Data Source
Washington State Jail Booking and Reporting System – JBRS. Jail booking and release data were collected by sheriff’s departments that administer local jails, compiled by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC), and furnished to WSU through a data sharing agreement with the Washington State Office of Financial Management (OFM). Access was granted following review and approval by WASPC and its legal counsel, as a one-time exception to support the National Institute of Justice-funded project, Advancing Research on Rural Jail Systems (#15NIJ-21-GG-02805-RESS, 1/2022-6/2026). Authorization was granted under Washington State law permitting access to jail records for public-interest research purposes and required compliance with all applicable state and federal confidentiality protections. The Principal Investigator and lead Research Assistant completed required background screening and approval procedures, and signed confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements to protect privacy.
The dataset includes all available jail booking and release records at the time of extraction for six rural counties over the period 2020 and 2024, representing a census of booking events within participating jurisdictions during that time. This dataset includes only the most serious charge associated with each booking event. Data quality and completeness reflect variation in local data collection practices. There is no statutory requirement for uniform reporting of all data elements. Each jail operates its own record management system and implements its own procedures for data entry.
All records were de-identified as per NIJ requirements, university IRB protocols, and the data sharing agreement. Direct identifiers were removed and indirect identifiers were recoded to reduce the risk of re-identification (e.g., specific booking and release dates and times were converted to month/year). Specific charges were recoded into broader offense categories.
The dashboard presents results only in aggregated form. Certain results are suppressed when case counts are sufficiently small to protect confidentiality and reduce the risk of disclosure.
The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the OFM or other data contributors. Any errors in such views are attributable to the authors.
The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice.
Map
Indicator: Average total bookings for selected year range
Numerator: Number of bookings for every 1000 residents in a given year
Denominator: Total number of residents aged 18-64 for selected year range (in thousands)
Population Data Source:
U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates Data Profiles, 2020-2023
Top Offense
Displays the top 5 offenses by total bookings for each county. Specific charge descriptions were recoded into broader offense categories to facilitate analysis and reporting.
Counts are based on the most serious charge associated with each booking. For example, if an individual is booked for both “Failure to appear” and “Assault” then only “Assault” will be counted.
The “SNPs” category includes the following types—
- Failure to appear (court nonappearance)
- Failure to comply
- Failure to register
- Failure to equip ignition interlock
- DWLS (Driving while license suspended)
- Parole/Probation violations
- Warrants
Seriousness
Seriousness was determined based on detailed offense/severity descriptions (e.g., DWLS 3rd degree or class A felony). Procedural violations, such as failure to appear or warrants, were categorized as System Navigation Problems (SNPs) unless explicitly identified as a felony or (gross) misdemeanor (e.g., felony warrant; DWLS-3).
Length of Stay
Calculated as the difference between date of entry and release due mostly to posting bail, personal recognizance, sentence completion, or transfer to another facility. Most (85%+) are pretrial jail bookings.
Categories represent full days in custody (e.g., 1-2 days = at least 1 day but less than 3 days).
Bookings longer than 365 days are capped at 365 days. Those not yet released are excluded from calculation.