NCJ Number
115829
Journal
JQ (Justice Quarterly) Volume: 5 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1988) Pages: 421-440
Date Published
1988
Length
20 pages
Annotation
Much attention has been focused on the problems of America's prisons and jails. Jail research and often jail litigation have centered on large county or municipal jails; often these resemble correctional systems and are so called. Yet many of the Nation's 3,041 counties are small, rural, and sparsely populated.
Abstract
In a 1982 survey conducted by the National Sheriff's Association, 640 jails had bed space for 16 or fewer inmates. Many of these jails suffer from the same kinds of deficiencies as large jails, although these problems are not exacerbated by size. Most jails suffer from lack of adequate funding, but for small jails this is a particularly acute problem which affects all facets of operations. Data from the 1983 National Jail Census and the 1982 National Sheriff's Association survey are used to develop a profile of the overlooked by important small jail, defined for our purposes as a facility capable of housing ten or fewer inmates. This profile indicates that small jails are older, have less cell capacity, and provide fewer health and rehabilitation services than their larger counterparts. The national prevalence of small jails and some of their notable deficiencies suggest that alternatives to these facilities be considered. (Publisher abstract)