NCJ Number
236961
Date Published
September 2011
Length
289 pages
Annotation
This report on the Los Angeles County Jail Overcrowding Reduction Project (JORP) reviews the challenges of conducting the study, its major findings, and recommendations for change.
Abstract
Los Angeles County operates the world's largest jail system, serving 88 municipalities, 47 law enforcement agencies, approximately 30 criminal courthouses, and 8 jails. In the last several years, the legal and operational challenges of the overcrowded county jails have strained the system and raised concerns within county government about the most effective use of its resources in providing public safety. JORP found no consensus among policymakers about priorities for who should be admitted to jail facilities, so this report recommends that the county find a way to create consensus among stakeholders on the most critical uses of the jail while using and expanding alternatives for managing others in the community. Among the agencies that use county jail facilities, interests and priorities compete with one another and are often contradictory. The JORP recommends that the county encourage and reward the efforts of stakeholders to work cooperatively in the use of jail facilities. There are seven objectives in this report's recommendations. First, enable more defendants to be assessed and released at the earliest possible processing point. Second, avoid jailing those who come into contact with the criminal justice system because of mental illness, intoxication, or homelessness. Third, improve the current system of probation supervision, violation, and revocation. Fourth, improve communication and documentation between agencies in order to expedite case processing. Fifth, highlight the need for those who manage case movement to work for a just disposition at the earliest point. Sixth, improve the efforts of agencies in maintaining data systems that enhance both administrative efficiency and system-wide policymaking. Seventh, improve the fair and efficient administration of justice at all system points. Extensive tables