Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Jails: Detention and Short-Term Incarceration (Role of the Jail (Jails…
Jails: Detention and Short-Term Incarceration
Managing Jails
Problem 1: the perceived role of the jail in the local criminal justice system
Problem 2: the characteristics of the inmate population
Problem 3: fiscal problems
Jail administrators face several problems that can be difficult to overcome
Role of the Jail
Jails have customarily have been run by law enforcement agencies
Most of the correctional officers in the jail system work under the direction of the county sheriff
Neither sheriffs nor deputies have much interest in corrections
Almost half the jail inmates are sentenced offenders undr correctional authority
Many have been led to believe that jails have outgrown police administration
Inmate Characteristics
It is rare for stories of the mistreatment of young offenders by older, stronger, and more violent inmates to be seen by the public
The physical condition of most jails is also not ideal because most are old, overcrowded, and lacking in basic facilities
Jails usually lack correctional services because inmate turnover is high and because local control provides an incentive to keep costs down
Inmates are not usually offered recreational facilities or treatment programs, and medical services
Suicide and high levels of violence are prevalent in many jails and almost half the people who die while in jail have committed suicide
Fiscal Problems
Although jails control crime, they also drain local revenue
Many jails are overcrowded, lack programs, and do not have enough officers for effective supervision due to this
Even with new construction and other alternatives such as release on recognizance programs, diversion, intensive probation supervision, and house arrest with electronic monitoring, the jail population continues to rise
The annual cost of having to aperate jails heavily burdens local governments, and this has proven to be worse because of budget cuts and layoffs of sheriff's deputies and other jail officers