NCJ Number
133422
Journal
Federal Prisons Journal Volume: 2 Issue: 3 Dated: special issue (Summer 1991) Pages: 19-23
Date Published
1991
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Many conditions other than prison overcrowding can lead to fewer services available to inmates, a deterioration in inmates' quality of life, and poor working conditions for staff.
Abstract
This discussion challenges three arguments to the proposition that conditions other than overcrowding can contribute to prison problems: (1) the conventional wisdom that crowding eventually must result in some kind of problem; (2) there must be some level of crowding at which an institution can no longer deliver services and ensure safety; and (3) crowding does cause many problems. Crowding research issues are summarized from the perspective of both administrators and social scientists. Researchers disagree as to the effects of crowding on the three major variables of health, violence, and recidivism. However, in the future, crowding research may lead to a more definitive answer on the nature and effects of crowding. 1 figure and 3 notes