In an average three-week period, local jails have contact with as many people as state and federal prisons do in an entire year. Nine million men and women are jailed each year, many of them “frequent users” who cycle in and out of jail. Those entering jails face major obstacles: 68 percent have drug or alcohol problems; 60 percent do not have a high school diploma or GED; 16 percent have a serious mental illness, and 14 percent were homeless at some point during the year before their incarceration. Overcrowding, limited program resources, rapid population turnover (four out of five jail inmates are held less than a month) and the diversity of the jail population (60 percent of jail inmates are not convicted and are awaiting trial or sentencing) make it difficult for jail to effectively prepare individuals for successful reintegration into the community after release.
In spite of these challenges, the transition from jail to the community presents a unique opportunity for intervention. Short stays and the local nature of jail facilities mean that inmates are less removed from family, friends, treatment providers, employers, and other support. Since jails cannot be solely responsible for the transition to the community, new partnerships between jails and the local community must be forged.
For more on the unique challenges and opportunities of jail/community transition, see Life after Lockup: Improving Reentry from Jail to the Community.
Note: All statistics on this page come from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Specific citations are available in Life after Lockup.
