like the overall county growth, the largest jail population growth occurred in the period between 1990 and 2000.  Table 2 outlines fiscal year average daily populations (ADP) for the same years outlined in the U.S. Census Bureau data above.  Additionally, the table demonstrates the number of persons incarcerated per 100 adult residents in Travis County.  Table 2 - Annual Average Daily Jail Population Fiscal Year Annual ADP % Increase from previous Adults Incarcerated Per 100 residents FY1990 1,474  .34 FY2000 2,515 70.62% .41 FY2006 2,582 2.66% .37 Travis County Sheriff’s Office The Travis County Jail population increased dramatically from 1990 to 2000, growing an average of 104 inmates per year in ADP.  Since 2000, this growth has slowed to an average of 11 per year between 2000 and 2006, for a total ADP increase of 67 inmates.     Travis County Inmate Profile  3TRAVIS COUNTY VERSUS NATIONAL INCARCERATION STATISTICS  I. TRAVIS COUNTY INCARCERATION RATES AND RACE PROFILE VERSUS NATIONAL STATISTICS Table 3 outlines the comparison of inmate/offender profiles between Travis County and national statistics.  At the national level, 43.9% of those incarcerated in local jails are white, 38.6% are black, 15.6% are of Hispanic origin, and 1.9% are grouped in category “Other.”  In the Travis County Jail, less of the population is made up of white offenders, 33.2%; the black population is also smaller, at 34.1%.  The Travis County does have a larger Hispanic population than the national average; 32.6% of the jail population is made up of this ethnic group.    Table 3 - Travis County Jail Demographic and Incarcerations Rates vs. National Statistics  Travis County Jail (a) Overall County Demographic (c) National Data Incarceration (b/c) Overall National Demographic (c) White 33.2% 52.2% 43.9% 66.4% Black 34.1% 9.0% 38.6% 12.8% Hispanic 32.6% 32.5% 15.6% 14.8% Other(*) .2% 6.3% 1.9% 6.0% Incarceration rate per 100 adults .37  .33(c)  (a) Travis County Sheriff’s Office – Inmate Profile Snapshot June 30, 2006 (b) Sabol, William J. & Harrison, Paige M. (2007).  Prison and Jail inmates at Midyear 2006. U.S. Department of Justice: Bureau of Justice Statistics (c) U.S. Census Bureau - State & County QuickFacts Population Estimate 2006 [incarceration rate uses adult population only] (*) Includes Asian, American Indian, Alaska Native persons.  II. TRAVIS COUNTY EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT STATUS VERSUS NATIONAL STATISTICS At the national level, in 2002, 43.9% of local jail inmates did not finish high school; this includes 12.3% who completed the 8th grade or less and 31.6% who completed "some high school."  Approximately 39% of the national jail population completed the 12th grade or higher, which includes 25.9% with a high school diploma and 13% with an education beyond 12th grade.  Seventeen percent of the national jail population has a GED.   Travis County Inmate Profile  4Nationally, in 2002, seventy-one percent of those in jail were employed in the month prior to their arrest (excluding those who were not free for at least one month prior).  More than 50% were employed full time.  Twenty-nine percent of the jail population was not employed in the month prior to their arrest; this includes 13.8% who were not looking.   A quarter of those incarcerated in jails in 2002 made between $1,000 and $1,999 in the month prior to their arrest.  Twenty percent brought in no income.  Approximately 40% made between $1 and $999 per month.  Income sources included 63.2% from wages or salary, 15.8% from family and friends, 11.8% illegal sources, 6.3% welfare, 9.1% compensation, and 4.7% from other sources.  Compensation income includes Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Worker's Compensation, unemployment insurance, or other compensation resources. Other sources included pensions, educational assistance, investments, alimony, or other unspecified types of income.  Currently, Travis County does not collect data on income at central booking.   Table 4 - Travis County Jail Education and Employment Status vs. National Statistics  Travis County Jail (a) National Data (b) Travis County +/- Completed 12th grade 52.1% 38.9% +13.2% Did not complete 12th grade 44.3% 43.9% +.4% Did not report education level 3.5%   GED  17.1%  Employed 38.0% 71% (c) -33.0% Unemployed 4.3% 29% (c) -24.7% Did not report employment status 58.2%   (a) Travis County Sheriff’s Office – Inmate Profile Snapshot June 30, 2006 (b) U.S. Department of Justice: Bureau of Justice Statistics - Prison and Jail inmates at Midyear 2006 (c) U.S. Department of Justice: Bureau of Justice Statistics - Prison and Jail inmates 2002  Approximately 52% of those in the Travis County jail completed 12th grade, a larger proportion of the jail than is reported at a national level.  The jail also has a slightly larger population who did not complete the 12th grade than the national average.   Those in the Travis County jail who reported to be employed at booking were 38%; those who were unemployed made up 4.3% of the jail population; while 58.2% did not report employment status.    Travis County Inmate Profile  5It should be noted, Travis County collects education and employment information during the booking process.  This information is self-reported and has been inconsistent historically.  For example, offenders may report having completed the 12th grade during one arrest and the 8th grade in another.  The same is often true of employment information.    I I I.  TRAVIS COUNTY OFFENSE TYPE VERSUS NATIONAL STATISTICS Data outlined in Table 5 demonstrates statistics related to violent offenders as well as drug and alcohol related offenses.  The table compares Travis County to the national data sets available.  Since the only national statistics available were from 2002, the Travis County data used for comparison purposes is from 2002.  However, data from the Travis County 2006 inmate snapshot is provided for more recent local information.  National data from 2002 puts the national jail makeup of violent offenders at 25.5%, slightly lower than the Travis County Jail proportion of violent offenders, 27.8%.  The national average jail make up of those incarcerated for a drug related offense is also lower than the make up of Travis County; 24.7% and 29.6%, respectively.  Inmates incarcerated for alcohol related crimes are 16% of the Travis County jail; only 8.1% of jails on average nationally are made up of this type of offender.   Table 5 – Travis County Jail Offense Types vs. National Statistics (Mid-Year 2002)  Travis County Jail (a) National Data (b) Travis County Jail 2006 data Violent Offenders (*) 27.8% 25.5% 29.2% Drug Related 29.6% 24.7% 24.2% Alcohol Related 16.0% 8.1% 17.9% (a) Travis County Sheriff’s Office – Inmate Profile Snapshot June 30, 2002  (b) U.S. Department of Justice: Bureau of Justice Statistics - Prison and Jail inmates 2002 (*)  This category does not include misdemeanor level assault offense for Travis County.  It is unclear whether the national data includes misdemeanor assaults.  Between the 2002 and 2006 snapshots, violent offenders in the Travis County jail grew 5% and alcohol related offenses grew 11.8%.  Drug related offenses are down 18% over the same time frame.          Travis County Inmate Profile  6TRAVIS COUNTY “RE-ARREST” DATA I.  TRAVIS COUNTY RE-ARREST The following tables and discussion outlines a group of inmates released from the Travis County Jail between April 1, 2006 and June 30, 2006 (Q3-2006).   There were a total of 13,296 inmates released from custody in Q3-2006.  Of the 13,296 inmates released, 34.5% (4,585) were re-arrested and booked into the Travis County Jail on new charges within two years. Of the 4,585 inmates re-arrested, there were a total of 10,465 unique booking records, an average of 2.28 subsequent arrests per inmate since released in Q3-2006.  Table 6-Unique Bookings by Charge Types  Number of Unique Bookings Percentage of Total Violent Offenders  1,464 14% Drug Related 2,386 23% Alcohol Related 4,320 41% Other 2,295 22% Total 10,465   The median days between the end of the sample period and first arrest was 177 days.  The Maximum number of days was 654.   The median number of days between all subsequent arrests was 46 and the average was 90 days. The average number of subsequent arrests per person in the sample was 2.3, the most was 38.  There were two inmates with 38 arrests since release in Q3-2006.  Both inmates were arrested multiple times for public intoxication and city ordinance violations, among other low level offenses.    Travis County Inmate Profile  7SUMMARY The Travis County Jail noticed the significant growth of the overall Travis County population in the 1990's.  During the period between 1990 and 2000 the jail grew at a slightly higher rate than the county, since 2000, the jail growth has slowed.  Additionally, since 2000 the number of people incarcerated per 100 residents has decreased slightly, from .41 to .37.  The national rate of incarceration was at .33 in 2006.  The racial breakdown of the Travis County Jail is more evenly distributed between White, Black, and Hispanic than at the national level.  This is may be reflective of the larger than average Hispanic population in the county, which is more than double the national statistic (32% vs. 15%), as well as to the county’s lower than average white population.   Travis County demonstrates a larger percentage of jail inmates who completed the 12th grade than the national average.  The county also reports fewer employed, as well as fewer unemployed, persons in jail, due primarily to the data entry process in the Central Booking Facilities.   On a national level, there are fewer violent, drug related, and alcohol related offenders incarcerated in local jails than in Travis County.  Travis County Jail incarcerates a slightly larger proportion of violent offenders than the national average.  What’s more significant is the percentage of drug and alcohol related offenders.  Locally, there is a larger alcohol related and drug related offender population than the national average.   Looking at a single cohort from the third quarter of 2006, approximately 35% of offenders returned to jail on new charges within two years.  Fourteen percent of those re-arrests were for violent offenses, and 64% on drug and alcohol charges.   In recent years, Travis County has initiated a number of programs to address jail population, recidivism, violent offenders, substance abuse issues, and mental health issues.  Continued scrutiny of data jail related data should occur to determine program effectiveness.      

Travis County Jail Inmate Profile

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Texas ScholarWorks