NCJ Number
200570
Journal
Criminal Justice Policy Review Volume: 14 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2003 Pages: 155-170
Date Published
June 2003
Length
16 pages
Annotation
Using a survey of local criminal justice leaders in Orange County, FL, this study examined policymakers' preferences for the appropriate functions of jails.
Abstract
Questionnaires were delivered to the top county administrator in charge of public safety, the top management officials at the county jail, the head of the county's misdemeanor probation office, the county sheriff, the police chief of the largest municipal law enforcement agency in the county, top administrative court personnel, judiciary, the state's attorney (prosecutor) for the district and his assistants, and the chief public defender and his assistants. A total of 27 of the 29 questionnaires were returned. The questionnaire included seven items that measured the respondents' views of the appropriate goals of local jails. For each of these items, respondents were asked to indicate their level of agreement or disagreement on a 7-point scale. The goals for jails included in the questionnaire statements were to detain unconvicted defendants who are awaiting disposition of their cases, rehabilitation, incapacitation, specific deterrence, general deterrence, and retribution. The survey results indicate that the policymakers' surveyed supported several utilitarian goals for jails, but they were most supportive of rehabilitation and serving the needs of those with mental health and substance abuse problems. Lesser support was expressed for incapacitation, deterrence, retribution, and detention. Although rehabilitation and service were the dominant goals expressed for jails, more than two in five local policymakers supported using jails for detention, incapacitation, and specific deterrence. Policies based in these latter goals are quite different from, and may be in conflict with, those predicated on more treatment-focused orientations. Policymakers face a challenge if they attempt to meet all expectations for local jails. 1 table, 5 notes, and 58 references