NCJ Number
121732
Date Published
1989
Length
309 pages
Annotation
This step in a planning process for a regional jail for the Virginia jurisdictions of Frederick and Clarke counties and the city of Winchester documents how defendants are currently processed in the three jurisdictions, provides baseline data for monitoring the management of the jail population, and emphasizes the importance of institutionalizing the proposed planning process.
Abstract
The study initially discusses the factors affecting jail population size, the pitfalls of predicting jail populations, the concept of jail population management planning, and the report's purpose and methodology. It then analyzes trends in historical summary data that help explain how the jurisdictions reached the current jail population. Data then cover the logical progression of arrest, pretrial release, case processing, and sentencing. A key study recommendation is the institutionalization of the process of shared, collective decisionmaking regarding the jail's use by local criminal justice systems. Specifically, the report recommends that the Jail Advisory Group become a permanent and active organization guided by the concept that jail space is a scarce resource that must be continuously managed to ensure its availability. Options are presented to reduce the detention rates and lengths of stay for both pretrial and sentenced populations. 40 tables, 37 figures.