NCJ Number
113227
Date Published
1986
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This 'citizens'' assessment of Virginia's adult prisons, sponsored by the Virginia Bar Association, involved inspections of 10 adult male prisons, including 6 major institutions, 2 field units, 1 work-release unit, and 1 psychiatric facility.
Abstract
The site visits included interviews with correctional officers, counselors, and inmates. Corrections documents and consultants' reports were reviewed, and facility conditions were compared with standards issued by national correctional organizations. The committee found that although significant improvements have been made over the past 2 years, many serious problems remain in Virginia's prison system. Foremost among these are a lack of consistent policies and procedures across institutions, a shortage of coherent and effective programs for inmate self-rehabilitation, and insufficient public involvement in the corrections process. Of the recommendations offered by the committee, highest priority is given to the upgrading of the Department of Corrections' administrative management and the coordination and redesign of the inmate treatment and behavioral incentive programs. These reforms, however, cannot win public support unless the public becomes more directly involved in the entire corrections process. 20 footnotes, appended data and supplementary information.