Inmate Assaults in Texas County Jails

Abstract

Local jails present unique challenges for the criminal justice researcher. The authors analyzed survey responses and existing documentation from 138 county jail administrators in Texas to determine relationships between select input variables and the incidence of inmate assaults on staff and other inmates. Logistic regression was used to examine the effects of importation model and managerial model variables on inmate assaults. The logistic model of inmate-on-inmate assaults was significant, whereas that of inmate-on-staff was not. The importation model approach was supported by a strong relationship between proportion of maximum security inmates and inmate assaults and by the relationship between inmates in metropolitan as opposed to non-metropolitan jails and inmate assaults. Findings indicated a weaker relationship between two managerial model variables. No discernible relationships were found between the degree of rehabilitative philosophy expressed by the administrator, the ethnic breakdown of staff, or the type of facility structure and inmate assaults.