Census of Jails 2024

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) intends to develop and implement a web-based survey to collect 2024 Census of Jails (COJ) data from approximately 2,900 local jails. This program furthers the DOJ’s mission by gathering critical criminal justice data from local jails and providing these data to support innovative strategies to handle the challenges confronting the criminal justice system.  Project activities include the development of a web-based data collection system; updating and verification of the current jail frame data; development and implementation of outreach materials to encourage COJ survey response; implementation of data collection and procedures to maximize data quality; data cleaning, weighting, and imputation; and final data delivery. Outcomes will include the COJ survey data file, a revised jail universe frame, and a project performance summary report.  Researchers and practitioners will benefit from the COJ as it is a primary source for data on jail population, facility characteristics, and jail programs in the United States. It also provides the jail frame for BJS jail establishment surveys and inmate surveys.