NCJ Number
133710
Date Published
1990
Length
111 pages
Annotation
The North Carolina General Assembly's Special Committee on Prisons was established in 1985 to review capital construction projects of the State's prison system and conditions of confinement.
Abstract
The committee met several times in 1989 and 1990 to assess correctional strategies and policies. It assumed that prison admissions and readmissions of sentenced inmates will increase at a rate of 18 percent for fiscal years 1990-1991 and 1991-1992. The committee also assumed that 30 percent of new admissions and 10 percent of probation revocations to prison can be diverted to electronic surveillance (house arrest) or intensive supervision programs and that 75 percent of offenders whose parole is revoked for technical violations can be diverted to electronic surveillance or intensive supervision instead of being readmitted to prison. The committee approved a series of recommendations for submission to the 1990 session of the North Carolina General Assembly. Recommendations include the following: expand the intensive supervision program and make it available in every county; construct an additional 3,880 prison beds, of which 3,296 should be completed by July 1, 1992; establish a Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission to evaluate State sentencing laws and corrections policies; amend the State constitution to include additional punishment types such as restitution, restraints on liberty, and work programs; expand misdemeanant eligibility for intensive probation; give judges the discretion to place youthful first-time offenders on special probation; and give judges the ability to use house arrest as a condition of special probation in certain DWI (driving while intoxicated) cases. Recommendations are also offered for specific facilities, projects, and programs. Additional information on the work of the Special Committee on Prisons and relevant legislation is appended. Tables