egardless of the purpose for which such taxes would be used. For corrections institutions, the interaction of these two factors means that bad prison overcrowding is likely to become steadily worse.
In 1989, more than four million persons (2.2 percent of the adult population of the United States) were under correctional supervision.2 Of this total number, 1,076,000 were incarcerated (683,000 in prison and 393,000 in jail), 457,000 were on parole, and 2,521,000 were on probation.3
The 393,000 persons incarcerated in jails represented 108 percent of the overall rated capacity of jails in the United States. The 54,000 federal prison inmates represented 173 percent of the rated capacity of federal correctional institutions, while the 629,000 state prisoners represented 120 percent of the total rated capacity of state correctional institutions.
From the mid 1970s through the mid 1980s, the American prison population increased by 84 percent. Per 100 thousand population, the increase was from 129 to 216. Since the mid 1980s, the prison population has continued to climb, however, at a slightly reduced rate. During this same time period since the mid 1970s, the rate of both violent crime and property crime in the United States has escalated.4 While the crime rate has increased, and the demand for prison space has increased, prison capacity has remained relatively steady. One effect of the interaction of these three trends has been a shift in the prison population toward a much higher proportion of violent crime offenders.
For the correctional officers responsible for the administration of prisons, and the maintenance of prisoner welfare, the increase in the proportion of violent offenders housed in the nation's prison facilities has created a nightmarish situation with respect to control, preservation of order, and maintenance of safety for both prisoners and prison staff.
With the nation's prisons and jails already o...