NCJ Number
83607
Date Published
1981
Length
22 pages
Annotation
Prison overcrowding in New Jersey is not likely to be solved by the proposed solutions of finding other available facilities to house prisoners, constructing new prisons, or expanding county jails. Several States have experimented with alternatives that limit their reliance on incarceration. New Jersey should follow suit.
Abstract
At the beginning of September 1981, the population in New Jersey State prisons totaled 8,100, against a capacity for 7,400 inmates, and the Department of Corrections predicts its continued rise. Current proposals to alleviate overcrowding fail to appreciate that more prisons do not reduce the crime rate, mandatory sentences do not deter crime, additional prison space is quickly filled, and the State budget cannot sustain the cost of housing the anticipated prison population. Other States have come to terms with these facts and have developed innovative alternatives. Michigan, Oklahoma, Iowa, Illinois, and Connecticut have legislation allowing prisons to release certain inmates early when prisons fill to capacity. Other States with no capping legislation allow early parole, have implemented community corrections acts, or have prerelease programs progressively easing inmates' security status as they approach release. Reducing sentence lengths or implementing sentencing guidelines emphasizing incarceration of only serious offenders are other alternatives. New Jersey should review its options. Twenty footnotes are listed.