ASJ-Sample cover letter announcing data collection

June 18, 2012
Agency Name
Address
City, State Zipcode
Dear Jail Administrator:
We are writing to inform you about the most recent Bureau of Justice Statistic’s (BJS) report on jail populations and
to ask for your continued participation in the Annual Survey of Jails (ASJ). Based on responses you gave in previous
data collections, between 2008 and 2010, the nationwide jail inmate population has dropped nearly 6.4%. Thanks to
your efforts, we have been able to report historic declines in local jail inmate populations of 2.3% during 2009, 2.4%
during 2010 and 1.8% during 2011. Importantly, we highlight the high volume of the inmates admitted into jails and
the resource demands they place on jail operations as a major source of strain in managing local jail populations.
During the 12 months ending June 30, 2011, local jails admitted nearly 12 million persons. The number of persons
admitted during this period was about 16 times the size of the inmate population (735,601) at midyear 2011.
Additional results, including summary information, tables and figures, from the 2011 collection are available in the
BJS annual bulletin, Jail Inmates at Midyear 2011-Statistical Tables, available at:
http://bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=4235. We also archive the ASJ data files and supplemental documentation
with the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD), in collaboration with the Interuniversity Consortium
for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), and are available for download at:
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR. Respondent names are excluded from the public-use file.
Moving forward with the latest data collection effort, we ask you again for your time and participation as we
continue tracking changes in the jail population at both the national and local levels. Enclosed, please find the 2012
Annual Survey of Jails (ASJ) form, which has been a core component of BJS’s data collections effort since 1982.
While your participation in this survey is voluntary, your response is needed to make the data complete and
accurate. The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as amended (42 USC 3732), authorizes the
collection of these data.
We ask that you submit your data via web, mail, or fax, by July 31, 2012 (see enclosed flyer for details). Please
contact , our collection agent at the U.S. Census Bureau, with any inquiries by email
([email protected]) or phone (1-800-253-2078). If you have any comments about the collection or would like to
obtain specific information about your jail jurisdiction, please contact Todd Minton at [email protected] or
at (202) 305-9630.
Sincerely,

Todd D. Minton
Project Officer, Annual Survey of Jails
BJS Statistician, Corrections Unit
Enclosures.

William J. Sabol, Ph.D.
Acting Director, Bureau of Justice Statistics