With the assistance of consultants provided by the National Institute of Corrections, in 1985 the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office again revised its inmate classification system after failing to provide an adequate system two previous times. The new system was designed to fit the guidelines of an objective classification process. First, the classification instrument provided for consistent decisions among staff and the implementation of these decisions. Second, the system could be supported fully by available resources. Finally, the procedures resulted in fair and valid decisions that achieved the legitimate goals for which they were designed. The first criterion was met by involving all components of the organization in the developmental stage. Borrowing from the original additive point system and using accepted risk factors, the staff developed a new format that was tested on 200 inmates to determine its impact on resources. The classification was statistically validated in 1987. Factors that did not contribute to the overall assessment of risk were removed. Other factors were reweighed. The system has returned control of the jail to its administrators, as inmates are managed according to their actual security needs. The system has also formed the basis for budget decisions, staffing deployment, implementation of alternatives to incarceration, and the planning and design of future jails.