Prison and Jail Overcrowding
The transfer of responsibility for non-3 offenders from state prisons to county jails under Realignment has led to concern that California has simply shifted overcrowding, and the problems that come with it, from state prisons to county jails. Sixteen county jails are currently operating above rated capacity, up from eleven prior to Realignment, while the number of counties reporting releasing inmates early due to insufficient capacity has also increased. As county jails face higher levels of overcrowding due to Realignment, they must also deal with the many negative effects associated with overcrowding, including adverse health and behavioral outcomes for their inmates, increased recidivism, and exorbitant monetary and administrative incarceration costs. |
Sources: Haney, C. (2006). Wages of Prison Overcrowding: Harmful Psychological Consequences and Dysfunctional Correctional Reactions, The. Wash. UJL & Pol'y, 22, 265.(Lofstrom & Raphael 2013). Farrington, D., & C. Nuttall (1980). Prison Size, Overcrowding, Prison Violence, and Recidivism. CRIM. JUST. 8 J.221. Vitiello, M. (2013). Still between a rock and a hard place: Sentencing reform in California. Federal Sentencing Reporter, 25(4), 233-235. Pontell, Henry N. & Wayne N. Welsh (1994). Incarceration as a Deviant Form of Social Control: Jail Overcrowding in California. Crime & Delinquency. 1994 40: 18. |
Overcrowding has proven negative effects on inmate mental and physical health outcomes, recidivism rates, and public safety:
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