Staff briefed the County Board's Criminal Justice Committee this week on jail population trends. For the period July to September 2011, the average jail and work release population was 2,027, an 11 percent reduction from the same period in 2010.

Pretrial inmates comprise 71 percent of the population which is a three percent increase over last year. Federal inmates represent 17 percent of the jails population, a decline of two percent from the previous year.

Forecasts indicate the average daily population will continue to decline through December to a total as low as 1,861. Combined functional jail capacity at Jail Central, Jail North and Work Release is 2,222. The Jail North Annex was closed in June 2011 due to declining population.