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Detention and Short-Term Incarceration: Exploring Jails in the Criminal Justice System

This chapter examines the contemporary jail system, including its origins, population characteristics, administration, and the influence of local politics. It discusses the various methods of release from detention, such as bail, release on recognizance, and pretrial diversion. The chapter also addresses the issues and challenges faced by jail management, including legal liability, jail standards, personnel matters, and jail crowding. Additionally, it explores the unique problems faced by jail detainees, such as mental health issues, substance dependency, and legal and medical needs.

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Detention and Short-Term Incarceration: Exploring Jails in the Criminal Justice System

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  1. Chapter 7 Jails: Detention and Short-Term Incarceration

  2. Detention and Short-Term Incarceration • The Contemporary Jail: Entrance to the System • Origins and Evolution • Population Characteristics • Administration • The Influence of Local Politics • Regional Jails • Pretrial Detention • Special Problems of Detainees • Release from Detention

  3. Detention and Short-Term Incarceration • The Bail Problem and Alternatives • Release on Recognizance • Preventive Detention • Pretrial Diversion • The Sentenced Jail Inmate • Issues in Jail Management • Legal Liability • Jail Standards • Personnel Matters • Jail Crowding • The Jail Facility

  4. Americans jailed annually

  5. Characteristics of Adult Jail Inmates in U.S. Jails

  6. “Lockup” • A facility authorized to hold people before court appearance for up to 48 hours. Most lockups (also called drunk tanks or holding tanks) are administered by local police agencies.

  7. getting out of jail -- free? methods of release bail (ROR) release on recognizance pretrial release granted on the defendant’s promise to appear in court, based on defendant’s ties to the community sum of money specified by judge to be posted by the accused as condition of pretrial release, to ensure defendant’s appearance in court bondsman independent businessperson who charges fee, usu. 5-10% for bail money “10% cash bail” (reform) D. deposits 10% of bail amount with court; 90% returned at trial

  8. Type of pretrial release

  9. Myths in Corrections • Myth: Jail sentences are more for misdemeanants than they are for felons. • Fact: Nearly 40% of felony defendants are eventually sentenced to jail, a rate that is almost the same as prison sentences for felonies.

  10. “preventive detention” • detention of an accused in jail to protect the community from crimes the accused is considered likely to commit if released from jail while he awaits trial • authorized by Comprehensive Crime Control Act, 1984 • upheld in US v. Salerno, 1987

  11. “pretrialdiversion” • an alternative to adjudication in which the defendant agrees to abide with conditions set by the prosecutor in exchange for the withdrawal of charges(e.g., counseling, drug treatment) • reasons for diversion programs • criminal justice system is not well equipped to handle some problems - vagrancy, alcoholism, juveniles • keep less dangerous offenders from being labeled & treated as hard-core criminals • diversion costs are less

  12. “widening the net” • increasing the scope (i.e., reach) of corrections & CJS by creating diversionary program & then sending people to that program for offenses that are much less serious than those the program was originally intended for. • “diversion” programs thereby ensnare persons who would otherwise not have come under the jurisdiction of the justice system (except for availability of the diversion program)

  13. “new-generation jail” • a facility of “podular” architectural design and with management policies that emphasize staff-inmate interaction and the provision of services to inmates

  14. “podular unit” • self-contained living area for from 12 to 24 inmates, composed of private, individual cells & open areas for social interaction • each jail has two or more “pods”

  15. “directsupervision” • a method of correctional supervision in which staff have direct physical interaction with inmates throughout the day

  16. “regional jail” • facility operated under a joint agreement by two or more governmental units (e.g., city + county), with a jail board made up of representatives from participating jurisdictions and having authority over policy, budget, operations, and personnel

  17. “fee system” • a system in which jail operations are to be paid on the basis ofa flat allocation per prisoner per day • problem: creates an incentive for poor jails & inadequate services, since the allocation remains the same, irrespective of the level of service provided

  18. “pay as you go” jails (“user fees”) some jails are experimenting with directly charging inmates (who can afford it) at least some of the costs of their “keep” daily room and board “co-pay” for nurse sick call “co-pay” for medical specialist

  19. special problems of jail detainees jail issues mental health problems rights of pretrial detainees substance dependency legal needs medical needs

  20. problems of jail administration jail management issues jail facilities (outmoded & expensive) legal liability 42 USC §1983 jail standards(ACA) jail crowding (crisis in ‘90’s) personnel matters ($, training, conditions)

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