[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 51 (Thursday, March 14, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18669-18670]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-05349]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

[OMB Number 1121-0098]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed eCollection 
eComments Requested; Reinstatement, With Change, of a Previously 
Approved Collection for Which Approval Has Expired; Survey of Inmates 
in Local Jails

AGENCY: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Department of Justice.

ACTION: 60-Day notice.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Justice Statistics, Department of Justice (DOJ) 
will be submitting the following information collection request to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted for 60 days until 
May 13, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have comments especially on the 
estimated public burden or associated response time, suggestions, or 
need a copy of the proposed information collection instrument with 
instructions or additional information, please contact Todd D. Minton, 
(email: [email protected]; telephone: 202-598-7226), Bureau of 
Justice Statistics, 810 Seventh Street NW, Washington, DC 20531.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Written comments and suggestions from the 
public and affected agencies concerning the proposed collection of 
information are encouraged. Your comments should address one or more of 
the following four points:

--Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary 
for the proper performance of the functions of the Bureau of Justice 
Statistics, including whether the information will have practical 
utility;
--Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
--Evaluate whether and if so, how the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected can be enhanced; and
--Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond, including using appropriate automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms 
of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of 
responses.


[[Page 18670]]


    Abstract: Since 1972, BJS has conducted the Survey of Inmates in 
Local Jails (SILJ, OMB Number 1121-0098) periodically to gather 
detailed information on individual characteristics of jail inmates. The 
purposes of this omnibus survey are to generate reliable, nationally-
representative estimates of the characteristics of jail inmates in the 
United States, track changes in the characteristics of jail inmates 
over time, conduct studies of jail inmates on special topics, and 
identify policy-relevant issues related to crime and corrections. This 
national survey will profile jail inmates nationwide to determine 
trends in criminal history, substance abuse, mental health, and medical 
problems of jail inmates, and treatment they may have received for 
problems, gun use and crime, inmate misconduct, inmate admission fees, 
and programs and activities inmates participate in while confined in 
jail. The data are used by a variety of stakeholders, including the 
U.S. Congress, Executive Office of the President, practitioners, 
researchers, students, the media, and others interested in criminal 
justice statistics. No other collection series provides these data on 
the variety of topics that SILJ covers. The data will be collected 
through face-to-face personal interviews with the inmates using 
Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) technology.

Overview of This Information Collection

    1. Type of Information Collection: Reinstatement, with changes, of 
a previously approved collection for which approval has expired.
    2. Title of the Form/Collection: Survey of Inmates in Local Jails 
(SILJ).
    3. Agency form number, if any, and the applicable component of the 
Department of Justice sponsoring the collection: The applicable 
component within the Department of Justice is the Bureau of Justice 
Statistics (BJS), in the Office of Justice Programs.
    4. Affected public who will be asked or required to respond, as 
well as the obligation to respond: County government and City 
government and jail inmates age 18 or older that are held in local 
(county and city) jails. The obligation to respond is voluntary.
    5. An estimate of the total number of respondents and the amount of 
time estimated for an average respondent to respond: BJS will sample a 
maximum of 10,000 inmates from 600 local jails for a total of 15,602 
hours. BJS will conduct initial jail outreach with up to 740 jails to 
participate at 15 minutes per facility for a total of 185 hours in 
order to gain consent from 600 facilities to participate in the study. 
A maximum of 600 jails will be contacted for study logistics planning 
and roster coordination at 75 minutes per facility for a total of 750 
hours. During data collection, jail staff will escort a maximum of 
10,000 inmates to and from interview sites at 15 minutes per inmate for 
a total of 2,500 hours. Inmate consent and survey participation total 
73 minutes per interview for a total of 12,167 hours.
    6. An estimate of the total public burden (in hours) associated 
with the collection: The estimated total public burden is 15,602 annual 
hours. This comprises 3,435 hours of facility staff burden and 12,167 
hours of respondent interviewing burden.
    7. An estimate of the total annual cost burden associated with the 
collection, if applicable: The estimated cost is $90,450.

                         2024 SILJ Estimated Annualized Respondent Cost and Hour Burden
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                                                                                     Time per      Total annual
            Activity                 Number of       Frequency     Total annual      response         burden
                                    respondents                      responses       (minutes)        (hours)
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Facility Recruitment and
 Logistic:
    Introduction and Facility                740               1             740              15             185
     Approval...................
    Study Logistic Planning.....             600               1             600              45             450
National Study:
    Staff time--Providing inmate             600               1             600              30             300
     roster.....................
    Staff time--Escorting                 10,000               1          10,000              15           2,500
     inmates....................
    Consent--Inmate recruitment.          10,000               1          10,000               3             500
    Interview--Participate in             10,000               1          10,000              70          11,667
     the SILJ...................
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        Total...................          31,940  ..............          31,940  ..............          15,602
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    If additional information is required, contact: Darwin Arceo, 
Department Clearance Officer, United States Department of Justice, 
Justice Management Division, Policy and Planning Staff, Two 
Constitution Square, 145 N Street NE, 4W-218, Washington, DC.

    Dated: March 8, 2024.
Darwin Arceo,
Department Clearance Officer for PRA, U.S. Department of Justice.
[FR Doc. 2024-05349 Filed 3-13-24; 8:45 am]
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