NCJ Number
140801
Journal
New England Journal on Criminal and Civil Confinement Volume: 18 Issue: 1-2 Dated: (Winter-Summer 1992) Pages: 91-116
Date Published
1992
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This article analyzes issues in the Hampden County (Massachusetts) sheriff's seizure of the Springfield National Guard Armory to be used as a correctional facility so as to comply with a Federal court order that limited the jail inmate population to 500.
Abstract
The seizure of the armory was resolved by a court order that authorized the use of the Holyoke Armory, which had more space and was used less often than the Springfield Armory, as a temporary jail for minimum-security inmates. This incident illustrates the need for States to have a mechanism for assessing space needs in the context of existing assets for various State and county operations that require public facilities. In Massachusetts, National Guard armories are underused while jails and prisons are overcrowded. Of the State's 72 armories, 27 are scheduled to close. Massachusetts should establish a panel under the executive branch that is capable of responding rapidly to urgent demands for public facilities. The panel would identify all public property that is being underused and would be authorized by the legislature to alter the use of existing facilities so as to respond to changing needs. Thus, demand for more jail space would not require immediate construction of new facilities or a rush to implement alternatives to incarceration. Underused existing public facilities would first be assessed for their appropriate use as correctional or detention facilities. 175 footnotes