NCJ Number
117586
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 16 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1989) Pages: 183-195
Date Published
1989
Length
13 pages
Annotation
Prison overcrowding and the consequent use of good time credits by correctional personnel represents a hidden area of discretion in the criminal justice system. This article examined the present state of good time policy and research and outlined an agenda for systematic review of good time policies and practices.
Abstract
The literature review in the article revealed that good time policies had not received systematic scholarly attention, but had rested on untested assumptions that had their roots in nineteenth-century criminal justice policy. No empirical evidence that supported or refuted the proposition that good time was an important means of controlling prison environments could be found. In the absence of research data identifying the relationship between good time release policies and prisoner behavior in the community or how the system operated and whether it operated at a disadvantage to particular ethnic or racial groups, the article suggested an agenda for research on good time policies and practices. The research agenda proposed that the following issues be examined: 1) how good time is understood by prison personnel, 2) the actual operation of good time systems, 3) the utility of good time as a prison management device, 4) its role in rehabilitation, and 5) the special risks that good time releases pose to the community. 4 notes and 32 references. (Publisher abstract modified)