Iowa State Jails
Iowa, located in the Midwest of the United States of America, is bordered by Minnesota on the north, Illinois and Wisconsin on the East, Missouri on the South and South Dakota and Nebraska on the West.
Often referred to as the "American Heartland", Iowa has a population of approximately 3 million and ranks 26th out of all U.S states.
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Throughout Iowa's 99 counties there are 97 jail facilities with a combined rated capacity of 4,193 inmates. Jail inspections and standards compliance is provided by the Department of Corrections.
State executive branch agencies in the 8 judicial districts of Iowa supervise 22,958 probationers and 3,159 parolees. Agencies are state funded and each has a local board of directors.
The crime rate in Iowa is about 26% lower than the national average rate. Property crimes account for around 89.5% of the crime rate in Iowa which is 25% lower than the national rate. The remaining 7.7% are violent crimes and are about 38% lower than other states.
Iowa has a rate 37% lower than the national average of incarcerated adults per 100,000, whist their average number of probationers per 100,000 people is 46% lower than the national average and their average number of parolees per 100,000 people is 57% lower than the national rate.
In 2009 taxpayers paid 10% higher than the other states per inmate at a cost of $31,715.
The Scott County Jail is the main detention facility of Scott County, Iowa, and is designed to accommodate the division and offices related to the county criminal justice system at the turn of the century. The jail accommodates not only the county system, but the 7th Judicial District and adult and juvenile incarceration.
The length of incarceration at the county level is relatively short, by Iowa State Statute, no one may be incarcerated in a county jail for more than one year. This limits the types of intervention possible at the Scott County Jail.
The needs of many inmates revolve around solving drug and alcohol problems, general mental health problems, and around improving the methods and means of managing their lives. These areas can begin to be dealt with on a short-term basis. In cases requiring long-term services, the jail may act as a referral agency providing the inmate with avenues of access to various community and social service assistance programs. County level incarceration often represents the offender's initial contact with the criminal justice system. Effective intervention at the county level may, to a significant degree, prevent a person's continued involvement in crime.
