NCJ Number
80029
Journal
Prison Journal Volume: 61 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring/Summer 1981) Pages: 23-35
Date Published
1981
Length
13 pages
Annotation
The historical background of the general development of jail standards is presented, followed by a discussion of the effective and ineffective efforts to implement jail standards.
Abstract
In the latter part of the 1960's, courts began to intervene in correctional systems to mandate changes in Federal, State, and local correctional facilities. An outgrowth of this trend was the promulgation of standards for State and local corrections facilities by the Federal Government and national professional organizations. The Commission on Accreditation for Corrections grants accreditation to jails based on a set of minimum standards. To date, of the little more than 4,000 jails in the United States, only 2 have met the accreditation standards. Ninety-seven jails have complied with the medical standards of the American Medical Association. Only a minority of States either have a good system of inspections or are gradually phasing in a program of mandatory inspection to which counties will be accountable. Standards can make a difference in the quality of jail conditions and operations, as can be shown by the experience of Washington State. Washington created jail standards in 1979, and a progressive movement toward compliance has occurred since then. An effective approach for implementing standards is to make them part of the State administrative code and base them on court decisions. Then the key to implementation is to gain leadership from the county, specifically the sheriff, the governing board, and local courts, and the prosecuting attorney. Another area of priority should be the establishment of a proper ratio of trained jail officers to inmates. Further, the training, working conditions, and pay for jail personnel should be upgraded. Included is a summary analysis of the impact of jail custodial care standards in Washington State; eight footnotes are listed.