NCJ Number
136836
Journal
Pentacle Volume: 11 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1991) Pages: 3-5
Editor(s)
J A McDonald
Date Published
1991
Length
3 pages
Annotation
The growing number of prisoners in the Federal Marshals Service and the shrinking number of jail spaces to house them have created enormous challenges for the Service and its responsibility for the custody of Federal prisoners from the time of their arrest to their court appearances for hearings, trial, or sentencing.
Abstract
While the Marshals Service has traditionally housed its prisoners in city and county jails, it has been forced to house Federal prisoners in facilities that are often far away from Federal court cities. As a result, valuable staff resources are used to transport prisoners to and from jail. In addition to the costs for overtime, equipment, and fuel, the danger of traveling long distances with violent prisoners takes its toll. As more criminal trials involve multiple defendants and last longer, the number of times Marshals have to produce prisoners for court proceedings has increased dramatically and produced complicated security considerations. According to the Attorney General, the detention and transportation of Federal prisoners has become the weak link in the criminal justice system. 2 figures