U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Criminals on the Streets: A Citizen's Right To Know

NCJ Number
157891
Journal
State Factor Volume: 21 Issue: 3 Dated: (April 1995) Pages: complete issue
Date Published
1995
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This paper argues that States should require their governments to publish information on the effectiveness of various crime control strategies and sentencing options and summarizes several proposals that are more cost-effective than current ones and reduce the recidivism rates of those sentenced.
Abstract
Examples exist in Connecticut, Illinois, and elsewhere of the cost in lives, freedom, and dollars of withholding information on the effectiveness of the State's judicial system. Proposed actions that would reduce costs and recidivism rates include using the private sector for bail, covering inmates released on probation and parole, operating prisons, and other functions; requiring inmates to serve their full sentences; and imposing life sentences without parole for third-time felons. Other proposed measures include making prisons and jails safer for guards and less comfortable for inmates by removing weight equipment and cigarettes and eliminating all visits and requiring pretrial release agencies to publish annual reports reporting employment, expenditures, actions, and outcomes. Reference notes and text of pretrial release legislation