NCJ Number
150522
Date Published
1993
Length
322 pages
Annotation
This executive summary examines intergovernmental dimensions to local jail finance and management in Florida, jail overcrowding and intergovernmental relations, and support for and the implementation of pretrial management procedures in Florida.
Abstract
A review of the intergovernmental dimensions of local jail finance and management focuses on the functions of local jails in Florida, the locus of functional and financial responsibility for local jails, a profile of the Florida jail, and patterns of jail construction and population increases in Florida. Other topics considered in relation to jail finance and management are the fiscal impact of local jails, Federal court oversight of Florida's jails, the State regulation of local jail conditions, the impact of State prison overcrowding on local jails, and intergovernmental influences over jail population size in Florida. The analysis of jail overcrowding and intergovernmental relations addresses the historical legacy of jail overcrowding in Florida, jail overcrowding and pretrial detention, factors that contribute to high rates of pretrial detention, and managerial options available for controlling growth in pretrial detention populations. The report's concluding section provides examples of effective management of local jail population growth in Florida. The counties that have been effective in this regard have used a systems approach that involves policies, programs, and procedures implemented by local law enforcement agencies, county governments, corrections, the prosecution, the defense, and the courts. Although no recommendations are presented in this report, the Council has issued recommendations in other contexts based on the findings of this study. One recommendation is that the legislature impose a one-cent criminal justice sales tax, portions of which would be earmarked to offset county jail expenditures.