Prison Resource Management: Working Smarter, Not Harder

Abstract

Because of the extreme demands made by continuously escalating offender populations on already scarce prison space and program resources, a number of laissez-faire management approaches have been exposed as deficient. Forcing offenders to adhere to availability-driven models results in frequent misalignment of correctional responses, often with excessive financial and human costs. A developing trend toward data-based, objective approaches and the use of high-quality information systems has direct implications for prison resource management. Decisions regarding both individual offenders and systemwide policy can benefit from these evolving models. However, management ingenuity will not be equal to the task if extraprison forces are not simultaneously examined and modified.