NCJ Number
82507
Date Published
1982
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This paper provides an overview of the mechanisms available for reducing the crowding in prisons.
Abstract
The changes are grouped into three categories: changes that affect the number of people who enter prisons, the length of time people spend in prisons, and the capacity of the prison system. The actors that can implement each option are also noted; these include legislators, prosecutors, the defense bar, the judiciary, private agencies, probation and parole agencies, Governors, and departments of corrections. For example, legislatures can affect the number of people who enter prisons by decriminalizing certain offenses, revising penal and sentencing codes, and restructuring State and local responsibility for offenders. Legislatures can affect the length of stay in prison by revising credits for good time, adopting presumptive parole on first eligibility, revising penal and sentencing codes, authorizing the community placement of pregnant offenders, and women with small children, and by repealing mandatory sentences. Legislatures can affect the capacity of the prison system by establishing standards and capacity limits for facilities; expanding the placement options for departments of corrections; appropriating funds or issuing bonds for the construction, renovation, or acquisition of facilities; adopting emergency overcrowding measures; and requiring accurate short-term and long-term cost information. Similar arrays of options are presented for the other actors in the criminal justice system. Brief descriptions of each option or examples of jurisdictions where they are in use are also provided.