Accuracy of the Survey Estimates

The accuracy of the estimates from the 1996 Survey of Inmates in Local
Jails and the 1997 Surveys of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional
Facilities depends on two types of error: sampling and nonsampling.
Sampling error is variation that may occur by chance because a sample
rather than a complete enumeration of the population was conducted.
Nonsampling error can be attributed to many sources, such as
nonresponse, differences in the interpretation of questions among inmates,
recall difficulties, and processing errors. In any survey the full extent of
the nonsampling error is never known.
…read full articles of "Accuracy of the Survey Estimates"

Survey of Inmates in Local Jails, 1996

The 1996 Survey of Inmates in Local Jails was conducted for BJS by the
U.S. Bureau of the Census. Through personal interviews conducted from
October 1995 through March 1996, data were collected on individual
characteristics of jail inmates, current offenses, sentences and time served,
criminal histories, jail activities, conditions and programs, prior drug and
alcohol use and treatment, and health care services provided while in jail.
The sample for the 1996 survey was selected from a universe of 3,328 jails
that were enumerated from the 1993 Census of Jails. The total
nonresponse was 13.7 percent. Similar surveys of jail inmates were
conducted in 1972, 1978, 1983, and 1989.

Surveys of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 1997

The 1997 Surveys of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities
were conducted for the Bureau of Justice Statistics by the U.S. Bureau of
the Census. The Federal Bureau of Prisons cosponsored the Survey of
Inmates in Federal Correctional Facilities. Personal interviews were
conducted from June 1997 through October 1997. Information was
collected about individual characteristics of prison inmates, current and
prior offenses and sentences, criminal histories, characteristics of the
current offense, family background, prior drug and alcohol use and
treatment, and conditions of confinement.
…read full articles of "Surveys of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 1997"

HIV Test Results for Local Jail Inmates, by Inmate Characteristic

Detailed data, based on interviews of a national sample of inmates in local
jails, are available from the 1996 Survey of Inmates in Local Jails.
Conducted between October 1995 and March 1996, the survey provides
national estimates of the number of jail inmates tested for HIV/AIDS and
the percent HIV positive.

In 1996, 6,289 local jail inmates (1.2 percent of all inmates) were known
to be HIV positive (table 7). An estimated 57 percent of all respondents in
the survey said they had ever been tested for HIV. Of those who had been
tested for HIV, 2.2 percent said they were HIV positive. Since admission,
about 18 percent of inmates had been tested for HIV, and 3.9 percent
reported HIV positive results.

Among jail inmates, 2.1 percent of males and 2.4 percent of females said
they were HIV positive (table 8). An estimated 2.6 percent of black
inmates, compared to 1.4 percent of white inmates, said they tested HIV
positive. Among male inmates, blacks (2.5 percent) were nearly twice as
likely as whites (1.3 percent) to report being HIV positive. Hispanic males
had the highest HIV-positive rate (3.5 percent). Among female inmates,
although the percentage who reported they were HIV positive was higher
among blacks (3.2 percent) than whites (2.1 percent) and Hispanics (1.3
percent,) the differences were not statistically significant.

Inmates age 24 or younger had the lowest HIV-positive rates (0.7 percent),
while those 35 to 44 had the highest rates (3.8 percent). Inmates 25-34 and
45 or older fell in the middle (2.1 percent and 3.0 percent, respectively).
Inmates who had completed high school were as likely as those who had
not completed high school to say they tested HIV positive (2.3 percent).

Percent HIV Positive among Jail Inmates, by Offense and Prior Drug Use

Among jail inmates who said they had been tested for HIV/AIDS, those
held for drug offenses were the most likely to be HIV positive (3.3
percent) (table 9). Drug offenders were twice as likely as violent offenders
(1.5 percent) to report that they tested positive for HIV. Property and
public-order offenders reported somewhat lower rates–2.2 percent and 1.7
percent, respectively.

The percent of jail inmates reporting that they were HIV positive varied by
level of prior drug use. An estimated 2.3 percent of inmates who had ever
used drugs, 2.9 percent of inmates who used drugs in the month before
their current offense, 4.0 percent of inmates who said they had used
needles to inject drugs, and 6.3 percent of those who had shared a
needle with someone else reported being HIV positive.

HIV Infection of Local Jail Inmates

At midyear 1993, when the last national census of local jails was
conducted, 1.8 percent of the inmates were known to be HIV positive.
Among jails reporting data, a total of 6,711 inmates were HIV positive,
and 1,888 had confirmed AIDS. The infection rate was highest in the
largest jail jurisdictions. Almost 3 percent of the inmates in the Nation’s
largest jurisdictions were reported HIV positive. Among the remaining
jurisdictions, the larger the size, the greater the percentage of inmates with
HIV/AIDS. In jurisdictions with 500 or more inmates, 1.6 percent of the
inmates were infected; in jurisdictions with 250 to 499 inmates, 1.2
percent; and in jurisdictions holding fewer than 250 inmates, 1 percent or
less.

HIV-Positive Prison Inmates, by Offense and Prior Drug Use

Those inmates being held on a drug offense in State prisons reported the
highest HIV positive rate (2.9 percent) (table 9). Of property offenders, 2.4
percent reported being HIV positive. Violent and public-order offenders
reported slightly lower rates (1.9 percent each). Among Federal prison
inmates, 1.0 percent of violent offenders, property offenders, and
public-order offenders reported being HIV positive as did 0.4 percent of
drug offenders.
…read full articles of "HIV-Positive Prison Inmates, by Offense and Prior Drug Use"

HIV/AIDS Reported in Personal Interviews

Additional information on the prevalence of HIV/AIDS may also be
obtained through personal interviews of prisoners. Though some inmates
may be reluctant to report that they are HIV positive and others may not
know, surveys provide a means to track HIV infection among demographic
and “high-risk” groups not identified in official records or blinded studies.
…read full articles of "HIV/AIDS Reported in Personal Interviews"

HIV Prevalence Rates and Testing Policies

Data on HIV prevalence rates are reported in the National Prisoners
Statistics series (NPS) by prison officials. The quality of the information
reported varied by the testing policies that a particular State implemented.
Testing policies ranged from testing all inmates to testing only upon
inmate request. Although 19 States tested either all inmates in custody
or a random selection, and 27 test targeted groups (high-risk individuals or
upon indication or incidence), 5 tested solely upon inmate request. Official
data represent the minimum number of individuals known to be HIV
positive within a prison facility.
…read full articles of "HIV Prevalence Rates and Testing Policies"

AIDS-Related Deaths in State Prisons

The number of State inmates who died of Pneumocystis carinii
pneumonia, Kaposi’s sarcoma, or other AIDS-related diseases decreased
from 1,010 in 1995 to 907 in 1996 (table 5). These AIDS deaths accounted
for 29 percent of all deaths among State prisoners, down from 34 percent
in 1995. Beginning in 1991 AIDS-related causes were the second leading
cause of death in State prisons, behind natural causes other than AIDS.
…read full articles of "AIDS-Related Deaths in State Prisons"

HIV Infection of Male and Female State Prison Inmates

At Year-end 1996 there were 21,799 male inmates and 2,135 female
inmates known to be HIV positive (table 4). Overall, 2.3 percent of male
inmates and 3.5 percent of all female inmates were known to be HIV
positive. The rate of HIV infection in females was higher than male
infection rates in all regions except the West and in most States.
…read full articles of "HIV Infection of Male and Female State Prison Inmates"