Pennsylvania Jail Facts
Jails are run by local counties. They house people who have been arrested and are awaiting trial or people serving sentences of less than two years. Pennsylvania has 62 county jails.
The jail population has risen by more than 260% in the last 40 years, despite an overall decrease in crime rates1 and a 10% increase in the state’s general population2. Black men are disproportionately represented in Pennsylvania’s jails. 38% of people confined to jail are black, though black people make up 12% of Pennsylvania’s general population. 83% of the jail population is male.
In 2018, the population in Pennsylvania jails declined 7%. This decrease was wholly the caused by Philadelphia County. Philadelphia had 2,265 fewer people in jail in 2018 than in 2017. Use of jail has remained unchanged in the rest of the state. On any given day, 30,731 Pennsylvanians confined to a county jail.3
F O OT N OT E S 1
Offenses Reported to Law Enforcement by State (OK-WI) FBI Uniform Crime Report, 2018.
2
US Government Census Bureau, 1980.
3
PA DOC County Statistics, 2019; PA DOC County Statistics, 2017.
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Last updated: 7/23/2019