Using Jail Exit Surveys to Improve Community Responses to Women Offenders

The "use of jail exit surveys as an effective data collection tool for creating [a] picture of the characteristics of women in contact with the local jail" is described (p. 1). Sections of this bulletin are: introduction; how one jurisdiction used data to inform responses to women offenders; reasons for conducting a jail exit survey; what a jail exit survey entails; tips for getting started; designing a jail exit survey; understanding jail exit survey information; comprehensive listing of major data elements to include in a jail exit survey; and lessons learned. A sample questionnaire is also included.