Jail Reform Research Articles

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

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.

Consent Decrees in Prison and Jail Reform: Relaxed Standard of Review for Government Motions to Modify Consent Decrees

Consent Decrees in Prison and Jail Reform: Relaxed Standard of Review for Government Motions to Modify Consent Decrees

The Dynamics of Jail Reform Litigation: A Comparative Analysis of Litigation in California Counties

Theory linking litigation onset, process, and outcome in jail reform lawsuits has been scarce. The author proposes a four-stage, comparative model: (1) conditions of surrounding legal and political environments, in concert with contextual factors (e.g., type of legal representation), set the stage for litigation in the trigger stage; (2) specific legal claims, defendants named, and litigation strategies shape litigation process at the liability stage; (3) the nature and degree of remedies crafted is shaped by complex interactions between litigants and judges at the remedy stage; and (4) judicial methods and litigant behavior shape negotiations, modifications, and compliance efforts in the postdecree stage. Using qualitative and quantitative research methods, the researcher examined hypotheses linking the four stages. All general-conditions lawsuits against California county jails between 1975 and 1989 (N=43) were coded and analyzed. Critical factors identified at each stage significantly influenced litigation incidence, process, and legal outcomes. The author discusses implications of a multimethod, comparative approach for studying court-ordered reform of public institutions.

Bending Granite: On the Politics and Administration of American Jail Reform

This article examines the political realities of American jail administration. I argue that reforming this system will be about as difficult as bending granite. Yet I further argue that American law provides state legislators with the Herculean power to bend this granite, should they decide to do so. Through a survey of state legislators from the heartland of America, I create a stochastic profile of the lawmaker who is most likely to be a jail reformer. Then, I use this profile to develop a reform paradigm for the American jail.

Jail reform litigation: The issue of rights and remedies

This paper looks at the vast array of lawsuits filed by jail inmates challenging the conditions of their confinement. While much attention has been focused on prison reform litigation, many of the nation's jails have been subject to civil rights lawsuits, and many are now operating under some form of court order.

The Effect of Jail Reform Policies on Guard/Management Relations

The Effect of Jail Reform Policies on Guard/Management Relations

The effect of jail reform policies on guard/management relations

The effect of jail reform policies on guard/management relations

A prisoner assessment survey: Screenings of a municipal prison population

In June of 1981 the Honorable Frank J. Polozola, U. S. District Court, Middle District of Louisiana, requested information on the mental health and substance abuse needs of inmates of Orleans Parish Prison. Estimates abounded but there was no information based on hard data. A more general exploration of the issue revealed that the problem of lack of information extended beyond Louisiana. According to the Comptroller General’s Report to Congress (1979), inmates needing mental health and substance abuse care are not identified by most prisons. Both this 1979 report and a subsequent 1980 report of the Comptroller General describe the extensive nature of the problem. Both in prisons and in local jails, care is nonexistent or inadequate due to funding and personnel limitations. Although medical screening of inmates is routine in most prisons, screening for mental health and substance abuse needs is not. When a psychiatric treatment program exists in a prison, it is most frequently limited to identifying and controlling violent inmates whose behavior is disturbing to others. The Comptroller General’s report (1979) states that services to substance abusers are especially lacking. The 1979 report further found that, in general, data on the extent and type of disorder is not even compiled. Even when screenings are performed, the data is usually not compiled, summarized, or analyzed. According to the Comptroller General’s report, a Bureau of Prisons reporting requirement summarizes some information on inmates with drug and alcohol problems, but it does not yield information on those with psychiatric and psychological problems. Bureau of Prisons reported in 1979 that due to other priorities, it would be several years before they could provide standard information on the type of mental health disorders in prisons. The 1980 report from the Comptroller General states that studies have shown that, on any given day, some 20-60% of jail inmates have mental health problems. As with prisons, most jails have no standard program for identifying or serving inmates in need of mental health and substance abuse services. The Comptroller General’s report (1980) stated that a study done for the National Coalition for Jail Reform in 1979 set the number of mentally ill jail inmates

The Psychodynamics of Criminal Behavior and their Implications for Prison and Jail Reform

The failure of the existing correctional system to rehabilitate is presented. A new model treatment program for criminal offenders, largely derived from Danish and Dutch examples, just begun in Fresno, California, based on our current psychodynamic understanding of the etiology of criminal behavior and operating on many levels including gaining of insight, habit training and reinforcement of positive behaviors, development of interpersonal relations with opportunity for wholesome identification and acquisition of adaptive skills is detailed.

The Cloacal Region of American Corrections

Local jails have been denounced by social critics and citizens alike, but moral indignation has effected little change. The obstacles to change are rooted in local control, public indifference, and low priority in the scale of social values. The result is underbudgeting, understaffing, over crowding or underutilization, and haphazard administration. Suggestions are made for redefining the functions of local jails by allocating some of their traditional functions to other social agencies. Measures designed to avoid pretrial or posttrial jail commitments are explored. Alternatives, such as half way houses and work release also are examined. Other sug gestions run the gamut, from central control by the state, to state-set minimum standards. Some political recommenda tions are made about prisoners' voting, and changing the limited tenure of office for sheriffs who cannot succeed them selves, in order to use political influence for purposes of reform rather than neglect. The prospects for local jail reform do not look hopeful.