NCJ Number
131195
Date Published
1990
Length
72 pages
Annotation
Ohio's governor authorized a committee on prison and jail crowding to study sentencing, the number of prison and jail inmates, and community corrections.
Abstract
The committee found that crowding in Ohio prisons continues unabated despite a major prison construction program in the 1980's. As of March 1990, the State prison system held 31,268 inmates in space designed for 19,848 inmates. About 60 percent of males who enter State prison are sentenced for nonviolent, low-level felonies, and 75 percent of females are admitted for nonviolent offenses. Official projections indicate the prison population will increase to nearly 43,000 in 1994 and 46,000 in 1998. Upon completion of an authorized prison construction program in 1992, Ohio will have space for 21,745 inmates, still over 24,000 beds short of the need predicted for 1998. Crowding in Ohio's county jails is more difficult to measure than in State prisons. Judges and sheriffs regulate the jail population in many counties by granting early releases or by delaying the incarceration of sentenced misdemeanants until jail space is available. Nonetheless, in late 1988, county jails held about 8,730 inmates in facilities with a recommended capacity of about 7,000. About one-third of county inmates are sentenced misdemeanants, and drunk drivers account for about half of this total. Recommendations to relieve prison and jail crowing focus on sentencing simplification, treating petty theft as a felony only after the third offense within 5 years, shock probation rulings, education as a deterrent, bail screening programs, summons in lieu of arrest, prosecutorial screening, emergency admission and release, and jail "good time." Recommendations are also made to provide for the treatment and rehabilitation of offenders with special needs such as mental illness and retardation, drug or alcohol addiction, and illiteracy. Supplemental information on the committee's work and findings is appended. 10 figures