RHODE ISLAND - DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS CHARACTERISTICS OF INMATE POPULATION AT THE ADULT CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION, SEPTEMBER 1, 1977

• NCJ Number: 59319
• Author(s): W J FONTAINE
• Date Published: 1977
• Length: 75 pages
• Corporate Author: Rhode Island Dept of Corrections
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

DATA ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF 684 INMATES (INCLUDING 14 WOMEN) HOUSED AT THE RHODE ISLAND ADULT CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION AS OF SEPTEMBER 1, 1977, ARE PRESENTED IN 23 TABLES.

Abstract

THE TABLES COVER THE FOLLOWING VARIABLES (AND THEIR INTERRELATIONSHIPS): AGE, RACE, SECURITY CLASSIFICATION, CHARGE, PREVIOUS RECORD, TRAINING SCHOOL EXPERIENCE, LENGTH OF SENTENCE, AND RESIDENCE. ACCOMPANYING NOTES DEFINE THE VARIABLES AND EXPLAIN THE CROSS-TABULATIONS PRESENTED IN THE TABLES. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DATA ARE SUMMARIZED. NEARLY 73 PERCENT OF THE INMATE POPULATION WAS WHITE, 24 PERCENT WAS BLACK, AND 3 PERCENT HAD SPANISH SURNAMES. THE PROPORTION OF BLACKS IN THE SENTENCED POPULATION WAS CONSIDERABLY HIGHER THAN THAT IN THE POPULATION AWAITING TRIAL. RACE WAS NOT A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR IN SECURITY CLASSIFICATION. ON THE AVERAGE, MINIMUM-SECURITY INMATES WERE OLDER THAN MAXIMUM-SECURITY INMATES, AND PARTICIPANTS IN THE WORK-RELEASE PROGRAM WERE EVEN OLDER. THE MAJORITY OF SENTENCED MALES WERE CLASSIFIED MAXIMUM SECURITY, ALTHOUGH 23 PERCENT OF THESE INMATES WERE HOUSED UNDER MEDIUM SECURITY. WHITE INMATES WERE OVERREPRESENTED AMONG PROPERTY CRIMES AND UNDERREPRESENTED AMONG CRIMES OF VIOLENCE. THE MAJORITY OF PAROLE VIOLATORS HAD BEEN CHARGED ORIGINALLY WITH EITHER ROBBERY OR BREAKING AND ENTERING. THE PERCENTAGE OF BLACKS WAS SLIGHTLY HIGHER AMONG RECIDIVISTS THAN AMONG THOSE SERVING THEIR FIRST SENTENCE. THE PERCENTAGE OF RECIDIVISTS WAS SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER AMONG THE SENTENCED POPULATION THAN AMONG THE POPULATION AWAITING TRIAL. THE MOST COMMON CHARGE WAS ROBBERY. EIGHT CATEGORIES OF OFFENSES SHOWED 50 PERCENT OR MORE RECIDIVISTS. THE PROPORTION OF INMATES WITH TRAINING SCHOOL EXPERIENCE WAS HIGH, 42 PERCENT FOR SENTENCED INMATES AND 28 PERCENT FOR THOSE AWAITING TRIAL. TRAINING SCHOOL EXPERIENCE WAS MOST COMMON AMONG MAXIMUM-SECURITY INMATES, BLACKS, RECIDIVISTS, AND INMATES CHARGED WITH PROPERTY CRIMES. AN UNEXPECTED CORRELATION WAS FOUND BETWEEN SECURITY CLASSIFICATION AND LENGTH OF SENTENCE. MEAN AND MEDIAN SENTENCES WERE SHORTER FOR MAXIMUM-SECURITY INMATES THAN FOR MINIMUM-SECURITY INMATES OR WORK-RELEASE PARTICIPANTS. SENTENCES TENDED TO BE LONGER FOR OLDER INMATES, FOR WHITES, AND FOR RECIDIVISTS. THE INMATE-POPULATION RATIO FOR THE CITY OF PROVIDENCE WAS 190 PERCENT ABOVE THE STATE AVERAGE. (LKM)