NCJ Number
103202
Date Published
1987
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Based on a 1985 survey of justice system officials and programs throughout the United States, this report summarizes how judges, prosecutors, sheriffs, police, probation officials, and other decisionmakers can help reduce jail crowding.
Abstract
Police practices before and after arrest can be modified to reduce jail admissions, and jail administrators can help reduce crowding by providing ready access to inmates for pretrial release screening and bail review, thus reducing detention time. Early case screening by prosecutors reduces the length of confinement by eliminating or downgrading weak cases quickly. Pretrial services can expand the range of release options and facilitate the timely screening of defendants. Judges can reduce jail crowding by issuing summonses instead of arrest warrants; providing guidelines for direct release by police, jail, and pretrial staff; and by setting bail outside normal court hours. Early defense counsel screening of clients can help reduce the length of detention, and probation and parole agencies can provide nonjail alternatives for sentencing. They can also enhance case processing efficiency by streamlining presentence investigations and expediting revocation decisions. State legislators can provide guidelines for case processing decisions, and community organizations can help reduce jail crowding by providing emergency shelter, detoxification, and treatment facilities for the mentally disturbed. A systemwide approach to jail crowding requires improved information about jail use. 6 notes.