NCJ Number
112593
Journal
American Jails Volume: 1 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1987) Pages: 6-8,10-11
Date Published
1987
Length
5 pages
Annotation
The policies developed by judicial, legislative, and administrative sources determine whether a particular jail's population is large or small in relation to its intake over time.
Abstract
Thus, two jurisdictions with identical intake will have different daily prisoner counts. Each source of policies operates at three levels: structural, practical, and informal. The judicial branch of government has a dominant influence on jail populations through its organization, operational methods, procedural rules, and individual discretionary judgements. The legislative branch enacts the laws implemented by the administrative branch and on which the judicial branch rules. It also provides the funding for the other two. Correctional administrators influence corrections through the management of resources, the use of political techniques, and the establishment of standards of professional practice. Analysis of policies of four jails operating under the laws of one State showed that the seriously overcrowded county jail population was 2.5 times greater in relation to its intake than one operating comfortably under its capacity level. Chart.