Jail overcrowding: An analysis of policy makers' perceptions

Changes in arrest policies as a result of court orders against county jails

“…Data on the use of station citations across counties are not coUected routinely by state or federal agencies, and county officials tend not to publicize release statistics that may cause negative political repercussions (Welsh, Pontell, et al 1990). Even so, a two-week "snapshot" study of 25 California counties (California Board of Corrections 1985) revealed that citation release at the jail was the most widely used pretrial release mechanism for misdemeanors (i.e., persons booked into jail but released before court disposition).…”

“…Although citation release mechanisms have helped jails to control their populations, such practices have come under attack by judges, prosecutors, and police officials; they perceive that inmates often Downloaded by [University of California, San Diego] at 09:21 21 June 2016 are released with little or no background check, and frequently fail to show up for court. Policy makers often perceive that the credibility of the justice system has suffered as a result (Welsh, Pontell, et al 1990), but empirical tests of such effects have been SCarCe.…”

“…Because of limited resources, we attempted a complete sample of police chiefs in Orange County only (Welsh, Pontell et al, 1990). In the other two counties, we contacted officials from two of the largest police departments (Appendix A).…”

Roles and Responsibilities: Analyzing Local Leaders’Views on Jail Crowding From a Systems Perspective

“…First, the available evidence suggests that policy makers generally see jail crowding as a significant problem (Welsh, Pontell, Leone, & Kinkade, 1990). Welsh (1993) asked a sample of 57 California state legislators if they thought that "crowding in California jails constitutes a serious problem" (p. 53).…”

“…A second conclusion that can be drawn from the existing literature is that policy makers believe multiple factors cause jail crowding. Officials have implicated increases in drug offenses and other types of crime and certain sentencing policies, including longer sentences and resistance to alternatives to incarceration (McEwen, 1995;Pontell et al, 1989;Welsh, 1993;Welsh et al, 1990). Interviews with key policy makers in California revealed that criminal justice leaders also believe conservative public views, tight county budgets, and growing county populations help to explain why many local incarceration facilities are filled beyond capacity (Welsh et al, 1990).…”