Release Procedures, May 1980

• NCJ Number: 72411
• Author(s): B Ney; W Nagel; P Smith; J Zucker
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 24 pages
• Corporate Author: American Institute of Criminal Justice
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; American Institute of Criminal Justice
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

In view of the rapidly increasing prison population, this study attempts to discover and report methods of prison population control currently being used after incarceration, with particular attention to prerelease mechanisms and programs.

Abstract

To obtain the names of contact persons for telephone interviews, letters were sent to parole officials and the heads of correctional agencies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The interviews were conducted to discover exit alternatives in place; action States had taken to relieve overcrowded prisons; and what, if anything, was being done to release prisoners from high security prisons. Site visits were also made to Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Washington, North Carolina, and Mississippi. In each State visited, interviews were held with a member of the paroling authority, correctional authority staff person(s), and community corrections staff person(s) to obtain an overview of the State correctional system. Information was compiled and then evaluated in conjunction with other States' survey information to determine the State of the art of exit alternatives in the U.S. Findings indicate that parole is still the most widely used release mechanism in the country, although only 17 States (of 30 with full-time paroling authorities) indicated a responsibility toward alleviating overcrowding. The various approaches used by those States with policies to speed release include a systems management approach, good time, reclassification, or clemency or commutations. In addition, many programs exist which divert offenders from high security prisons to less restrictive alternatives and facilitate early release, although these programs are often underutilized or contain strict eligibility criteria. Such programs are work/educational release, contracts with local jails, and furloughs and halfway houses. The experiences of 10 States in alleviating overcrowding and case studies of four of the five States visited are discussed.