NCJ Number
96344
Date Published
Unknown
Length
52 pages
Annotation
This issue package on jail and prison overcrowding includes basic information of prisons and jails in Minnesota and the United States as a whole; a reprint of a bulletin presenting the structures in place in January 1983 that determine the length of time a person spent in prison in each of the States; and a working paper by the Prison Overcrowding Project, outlining the range and variety of solutions which might resolve the problem of overcrowding in local jails.
Abstract
The data on Minnesota show that the 85 facilities throughout the State (3,381 existing beds) represent an increase of 40 new facilities and 16 facility renovations since 1973. Additional statistics indicate that in 1982, 23 percent of all adult inmates held in Minnesota jails were sentenced; the other 77 per cent were awaiting trial or sentencing. A study of Minnesota county jails forecasts that dozens of counties will have a need in the next decade for jail beds that exceed their current capacities and that State prisons may reach capacity. A working paper included in the package, presents a matrix outlining options that States have in dealing with jail and prison overcrowding. A BJS bulletin reviews key directions these options have taken.