Jails

Police and sheriff’s departments are typically responsible for administering city and county jails. Jail management poses unique challenges, requiring the protection of the safety of inmates and jail personnel as well as day-to-day care of an assortment of inmates with varied backgrounds and needs. The absence of consistent oversight and clear standards for conditions and treatment, the overwhelming number of detainees, logistical demands of moving inmates to and from court dates or other facilities, and common under-funding of jail operations have often combined to create difficulties for administrators and perilous conditions for inmates.

Publications

Part of Los Angeles County Special Counsel’s monitoring of the Sheriff’s Department is focused on conditions in custody. As such, several of the Special Counsel’s reports include findings and recommendations on the county’s jails:

Fifth Semiannual Report (February 1996)
Sixth Semiannual Report (September 1996)
Seventh Semiannual Report (April 1997)
Eighth Semiannual Report (October 1997)
Ninth Semiannual Report (June 1998)
Thirteenth Semiannual Report (December 2000)
Fourteenth Semiannual Report (October 2001)
Seventeenth Semiannual Report (November 2003)
Eighteenth Semiannual Report (August 2004)
Nineteenth Semiannual Report (February 2005)
Special Report on the Death of Kevin Evans (October 2001)

Relevant Links/Resources

American Jail Association
http://www.corrections.com/aja/

Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice
Jails (assortment of statistics and reports about jails)
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/jails.htm

National Center on Institutions and Alternatives
http://www.ncianet.org/

National Institute of Corrections
Publications for Jails (covering a variety of topics and including guidance for jail management)
http://www.nicic.org/WebPage_197.htm

Pretrial Services Resource Center
http://www.pretrial.org/publications.html

Special Litigation Section, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/split/jails.htm

Special Litigation Section, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice
Conduct of Law Enforcement Agencies
United States of America v. City of Detroit, Michigan, and the Detroit Police Department
Consent Judgment: Conditions of Confinement, June 12, 2003.
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/split/documents/dpd
/detroitpd_holdingcell_613.pdf

Vera Institute of Justice
Sentencing and Corrections
http://www.vera.org/section3/section3_1.asp