The meeting was divided into four sessions with three academic presenters in each. Session I dealt with "Inmate Populations"; discussions in this session addressed the nature of jail populations. Both practitioners and academics expressed concern about the absence of effective mechanisms for monitoring and analyzing the ever-changing jail populations. Session II focused on "Jail Architecture and Operations." Much of the discussion centered on the desirability of regional jails as a mechanism to overcome some of the deficiencies in current jail operations. There was also discussion of personnel issues and participatory management processes. Session III examined issues involving "Special Inmate Needs." Participants discussed both the issues related to the identification of problem inmate populations and the development of special programming geared to their needs. Session IV involved discussion of legal issues and jails. The discussion focused on some of the most volatile legal issues confronting jails. Research issues identified in the conference were the study of jail population composition, research on operations and management concerns, development of an inventory of special inmate populations, and the investigation of jail litigation. The conference also produced an action agenda.