Problem of Jail Crowding in the US

Jail crowding is a complex issue that demands immediate attention and brave solutions. Unfortunately, our knowledge of the problem lags behind the problem itself. And as with so many difficulties that rise from public institutions, jail crowding cannot be assigned to one cause or remedied by one solution. Nor can crowding's cause and effect in one jail in one locale be compared with confidence to another jail somewhere across the country; indeed, in some cases comparisons cannot be made even across the state.

In addition to the diversity of the jails themselves, there is no continuing monitoring of county jail populations and therefore no reliable nationwide data. Although it is difficult to know the size of the national annual jail population, it has been estimated that approximately 3,500 jails receive 7 million persons every year. From 1970 to 1982, the one-day count of jail residents increased from 160,863 to 209,582, a growth of 30 percent (Colson 64).

Although there are some state-run jails and a few detention centers run by federal authorities, most jails are operated by a unit of local government and as such house persons convicted of crimes as well as those suspected of crimes. Approximately 57 percent of a jail's population is

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ional Institute of Corrections--have confirmed the importance of dealing broadly with the criminal justice system when seeking to identify the causes of crowding and to implement jail population policies. These studies have shown the criminal justice system to be constantly changing and developing, with many relationships and sources of authority beyond the control of the jails and prisons. Of all the local criminal justice system components, police agencies have the greatest impact on the number of jail admissions. Since the police officer decides who to arrest and transport to the jail and what the arresting charge will be, local arrest practices are critical in determining the composition and size of the jail population. Most large jurisdictions have numerous law enforcement agencies, each with different arrest policies and practices, that cause disparity in arrest decisions. Must of this disparity is eliminated in jurisdictions that enforce formal arrest guidelines. In order to reduce the booking of low-risk offenders into jail, police citation release programs were developed. The use of citation release or notice to appear in court, in lieu of arrest and detention, has significantly reduced the jails' intake of misde
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Approximate Word count = 1958
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

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