NCJ Number
68833
Date Published
1979
Length
314 pages
Annotation
A DESCRIPTION OF LIFE IN LARGE CITY JAILS, OBTAINED FROM PERSONAL INTERVIEWS AND INFORMAL CONVERSATIONS WITH INMATES, IS PRESENTED IN THIS BOOK FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF AN EDUCATION DIRECTOR AND REHABILITATION COUNSELOR.
Abstract
FOUR-HUNDRED JAIL INMATES, AS WELL AS GUARDS AND VOLUNTEER WORKERS, SHARED THEIR FEELINGS, ATTITUDES, GRIEVANCES, AND EXPERIENCES WITH THE AUTHOR. NO INTERVIEWEES' NAMES ARE GIVEN, AND THE JAIL, CITY, AND COUNTY WHICH CONSTITUTE THE REAL LIFE SETTING WERE GIVEN FICTITIOUS NAMES. INTENDED FOR AN AUDIENCE OF TEACHERS AND EDUCATORS WHO CONTEMPLATE WORKING IN CORRECTIONAL SETTINGS, THIS BOOK SHOULD PROVE USEFUL AS A REMEDY TO THE AVERAGE EDUCATOR'S TOTAL UNPREPAREDNESS FOR WORKING WITH OFFENDERS. THE JAIL ENVIRONMENT AND OCCURRENCES WITNESSED BY THE AUTHOR OR RELATED TO HIM BY INMATES ARE DESCRIBED IN NARRATIVE FORM AND DIALOGUE. THE BOOK DEALS WITH TOPICS INCLUDING VARIOUS ASPECTS OF JAIL LIFE, E.G., THE PHYSICAL, SOCIOLOGICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, LEGAL, RELIGIOUS. ALSO DISCUSSED ARE GRIEVANCES OF JAIL INMATES; SOME THOUGHTS ON CRIME IN AMERICA; INMATES' CRIMES AND BEHAVIORAL CHARACTERISTICS; THE JAIL PERSONNEL; THE INMATES' EDUCATIONAL CURRICULUM; AND THE VOLUNTEERS WHO AIDED THIS RESEARCH. CONVERSATIONS WITH INMATES WERE TAPED AND SUPPLEMENTED BY THE AUTHOR'S DAILY NOTES ON HIS OBSERVATIONS. THE BOOK INCLUDES SOME CORRESPONDENCE WITH A FEMALE JAIL INMATE, TABULAR DATA, AND DIAGRAMS. TWO GLOSSARIES, ONE FOR JAIL INMATE AND JAIL GUARD TERMINOLOGY, AND THE SECOND LISTING TERMINOLOGY USED IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, ALONG WITH A BIBLIOGRAPHY AND AN INDEX, ARE APPENDED.