1998–2023 (excluding 2005 and 2006)
Collects detailed information on confinement facilities, detention centers, jails, and other facilities operated by tribal authorities or the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Information is gathered on inmate counts, movements, facility operations, and staff. In selected years (1998, 2004, 2007, and 2011), additional information was collected on facility programs and services, such as medical assessments and mental health screening procedures, inmate work assignments, counseling, and educational programs. In 2020 and 2021, a special addendum was added to the SJIC to measure the impact of COVID-19 on Indian country jails.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics' Annual Survey of Jails in Indian Country (SJIC) includes all Indian country correctional facilities operated by tribal authorities or the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs. The survey is designed to describe all adult and juvenile jail facilities and detention centers in Indian country. For this collection, Indian country includes reservations, pueblos, rancherias, and other appropriate areas, as specified in 18 U.S.C. § 1151.
BJS updates its roster of jails in Indian country each year by emailing jail administrators and making follow-up phone calls. As of 2022, the SJIC is 100% web-based data collection. The survey universe and response rates have changed over time. Some facilities closed or merged, new facilities were constructed, and existing facilities became operational and newly eligible for the survey. See table 10 in the report Jails in Indian Country, 2023, for the Indian country jail survey universe and response rates for 2013 to 2023. See the Jails in Indian Country series for the survey universes in 1998 to 2012.
Survey of Jails in Indian Country
Survey of Jails in Indian Country, Addendum
Tribal Crime Data Collection Activities, 2024
Correctional Populations in the United States, 2022 – Statistical Tables
Tribal Crime Data Collection Activities, 2023
Tribal Crime Data Collection Activities, 2022
Correctional Populations in the United States, 2020 – Statistical Tables
Tribal Crime Data Collection Activities, 2021
Tribal Crime Data-Collection Activities, 2020
Correctional Populations in the United States, 2019 – Statistical Tables
Correctional Populations in the United States, 2017-2018
Tribal Crime Data-Collection Activities, 2019
Tribal Crime Data Collection Activities, 2016-18
Correctional Populations in the United States, 2016
Jails in Indian Country, 2016
Correctional Populations in the United States, 2015
Correctional Populations in the United States, 2014
Correctional Populations in the United States, 2013
Jails in Indian Country, 2011
Jails in Indian Country, 2010
Jails in Indian Country, 2009
Jails in Indian Country, 2008
Inmates confined in Indian country jails, 2000-2004 and 2007
Jails in Indian Country 2007 Table 7. Admissions, discharges, and average length of stay in Indian country jails during June, by facility size, 2007
Jails in Indian country that provided inmate treatment, counseling, and special programs, June 2007
Since beginning in 1998, the SJIC survey instrument has expanded to gather data on inmate admissions offenses, population measurements (e.g., average daily population and offense categories), and inmate health services and facility programs. In 2013, BJS enhanced the SJIC offense category questionnaire item to include burglary, larceny-theft, and public intoxication. The enhancement allowed classification of previously unspecified offenses. In 2020 and 2021, a special addendum was added to the SJIC to measure the impact of COVID-19 on Indian country jails.
In 2023, BJS completed a survey enhancement initiative to identify gaps in the data collection, identify additional crimes in Indian country committed against vulnerable populations, and eliminate questions that resulted in significant respondent burden and data quality issues.
Starting in 2023, BJS included a question to measure if persons were held in Indian county jails for human trafficking, kidnapping, and elder abuse during the 30-day period from June 1 to June 30. BJS also expanded the current population count for the last weekday in June to capture one-day snapshot monthly populations for the other eleven months in the year. The 2023 survey was also enhanced to gather greater detail on other non-violent offenses that currently fall into the generic “other offenses” category. BJS added malicious destruction of property/vandalism, motor vehicle theft, status offenses, warrant with unspecified offenses, and mental health/civil commitment holds to the most serious offense category. BJS also expanded on the total number of correctional employees by occupation to capture the number of correctional officers and other staff by the sex of employees.
BJS also eliminated survey items from the 2022 survey, including the number of juveniles that were tried or awaiting trial in adult court, number of inmates held for felony or misdemeanor, and the number of jail operations staff that received basic detention officer certification and 40 hours of in-service training.