Inmate classification

Abstract

Efforts to reduce prison overcrowding have emphasized the use of resources external to the prison system (e.g., diversion and accelerated release programs). Rarely examined are possible changes that can be made within the prison system. Overcrowding tends to occur in higher security settings, and objective inmate classification may provide one method for achieving a more equitable distribution of inmates among the different prison security levels. One such classification instrument used in Ontario is the Level of Supervision Inventory (LSI). Past research with the LSI has focused upon the assessment of offenders for community supervision, and the LSI's utility for inmate security classification has not been evaluated. In the present study, the LSI was administered to inmates, and their institutional behavior and security classifications were monitored. LSI scores and prison disciplinary data formed the basis for developing a model to assess and estimate security needs objectively. The results not only extended the generalizability of the LSI to inmate classification but also suggested that its use can reduce security overclassifications by about 38 percent. Together with previous LSI research, the present study supports the validity of one offender-risk instrument serving a wide range of classification functions.