HOW MUCH TIME DO PRISONERS REALLY DO?

• NCJ Number: 146847
• Author(s): M Jones; J Austin
• Date Published: 1993
• Length: 8 pages
• Corporate Author: Carter Ctr
• Sale Source: Carter Ctr; National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: NCCD Focus, December 1993

Annotation

The authors assert that, despite popular perceptions that prisoners do not serve enough of their sentences, prisoners actually serve more time than is reported.

Abstract

Findings are based on a reanalysis of US Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Services (BJS) data on releases in five States (California, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, and Virginia). Taking all offense classes into account, the mean length of stay (LOS) was found to be 30 months, or about 40 percent higher than the 22 months estimated using BJS- published data. BJS LOS data exclude the amount of time prisoners spend in local jails in pretrial status awaiting transfer to State prisons, and periods of confinement associated with readmission to prison for technical violations of parole. Discrepancies were greatest in California and Kentucky. Due to recent changes in sentencing laws in many jurisdictions, the actual mean LOS is likely to increase further. 1 endnote, 7 references