Florida County Detention Facilities' Average Inmate Population

March 1999

• Average Daily Population
• Incarceration Rates
• Pretrial Population Levels
• Table 1 - County Detention Facilities Daily Average
• Table 2 - County Detention Facilities Average Daily Populations and Incarceration Rates Per 1,000 County Population
• Table 3 - County Detention Facilities Pretrial Inmate Report and County Pretrial Percentages

Average Daily Population

On the average, there were 49,348 inmates in Florida's county detention facilities during the month of March 1999. The statewide average daily (ADP) totals include 42,583 adult males (86.3%), 5,821 adult females (11.8%), 902 juvenile males (1.8%) and 42 juvenile females (0.1%). The overall distribution of male and female inmates has remained constant in county detention facilities for the past several years. The following provides an analysis of the inmate population for March 1999:

March 1999 Jail Population Recap

• 72.4% of the total inmate population was incarcerated for felony offenses, while 21.6% were detained for misdemeanor crimes. All others confined amounted to 6.0% of the total population.

• Juveniles accounted for only 944 or 1.9% of the overall inmate population, with the majority (902) being male. Most juveniles (98.4%) were charged with felonies.

• The majority (88.1% or 43,485) of those incarcerated in county detention facilities in March 1999 were male.

• Offenders held for trial represented 53.6% of the inmate population.

Incarceration Rates

In March 1999, the statewide county detention incarceration rate was 3.3 per 1,000 county residents based on the population estimates for April 1, 1998. The county population estimates are provided by the Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Florida. Incarceration rates ranged from a low of 1.1 in Jefferson County, to a high of 8.1 in Franklin County. Other counties may be experiencing high incarceration rates due to the contracting of bed space for state and federal inmates.

Pretrial Population Levels

During the month of March 1999, 26,431 of the inmates housed in county detention facilities were classified as awaiting trial. Of these, 21,841 offenders (82.6%) were awaiting trial for felony offenses while 4,590 (17.4%) were detained for misdemeanor violations. Of the 67 counties reporting, 31 had over half of their populations awaiting trial.