We analyzed more than 283,000 bookings into Marion County’s jails between 2013 and 2021 to discover how many people are in jail, the characteristics of those in jail, and how long people remain in jail.
This dataset spans nine years. In that time, state laws changed who was sent to local jails, state judicial policy introduced a risk-based diversion system, Indianapolis’ police force and prosecutors piloted new crisis response teams and changed how some offenses were charged, and the COVID-19 pandemic upended the criminal justice system. We examine trends over time to learn if there are changes in the jail population after these many policy changes and events.
On average, between 2013 and 2021, there were 2,257 people held in Marion County’s jails.
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