NCJ Number
135003
Date Published
1991
Length
27 pages
Annotation
After a review of the Federal Bureau of Prisons' (BOP's) use of halfway houses and its criteria for the placement of inmates in halfway houses, this study determined whether halfway houses are a suitable alternative to prison for certain offenders.
Abstract
The researchers visited 11 of the BOP's 67 prisons; the 11 prisons held male and female inmates at various security levels and accounted for 1 in 5 inmates in Federal prison. A sample of 813 inmates which the prisons had designated eligible for halfway houses was selected. Prison officials subsequently approved less than half of the sample for halfway house placement, and those who were approved received far shorter placements than BOP policy anticipated. The study concluded that the BOP is not making full use of available halfway house beds; monthly occupancy rates at halfway houses averaged 73 percent for Federal inmates. BOP may be denying placements for inmates who could have used the services of a halfway house in making the transition from prison to the community. Also, by making more halfway house placements, BOP could make greater use of a prison alternative that could reduce prison crowding in the short term and lessen the need to build and operate costly new prisons in the future. Study recommendations pertain to criteria for halfway house placements and a timely procedure for inmate selection for such placement. 3 tables and 3 figures