NCJ Number
105970
Journal
Pentacle Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1987) Pages: 2-19
Editor(s)
J A McDonald
Date Published
1987
Length
18 pages
Annotation
Six articles and three commentaries discuss problems posed for the U.S. Marshals Service by jail overcrowding, including longer times and distances for transporting detained defendants to court and a greater number of escapes.
Abstract
The Marshals Service contracts with local and State governments to rent pretrial-detention space for Federal defendants. Two articles discuss the problems that jail overcrowding presents for the housing and transporting of detained Federal defendants. This means that Federal prisoners must often be housed great distances from the courts where their trials are held. This increases costs for the Marshals Service, which is responsible for prisoner transport. This problem is briefly described for Puerto Rico, Florida, and California. Jail overcrowding also increases the likelihood of escapes. Marshals are responsible for the recovery of escaped Federal prisoners. Case studies of escapes are presented and the work of a task force to train Federal marshals to respond to escape attempts is described. One article describes the Cooperative Agreement Program, which provides for Federal funding to increase jail facilities under the guarantee that space will be provided for Federal prisoners. Three commentaries discuss the need for new jail construction, intergovernmental efforts to resolve the jail crisis, and cooperation between the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Marshals Service to improve pretrial-detention facilities within Federal correctional institutions.