NCJ Number
81167
Date Published
1980
Length
19 pages
Annotation
The relationship between State and local corrections in the State of Washington was examined to identify problems and to identify ways of clarifying the relationship and improving the management and conditions in local correctional facilities.
Abstract
A division of responsibility between the State and local government in corrections has evolved through legislative initiative, practice, and tradition. State and local correctional programs are not coordinated with one another, however. On any given day, 13.6 percent of all prisoners in local correctional facilities are State prisoners. The most pervasive problems facing local jails is overcrowding. Local jails which maintain large State prisoner populations tend to be more noticeably overcrowded and to experience a greater number of major incidents. The physical plants of nearly all local jails are inadequate and should be closed, remodeled, or replaced. Other problems include variations among jurisdictions in the use of alternatives to incarceration, the jailing of too many persons who are low security risks, high numbers of ethnic minorities among the inmates, the employment of few minority persons in jails, inadequate training of correctional staff, and confusion and inequity regarding State prisoners held in local facilities. It is recommended that the legislature continue to support the jail construction and remodeling program begun in 1979; that a State agency be given the responsibility for research, evaluation, and dissemination of information regarding alternatives to incarceration; that differential incarceration and correctional staff employment rates be examined and addressed; and that priority be given to correctional staff training. The use of a clear definition for differentiating State and local prisoners and the establishment of a central State criminal justice coordination and control agency are among other recommended actions. Tables are included.