Report Examines Jail Exit Surveys for Women

WASHINGTON — As the number of women incarcerated in correctional facilities continues to climb, exit surveys can be an effective tool to determine the best way to handle this growing inmate population, according to a recent report.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, between 1990 and 1998 the number of women under probation supervision climbed 40 percent, the female jail population grew by 60 percent, the national women’s imprisonment rate increased 88 percent and the number of women under parole supervision grew 80 percent.

A National Institute of Corrections report co-authored by Becki Ney and Teri K. Martin, Ph.D., examines four jurisdictions that used exit surveys to determine if policy changes were needed to achieve better outcomes for women and the justice system in Davidson County, Tenn.; Maui County, Hawaii; Tulsa County, Okla.; and Hamilton County, Ohio.

“One of the things that use of jail exit surveys does for a jurisdiction is it provides facts rather than anecdotal information,” says Martin of Law & Policy Associates.

“Even though they’ve been focused on women offenders, I think these jurisdictions have all learned things that helped them improve their system for men as well.”

In Hamilton County, Ohio, jail exit survey data showed that a significant percentage of women were exiting the jail with mental illness and co-occurring disorders that had not been addressed. Acting on the finding, the county pretrial services staff screened the nearly 5,000 women who passed through the office’s assessment process during a six-month period and referred close to 10 percent for more in-depth assessments.

The referral process has since been institutionalized, and women offenders screened by pretrial release and referred for mental health/substance abuse assessments are now placed in a variety of appropriate residential and nonresidential treatment options.

Although the program is relatively new, the county has seen improvement and only 13 percent of inmates released had a new criminal conviction.

“The jail exit survey is one form of collecting data on a jail population, to get a better sense about who is coming in and out of the jail, what their risks and needs are and how we can respond more effectively on the assumption that we can reduce the numbers coming back in and actually respond to problems,” says Ney, principal at the Center for Effective Public Policy.

The report contends that compiling valid data as inmates are released from jail or prison yields the most useful descriptions, not only of the women, their histories and current situations, but also of the justice system decision-making process, which determines their current and future legal status.

The report lists tips for getting started and specifics about what each of the four jurisdictions did to conduct their surveys. A sample questionnaire is also included.

For help starting a jail exit survey visit: www.nicic.org (click “technical assistance” on the top menu bar.)

Click here for a copy of the report.