Cover Letter Announcing Data Collection

June 22, 2009
Dear Administrator:
Enclosed is the 2009 version of the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ Annual Survey of Jails, the 23rd in a series
that BJS started in 1982. As in previous years, BJS has asked the Census Bureau to collect the data. The
survey requests data on key characteristics of the Nation’s jails and jail inmates, including the number of
admissions to and releases from jail facilities, number of persons confined, the rated capacity of jail
facilities, selected demographic characteristics of those confined, as well as other variables.
I ask for your participation in the survey, as by participating you contribute to improving the overall
accuracy of the estimates in the survey and you provide more up-to-date information about inmates held in
local jails. Annually, BJS publishes a report on jail populations based on the data that you provide. Enclosed
please find a copy of Jail Inmates at Midyear 2008-Statistical Tables, which includes tables and figures,
based on the 2008 survey information. The report is also available electronically at
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/jim08st.htm. The analytical report from 2007 is also available
electronically at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/jim07.htm. If you would like to obtain specific
information about your jurisdiction or jurisdictions comparable to yours, please contact Todd Minton at
[email protected] or at 202-305-9630.
While your participation in this survey is voluntary, I ask for your assistance in collecting this important
information, BJS’ collection of which is authorized under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act
of 1968, as amended (42 U.S.C. 3732).
This year we are again providing an Internet reporting option. You may access the questionnaire on the
World Wide Web at: . Note that access to the site requires a userid and
password, which appear in the address portion of the enclosed form.
I ask that you please complete the survey by July 31, 2009. If you need any assistance, please contact the
Census Bureau at 1-800-253-2078 or e-mail [email protected]. If you choose to submit your data on
the paper form, use the enclosed postage-paid envelope or FAX it to 1-888-891-2099, but be sure to keep a
copy of your completed form for your records. Thank you for your continued support of this BJS statistical
program.

Sincerely,
William J. Sabol, Ph.D., Chief
Corrections Statistics Program
Enclosures.