Volume of Activity

Temporary and Permanent Movements

The Jail is a detention/incarceration facility for persons who are committed to it by a legal authority. It also provides "lock-up" for 80 to 100 arrestees per day who are held pending formal identification by the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Criminal Identification, for city magistrate and district justice pre-arraignment hearings.

The purpose of these hearings is to determine if there is probable cause for the arrest and to set bail. Arrestees have an opportunity to pay bail and be released at this time or be committed to the Jail in lieu of bail.

The Jail handles over 350 temporary and permanent "movements" in and out of the institution every day. On an average day, some 100 arrestees come through the intake department. After their arraignment, arrestees who do not make bond are committed to the jail in lieu of bond. These average around 60. Additionally, each day the Jail receives prisoners who are brought in by constables, federal authorities and sheriff's deputies. These persons may be apprehended fugitives; persons who had their bond revoked; probation violators; or persons who have been sentenced to Jail at court. These numbers vary. Overall, commitments to the Jail range between 50-70 per day.

Depending upon Court activity each weekday, well over 100 persons move out and back from Criminal Court hearings or trials. This heavy movement on a daily basis requires the devotion of considerable administrative services and security resources in order to run properly.

The volume of movement is one factor that distinguishes a county jail from a prison facility that houses sentenced prisoners. There is much less in and out movement at a prison facility. Another distinguishing factor is length of stay. In prisons, the length of stay is predictable and is usually longer in duration. In jails, the length of stay is unpredictable and usually shorter. Shorter length of stay (30-31 days) results in a transient population that may be volatile. This has implications for programs and services and for management and operations procedures.