U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

American Jails: Looking to the Future

NCJ Number
170255
Author(s)
K E Kerle
Date Published
1998
Length
310 pages
Annotation
This book proposes to give a balanced picture of the state of America's jails.
Abstract
The book opens with a short jail history and separate chapters are devoted to: (1) jail suicide and how jails attempt to manage inmates who show signs of mental disturbance; (2) the events that beset the rural jails in America, the largest category of jails in the United States, comprising nearly two thirds of all jails; (3) the role of female staff in jails, how their increased numbers will affect the future management of jails, and the dramatic increase of female inmates; (4) the author's 6 1/2 years as a jail auditor for the National Sheriffs' Association; (5) the serious deficiencies in jail training and what is or is not being done about it; (6) jail crowding, its implications for jail management, and possible solutions. (7) jail inspections and why this continues to be a serious problem for local jails; (8) jails and medical problems; (9) jail programs in various areas, their deficiencies, and their opportunities to affect the lives of the incarcerated; (10) the world of technology and how this affects jails from an operational standpoint; (11) jail environment of cultural diversity in both staff and inmates; (12) jails and legal issues; (13) direct supervision management and its implication for jails; (14) jails holding juveniles; and (15) current trends and projections for the next century. Tables, appendixes, references, index