Number of Inmates in Indian Country Jails Declines

The number of inmates confined in Indian Country jails declined by 1.3 percent at midyear 2008, dropping to 2,135, according to a study release on Dec. 1 by the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics.

However, the report, titled Jails in Indian Country, 2008, states that the number of inmates admitted into Indian Country jails in June 2008 was about six times the size of the average daily population.

Other key findings in the report include: Inmates held for aggravated and simple assault increased at midyear 2008; domestic violence declined; the number of jails in Indian Country has increased from 68 in 2004 to 82 in 2008; and 36 of the 82 correctional facilities were operating above their rated capacity on their most crowded day in June 2008.

To read the full report, click here.

Four In 10 Indian Country Jail Inmates Were Held For a Violent Offense

At midyear 2007, an estimated four in 10 inmates in Indian Country jails were confined for a violent offense, the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced Friday. Domestic violence (20 percent) accounted for the largest group of violent offenders, followed by simple or aggravated assault (13 percent) and rape or sexual assault (2 percent). Six percent of Indian country jail inmates were being held for unspecified violent offenses. 

The percentage of Indian Country jail inmates held for drug offenses was unchanged from 2004 to 2007 (7 percent each year), and DWI/DUI offenses dropped from 14 percent in 2004 to 8 percent in 2007. 

Eighty-three jails in Indian Country held an estimated 2,163 inmates at midyear 2007, up from 1,745 inmates held in 68 facilities at midyear 2004. The jail population increased an estimated 24 percent since 2004 when the last BJS Survey of Jails in Indian Country was conducted. The survey collects information from correctional facilities operated by tribal authorities in Indian Country or by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of Interior. Read the more here. 

BIA Closes Pine Ridge Jail

The Bureau of Indian Affairs closed down the jail at Pine Ridge Thursday, saying it was unsafe for inmates and staff, the Associated Press reports. Prisoners were transferred to a newer facility operated by the tribe. Tribal officials said they received little notice that the BIA planned to close the jail. Last Thursday, Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., released a draft study on the state of BIA jails. “The report confirms what so many in Indian Country have known all along—the tribal justice system is unbelievably broken,” Dorgan said in a statement announcing the release of the report.