NIJ Survey of Wardens and State Commissioners of Corrections

• NCJ Number: 185556
• Author(s): Tom McEwen
• Date Published: May 1995
• Length: 2 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/NCJRS; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Series: NIJ Update
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: For the complete report of the survey see NCJ-150856, National Assessment Program: 1994 Survey Results

Annotation

As part of the 1994 National Assessment Program conducted by the National Institute of Justice, questionnaires were sent to more than 3,300 criminal justice professionals in 13 types of agencies in 411 counties nationwide to assess workload problems and initiatives of wardens and State correctional commissioners.

Abstract

The survey included 211 counties with populations greater than 250,000, along with a random sample of 200 counties with populations between 50,000 and 250,000. Responses were received between October 1993 and February 1994 from 2,585 persons, for a response rate of 69 percent. Wardens were asked to indicate the extent to which crowding was a problem in their facilities; about 54 percent reported that their facilities were full. About 37 percent of wardens said their facilities were crowded and they cited several reasons for this condition, but about 88 percent said the increase in the number of drug offenders was the primary reason. Other causes of crowded conditions included the growth in the number of violent offenders, longer sentences, and insufficient alternatives to prison. Identifying gang members and controlling gang activities in prisons were other problems identified by wardens. Although 83 percent of wardens had classification procedures to identify gang-affiliated inmates, 71 percent indicated that these procedures needed improvement. About 74 percent of wardens indicated a need for more program staff, especially to deal with alcohol and substance abuse, mental health, parenting, and vocational education. Wardens were particularly concerned about treatment programs for sex offenders. In an effort to alleviate overcrowding, some State correctional commissioners initiated prison expansion programs and also considered revising sentencing guidelines to assign offenders to the least restrictive confinement option and streamlining the release process for non-violent offenders to ensure prison cell spaces were available for the most serious offenders. Wardens and State correctional commissioners considered the effect of various programs on recidivism as a key topic for further research and evaluation.