Mayberry revisited: The characteristics and operations of America's small jails

Much attention has been focused on the problems of America's prisons and jails. Jail research and often jail litigation have centered on large county or municipal jails; often these resemble correctional systems and are so called. Yet many of the nation's 3041 counties are small, rural, and sparsely populated. In a 1982 survey conducted by the National Sheriffs' Association, 640 jails had bed space for 16 or fewer inmates. Many of these jails suffer from the same kinds of deficiencies as large jails, although these problems are not exacerbated by size. Most jails suffer from lack of adequate funding, but for small jails this is a particularly acute problem which affects all facets of operations.

Data from the 1983 National Jail Census and the 1982 National Sheriffs' Association survey are used to develop a profile of the overlooked but important small jail, defined for our purposes as a facility capable of housing ten or fewer inmates. This profile indicates that small jails are older, have less cell capacity, and provide fewer health and rehabilitation services than their larger counterparts. The national prevalence of small jails and some of their notable deficiencies suggest that alternatives to these facilities be considered.     

The American jail: Problems,politics, prospects

Discussions of America’s local jails inevitably center around their plethora of problems. Not only are these problems pervasive, but they are also enduring. Numerous proposals have been advanced to improve jail conditions and operations. Most have failed to such an extent that some scholars have speculated that jails are simply immune to reform. It is the contention of this article that most of the problems facing contemporary jails are rooted in the uniquepolitical nature of the jail as an organization. Consequently, serious efforts to affect change in jail conditions must recognize the limited options placed upon jail reforms by the political environment, or they must originate from outside the local political setting.     

Jail Officers’ Perceptions of the Work Environment in Traditional Versus New Generation Facilities

New Generation jails have emerged as an important innovation in local incarceration. The results of existing research suggest that new generation jail design and operation can positively impact inmates and staff, but the literature is far from unequivocal. The current study utilized data collected from a single jail complex to provide a unique test of how the type of facility influences jail staff perceptions of the work environment along several dimensions. Our results revealed few differences between correctional officers working in traditional units and those posted in new generation units. We discuss the implications of these findings, including the use of direct supervision inmate management in traditional as well as new generation jails.     

Self-destructing prophecies: Long-term forecasting of municipal correctional bed need

Although municipal jails consume a significant amount of resources and the number of inmates housed in such facilities exploded in the 1990s, the literature on forecasting jail populations is sparse. Jail administrators have available discussions on jail crowding and its causes, but do not have ready access to applications of forecasting techniques or practical demonstrations of a jail inmate population forecast. This article argues that the underlying reason for this deficiency is the inherent unpredictability of local long-term correctional population levels. The driving forces behind correctional bed need render local jail population forecasts empirically valid only for a brief time frame. These inherent difficulties include the volatile nature of jail populations and their greater sensitivity when compared with prison populations to local conditions; the gap between the data needed for local correctional population forecasting and what is realistically available to forecasters; the lack of reliable lead variables for long-term local correctional population forecasts; the clash of the mathematics of forecasting and the substantive issues involved in the interpretation of forecast models; and the significant political and policy impacts of forecasts on local criminal justice systems and subsequent correctional population trends.The differences between the accuracy of short-term versus long-term jail bed need forecasts means that forecasting local correctional bed need is empirically valid for, at best, one to two years. As the temporal cast is extended, longer-term forecasts quickly become error prone. Except for unique situations where jails exist in highly stable local political, social, and criminal justice environments, long-term forecasts of two years or greater are fatally flawed and have little empirical accuracy. Long-term forecasts of local jail bed needs are useful, though, as policy catalysts to encourage policymakers to consider possible long-term impacts of current decisions, but forecasts should be thought of and presented as one possible future scenario rather than a likely reality. Utilizing a demonstration of a local jail forecast based upon two common empirical forecasting approaches, ARIMA and autoregression, this article presents a case study of the inherent difficulties in the long-term forecasting of local jail bed need.     

Staying Out: Reentry Protective Factors Among Rural Women Offenders

The current study examines protective factors for women who transition from county jails to rural Appalachian communities, areas with limited health and behavioral health services. The study included drug-using women recruited from three jails in rural Appalachia and followed-up at 12-months post-release. Analyses focused on differences between women who remained in the community and those who returned to custody, as well as a multivariate model to determine protective factors for reentry success. At the bivariate level, staying out of jail was associated with being older, having a job, not using drugs, stable housing, receiving health treatment, and having prosocial peers. In the multivariate model, the most robust predictors of staying out of jail were drug use abstinence, health care utilization, and prosocial peers. Most research on criminogenic needs associated with reentry success have focused on men, and most focused on reentry to urban communities where services and resources are more accessible. These findings have important implications for criminal justice systems to implement reentry programs for women offenders during the transition to the community.     

Turning off jail turnover: do generational differences matter?

Reducing turnover in America’s jails is a significant fiscal concern and a serious organizational challenge. When determining how to improve retention, the private sector has been influenced by the literature on generational relevance. To explore whether similar cohort-driven motivators might be productively directed toward reducing jail turnover, the application of generational relevance theory to jails was empirically tested. To assess the impact of retention-related variables on various age cohorts working in America’s jails, a national survey was administered to jail staff throughout the country. Results indicate that less than half of the variables included in the analysis reached levels of statistical significance when analyzed by generational cohorts, and even among significant variables, over one-third were age-driven by nature. Although the findings do little to advance the cause of generational relevance theory, they are not without merit for jail administrators seeking to reduce turnover, pointing toward the universal appeal such intrinsic factors as treating people fairly, creating a positive work climate, and assuring that employees are listened to, have input, and are recognized, respected, and appreciated. Essentially, results indicate that reducing jail turnover is more likely to be a product of initiatives that are generically requisite than generationally relevant.     

Correctional destabilization and jail violence: The consequences of prison depopulation legislation

Purpose

This study explored the effects of prison depopulation on local jail violence through a general systems perspective – where an abrupt shift in the processing of offenders had the potential to create ripple effects through other organizations – of the criminal justice system.

Methods

In 2011, California passed the Criminal Justice Realignment legislation aimed to reduce prison population by making low-level felony offenders ineligible for state incarceration and diverting those already in state prison for the included offenses from state to county-level community supervision once paroled. This study incorporated bivariate and negative binomial regression analyses to model officially-recorded county jail panel data to estimate the effects of state prison depopulation on California county jails.

Results

Findings demonstrated support for the general systems framework as there was a significant decrease in jail utility in the bivariate analysis and a significant increase in jail violence in the multivariate analysis associated with passage of California’s prison depopulation legislation.

Conclusions

The results supported the notion of an interconnected criminal justice system. Policy implications include the consequences of increased violence on jail operations, the potential for a cadre of habitual offenders, and generalizing these findings to the community.     

Jails in the United States: the phenomenon of mental illness in local correctional facilities

During the last decade, the number of mentally ill inmates in local jails has increased while courts have imposed standards of inmate care upon jail administrators which require appropriate treatment of that inmate group. While jail administrators are seeking assistance from mental health agencies as well as additional resources to deal with these problems, little specific information is presently available about the numbers and correlates of jail inmates nationally that are mentally ill; their prior contacts with mental health agencies, criminal histories, employment backgrounds, etc; and the services jails presently offer to that population. In addition, little is known by geographic region or by jail capacity. Such information is essential in developing future strategies to manage that population. This paper is a preliminary contribution to the development of that information. In addition, the data analysis can serve as a base line against which to evaluate in the structure of the mentally ill jail inmate population as well as changes in services provided by jails by comparing this analysis to future jail surveys conducted by the Bureau of Jail Statistics (BJS) or the National Institute of Justice. The research will be a secondary analysis of the Survey of Inmates of Local Jails, 1983, conducted by BJS, (made available through the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research: University of Michigan, First Edition, Fall, 1985, #8274). In general an exploratory approach was used; however, a loglinear model has been asked to further refine and explore the phenomena of the mentally ill in jails.     

White-collar offenders and the jail experience: a comparative analysis

The incarceration experiences of white-collar offenders have received relatively little attention among criminological researchers, and the research that has been conducted has focused on offenders’ experiences in prisons rather than jails. The purpose of this study was to fill this gap by examining approximately 6500 inmates incarcerated in local jails, comparing those classified as white-collar offenders to violent and other non-violent offenders. The differences between offender types based on demographics, psychological adjustment (i.e., mental health issues since arrival to jail), and behavioral adjustment (i.e., institutional misconduct) are examined to see whether white-collar inmates have more difficulty than others adjusting to the jail environment (consistent with the special sensitivity hypothesis). Findings suggest that white-collar jail inmates do not appear to experience symptoms indicative of poor psychological or behavioral adjustment to the jail environment. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.     

Recruiting the Next Generation of Jail Employees: Does Generational Relevance or Agency Size Make a Difference?

Given their multiple functions, inadequate funding, and generally low visibility, America??s jails have sustained an ongoing struggle to recruit a sufficient quantity and quality of applicants to effectively fulfill their mission. Although the current economic downturn has temporarily curtailed turnover, postponed retirements, and intensified job competition, the cyclical nature of economic developments assures that jails will once again be forced into aggressive recruitment rivalry. To proactively address such upcoming challenges, it is essential to determine how jails can most productively target and select the best candidates. Providing information to assist jail administrators in that regard, a national survey was conducted to identify what attracted various age groups to jail employment, in order to ascertain whether a differential recruitment focus is needed to attract the new generation of workers. Jail size was also considered in terms of whether the ease or difficulty of progression through the selection screening process made a difference. Most revealing, however, was the lack of statistically-significant differences between various generational cohorts. Virtually all age groups were in substantial agreement that the extrinsic attractions of jail employment??such as salary, benefits, pension plan, and job stability--were their most important job consideration factors. Overall, findings point toward the recruitment benefit that jails may potentially derive from capitalizing on the advantages of being a steady rock of dependable employment, especially in times that are characterized by job insecurity and economic hardships.     

From Bail to Jail: The Effect of Jail Capacity on Bail Decisions

One of the more important decisions made by judges in the criminal justice system is the bail decision. Factors that judges take into consideration when making a bail decision, such as seriousness of the offense, flight risk, and public safety, are typically seen by researchers as the primary determinants of such a decision. However, one aspect that researchers have not studied extensively—rated jail capacity – could play an important role in a judge’s decision. Overcrowding in jails leads to numerous problems, both for the offender and the system itself, so judges may be more willing to release offenders into the community during the pretrial period if the local jails are overcrowded. The current study examines the effect of rated jail capacity on decisions regarding bail amounts, release on recognizance (ROR), financial release, and conditional release in eight Florida counties. Results indicate that rated jail capacity plays a role in judges’ bail decisions, suggesting that judges are concerned about housing more pretrial offenders in crowded jails.     

The Issue of Control in Jail: The Effects of Professionalism,Detainee Control,and Administrative Support on Job Stress,Job Satisfaction,and Organizational Commitment among Jail Staff

Jails are important, yet understudied, components of the American criminal justice system. While most research on correctional personnel has focused on prisons, a growing body of work is beginning to emerge on jails. This is encouraging given the unique circumstances that occur within jail environments (e.g., diversity and mobility of offenders, health issues among detainees, overcrowding, lack of training among staff, etc.). Given these conditions, the staff members who run jails become the glue that holds them together. The following study contributes to this burgeoning area of empirical inquiry by examining a variety of antecedents of job stress, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment among jail personnel. Using survey data collected from a large county correctional system in Orlando, Florida, the findings indicate that staff perceptions of professionalism, detainee control, and administrative support all significantly impact degrees of job stress, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment.     

公安监所“80后”在押人员感化教育问题研究

感化教育在押人员是公安监所工作的一项主要任务,是确保监所安全和从事公安监所管理工作的监管民警必须掌握和运用的基础工作。研究＂80后＂在押人员感化教育问题,是做好转型时期监管工作的基础,是提高监管工作质量和深挖犯罪工作科学化的有效途径。     

Job Stress and Job Satisfaction Among Jail Staff: Exploring Gendered Effects

Despite increased representation in correctional work settings, women still encounter obstacles in this male-dominated occupation—obstacles that have the potential to affect their levels of job stress and job satisfaction. Although gender-based differences in job stress and job satisfaction have been analyzed in several prison settings, much less work has been conducted in the often neglected correctional arena of jails. The current study fills this empirical void by examining jail staff at a large county correctional system in Orlando, Florida. Ordinary least squares regression analysis indicated that different facets of the work environment differentially affected the job stress and job satisfaction of 419 women and 493 men working in a large urban jail system. Specifically, role ambiguity, perceived dangerousness, coworker relations, input into decision making, and administrative support had larger effects on job stress for women compared to men. For job satisfaction, the only workplace variable to have a gendered effect was administrative support, which also had a greater effect for women than men. The findings reveal gender-related differences, especially in terms of job stress.     

Trouble in Mayberry: A national analysis of suicides and attempts in small jails

Despite the fact that there are approximately 1,775 American jails of 99 beds or less, little is known about how these jails function, or the challenges that they confront. This study examined the problem of suicides and attempted suicides in small jails, finding that the prevalence of these incidents is two to five times greater than in their larger counterparts. Net of other factors, jails that had higher rates of admissions, as well as overcrowded facilities had a positive relationship with suicide attempts. We also found that jails that reported higher concentrations of special needs inmates were significantly associated with attempts. Specifically, facilities that had higher levels of long-term inmates were positively associated with suicide attempts. While almost one-fifth of small jails did not use formal suicide assessments at admission, and only slightly more than one-half of these facilities provided annual suicide training to jail officers, these factors were not significantly associated with suicide attempts in 2004. Implications for future research and practice are outlined.     

Screening of Women in Jail for Health Risks and Needs

Abstract

In order to address the relative lack of services for women who come into contact with the criminal justice system, there is a need to develop quick and easily administered screening tools. This pilot study was conducted with 110 women in two urban county jails in Ohio. The purpose of the project was to develop and pilot a quick multidimensional screening instrument for women in jail to identify risk and rehabilitative needs. The project resulted in a 15-item screening tool which can be used in urban crowded jail settings to identify women at risk for health, substance abuse, mental health, family, employment or housing risks.     

Identifying possible sources of inmate crowding in U.S. jails

This note presents results from an aggregate-level study of several possible correlates of inmate crowding in county jails during 1983 (n=505) and 1988 (n=522). Findings revealed that jurisdiction variables (court caseload, degree of urbanism) and state variables (sentencing practices, degree of prison inmate crowding) are at least as significant as jail variables (type of standards, frequency of inspections, enforcement system for standards, inmate population composition) for predicting the degree of inmate crowding. This suggests that policies designed to reduce crowding should be sophisticated enough to account for the possible effects of all three groups of variables.     

JAILS AND SERVICES FOR INMATES A Perspective on Some Critical Issues

The nature and scope of the jail role within the criminal justice system is explored. Questions are raised as to the types of functions which jails should perform, the appropriateness of jail services, and alternatives for the administration of jails. The authors suggest that solutions to the various issues require active involvement of an informed public providing policy direction to the criminal justice system. The paper concludes by observing that many of these critical jail issues can find satisfactory solution when there is a joint commitment on the part of practitioners, researchers, and the community sector to actively seek answers.     

Constant costs in the public provision of judicial services

The nature of the cost conditions surrounding the provision of judicial services by state and local governments is examined. It is suggested that these services fit Werner Hirsch’s category of horizontally integrated public services and a priori arguments are presented to support the kypothesis that judicial services are provided under conditions approximating constant costs. Empirical tests for the existence. of scale economies are made which yield results consistent with the constant cost kypothesis. Hence, the conclusion is drawn that differences across states per capita expenditures on count systems ane due primarily to variations in demand factors rather than differences in the sizes of judicial systems. This paper was partially prepared under Grant Number 75-NI-99-0037 from the National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, U. S. Department of Justice. Points of view or opinions stated in this document are the author’s and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.