NCJ Number
94487
Date Published
1983
Length
70 pages
Annotation
This Senate hearing reviews the status of prisons, with a focus on the appropriate role for the Federal Government in building and supporting prisons.
Abstract
As of 1981, 39 States had court orders to reduce overcrowding or were involved in litigation leading to such orders. In the next 2 years, the problem worsened sharply. Despite extensive construction programs in many States, the growth in population has greatly exceeded the growth in capacity. Most States have employed alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenses wherever possible. Seventeen States have left over 8,000 inmates in local jails because there is no room for them in the prisons. The overcrowding problem is now approaching the flashpoint. A number of bills in the Senate address the problems of overcrowding. One provides for funding. This bill, S. 889, is the focus of this hearing. It is also important to assure some educational and vocational training to those who can be rehabilitated. When functional illiterates with no job skills are released from prison, it should be no surprise that they return to crime as the only thing they know. Overcrowding has prevented education and job training from reaching these inmates. Six witnesses appeared before the hearing, all favored Federal funding of prisons and more attention to finding solutions to overcrowding. Eight individuals submitted materials for the record.