Evaluating jail reform: A comparative analysis of podular/direct and linear jail inmate infractions

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the similarities and differences in inmate rule infractions in a traditional jail and podular/direct jail supervision jail. The methods relied on are comparative chisquare difference tests and logit modeling. The analyses are descriptive for each facility and comparative across the two types of jails. The findings indicate that the podular/direct facilities have significantly fewer formal rule violations, while they may be responding to these more severely. A portion of the findings call into question the claims about the podular/direct model as a panacea approach. Most of the findings of this study, however, are consistent with past presumptions about the superiority of the podular/direct management and design approach to institutional corrections.