Jails: Detention and ShortTerm Incarceration

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Chapter 7

• Jails Detention and Short-Term Incarceration

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Detention and Short-Term Incarceration

• The Contemporary Jail Entrance to the System
• Origins and Evolution
• Population Characteristics
• Administration
• The Influence of Local Politics
• Regional Jails
• Pretrial Detention
• Special Problems of Detainees
• Release from Detention

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Detention and Short-Term Incarceration

• The Bail Problem and Alternatives
• Release on Recognizance
• Preventive Detention
• Pretrial Diversion
• The Sentenced Jail Inmate
• Issues in Jail Management
• Legal Liability
• Jail Standards
• Personnel Matters
• Jail Crowding
• The Jail Facility

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Americans jailed annually
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Characteristics of Adult Jail Inmates in U.S.
Jails
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Lockup

• A facility authorized to hold people before court
  appearance for up to 48 hours. Most lockups (also
  called drunk tanks or holding tanks) are
  administered by local police agencies.

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getting out of jail -- free?
methods of release
bail
(ROR) release on recognizance
pretrial release granted on the defendants
promise to appear in court, based on defendants
ties to the community
sum of money specified by judge to be posted by
the accused as condition of pretrial release, to
ensure defendants appearance in court
bondsman independent businessperson who charges
fee, usu. 5-10 for bail money
10 cash bail (reform) D. deposits 10 of bail
amount with court 90 returned at trial
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Type of pretrial release
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Myths in Corrections

• Myth Jail sentences are more for misdemeanants
  than they are for felons.
• Fact Nearly 40 of felony defendants are
  eventually sentenced to jail, a rate that is
  almost the same as prison sentences for felonies.

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preventive detention

• detention of an accused in jail to protect the
  community from crimes the accused is considered
  likely to commit if released from jail while he
  awaits trial

• authorized by Comprehensive Crime Control Act,
  1984
• upheld in US v. Salerno, 1987

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pretrialdiversion

• an alternative to adjudication in which the
  defendant agrees to abide with conditions set by
  the prosecutor in exchange for the withdrawal of
  charges(e.g., counseling, drug treatment)
• reasons for diversion programs
• criminal justice system is not well equipped to
  handle some problems - vagrancy, alcoholism,
  juveniles
• keep less dangerous offenders from being labeled
  treated as hard-core criminals
• diversion costs are less

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widening the net

• increasing the scope (i.e., reach) of corrections
  CJS by creating diversionary program then
  sending people to that program for offenses that
  are much less serious than those the program was
  originally intended for.
• diversion programs thereby ensnare persons who
  would otherwise not have come under the
  jurisdiction of the justice system (except for
  availability of the diversion program)

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new-generation jail

• a facility of podular architectural design and
  with management policies that emphasize
  staff-inmate interaction and the provision of
  services to inmates

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podular unit

• self-contained living area for from 12 to 24
  inmates, composed of private, individual cells
  open areas for social interaction
• each jail has two or more pods

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directsupervision

• a method of correctional supervision in which
  staff have direct physical interaction with
  inmates throughout the day

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regional jail

• facility operated under a joint agreement by two
  or more governmental units (e.g., city county),
  with a jail board made up of representatives from
  participating jurisdictions and having authority
  over policy, budget, operations, and personnel

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fee system

• a system in which jail operations are to be paid
  on the basis of a flat allocation per prisoner
  per day
• problem creates an incentive for poor jails
  inadequate services, since the allocation remains
  the same, irrespective of the level of service
  provided

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pay as you go jails (user fees)
some jails are experimenting with directly
charging inmates (who can afford it) at least
some of the costs of their keep
daily room and board
co-pay for nurse sick call
co-pay for medical specialist
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special problems of jail detainees
jail issues
mental health problems
rights of pretrial detainees
substance dependency
legal needs
medical needs
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problems of jail administration
jail management issues
jail facilities (outmoded expensive)
legal liability 42 USC 1983
jail crowding (crisis in 90s)
jail standards(ACA)
personnel matters (, training, conditions)