EMBARGOED UNTIL 4:30 P.M. EDT BJS SUNDAY, JULY 9, 2000 202/307-0784 JAILS AFFILIATED WITH 53 AMERICAN INDIAN TRIBES IN 18 STATES HELD 1,621 INMATES ON JUNE 30, 1999 WASHINGTON, D.C. More than 1,600 American Indians were incarcerated in Indian country jails at midyear 1999, the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), announced today. The number was 8 percent higher than the previous year. The data are based on a survey of Indian country detention facilities, which included 69 jails affiliated with 53 tribes in 18 states (see attached table). Forty-eight facilities are operated by Indian tribes, 20 by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and one is privately run. The tribes in the survey have maintained jurisdiction over certain misdemeanors committed within Indian territory. Tribal authority to imprison offenders is limited to crimes with sentences of one year or less and a $5,000 maximum fine. More serious felony offenses are generally under the jurisdiction of federal or state authorities. However, on many Indian reservations there are no tribal courts or jails; in those sites, federal or state authorities maintain all criminal jurisdiction, including misdemeanors. There were 19,679 Indians in confinement throughout the United States on June 30, 1999. In addition to those held in Indian Country jails, most were in state or federal prison (12,858) or county jails (5,200). Overall, federal and state prison and jail authorities held 797 Indians per 100,000 Indians in the U.S. resident population, compared to 682 incarcerated persons per 100,000 residents in the general U.S. population. During the one-month period from June 1 through June 30, 1999, the facilities admitted 8,147 persons and discharged 7,744. Among the adults held on June 30, 1999, 84 percent were male and 16 percent were female. There were 267 juveniles in custody, 20 of whom were being held as adults. Deaths among the Indian inmate population dropped from seven in 1998 to zero in 1999. Attempted suicides were also down, from 133 in 1998 to 103 in 1999. Most Indian Country facilities hold fewer than 50 inmates, with 19 holding fewer than 10. At midyear 1999, the largest facility, the Tohono O'odham Detention Center in Arizona, held 98 inmates, with the second largest, the Sacaton Adult Detention Center, holding 86. The ten largest facilities, which housed 40 percent of all inmates in Indian country, were all located in Arizona. The Navajo Nation has the largest number of jails and detention centers, two juvenile and six adult facilities. Combined, the eight facilities were holding 200 inmates on June 30, 1999, with the capacity to hold 206 persons. The Gila River Indian Community's three facilities had the largest number of beds (230). The tribe's three facilities housed 202 inmates. On the most crowded day in June 1999, jails in Indian country were operating at 108 percent of capacity, down from 115 percent in 1998. Small facilities reported the highest occupancy rates. On their most crowded day in June, occupancy was 161 percent of capacity in jails designed to hold fewer than 10 inmates, 155 percent in those rated to hold 10 to 24 inmates. Fort Berthold Agency in North Dakota, Pine Ridge Correctional facility in South Dakota, and the Navajo Department of Corrections-Tuba City in Arizona held three times the number of inmates the facility was designed to hold. Eleven facilities were under a court order or consent decree in 1999 restricting the maximum number of offenders held in custody. Most facilities (two-thirds) offered drug or alcohol treatment programs, a quarter offered educational or employment programs. Sixty-seven of the 69 Indian facilities reported the need for staff training, 66 reported needing additional correctional officers, 60 said they needed to modify space or acquire new equipment and 59 wanted additional drug and alcohol treatment programs. The report, "Jails in Indian Country, 1998 and 1999" (NCJ-173410), was written by BJS statistician Paula M. Ditton. Single copies may be obtained from the BJS fax-on-demand system by dialing 301/519-5550, listening to the complete menu and selecting document number 208. Or call the BJS clearinghouse at 1-800-732-3277. Fax orders for mail delivery to 410/492-4358. After 4:30 p.m. July 9 the full report may be obtained from the BJS Internet site at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs Additional criminal justice materials can be obtained from the Office of Justice Programs Website at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov # # # State, tribal affiliation, and location of jails in Indian country Location of Location of State and tribal affiliation facility State and tribal affiliation facility Alaska New Mexico Metlakatla Indian Community Metlakatla Jicarilla Apache Tribe Dulce Laguna Pueblo Laguna Arizona Mescalero Apache Tribe Mescalero Colorado River Indian Tribes Parker Navajo Nation Crownpoint Fort Mohave Indian Tribe Mohave Valley Navajo Nation Shiprock Gila River Indian Community Sacaton Navajo Nation Tohatchi Hopi Tribe Keams Canyon Ramah Navajo Ramah Hualapai, Havasupai, Prescott Springs Taos Pueblo Taos and Tonto Apache Zuni Pueblo Zuni Navajo Nation Window Rock Navajo Nation Tuba City North Dakota Navajo Nation Kayenta Three Affilliated Tribes of Fort New Town Navajo Nation Chinle Berthold Reservation Pascua Yaqui Tribe Tucson Turtle Mountain Chippewa Tribe Belcourt Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Scottsdale Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe Fort Totten San Carols Apache Tribe San Carlos Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Fort Yates Supai Tribe Supai Tohono O'odham Nation Sells Oklahoma White Mountain Apache Tribe Whiteriver Sac and Fox Nation Stroud Oregon Colorado BIA Law Enforcement Services Salem Southern Ute Tribe Ignacio Warm Springs Confederated Tribes Warm Springs Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Towaoc South Dakota Idaho Crow Creek Sioux Tribe Fort Thompson Shoshone-Bannock Tribe Fort Hall Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Eagle Butte Lower Brule Sioux Tribe Lower Brule Minnesota Oglala Sioux Tribe Kyle Red Lake Chippewa Tribe Red Lake Oglala Sioux Tribe Pine Ridge Rosebud Sioux Tribe Rosebud Mississippi Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe Agency Village Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians Philadelphia Utah Montana Northern Ute Tribe Ft. Duchesne Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes Poplar Blackfeet Tribe Browning Washington Chippewa-Cree Tribe Box Elder Confederated Tribes of Yakama Toppenish Nation Confederated Tribes of Salish and Kootenai Pablo Makah Indian Tribe Neah Bay Crow Tribe Crow Agency Puyallup Tribe Tacoma Gros Ventre and Assiniboine Tribe Harlem Quinault Tribe Taholah Northern Cheyenne Tribe Lame Deer Spokane Tribe Wellpinit Nebraska Wisconsin Omaha Tribe Macy Menominee Indian Tribe Keshena Nevada Wyoming Shoshone-Paiute Tribes Owyhee Shoshone and Arapahoe Tribe Fort Washakle ### BJS00160 (K) After hours contact: Stu Smith at 301/983-9354