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Hillsborough County Corrections Population and Policy Research Study

NCJ Number
153122
Date Published
1993
Length
123 pages
Annotation
This study of the Hillsborough County (Florida) jail system is comprised of an inmate profile and classification analysis, inmate tracking analysis, inmate population projection, and identification of targets of opportunity to reduce crowding.
Abstract
Eighty-five percent of the inmate sample studied here were Hillsborough County residents; over half were black, and a large majority were unemployed. Seventy-one percent of male inmates and 60 percent of female inmates were charged with felonies, most of them violent crimes and drug possession. Over a third of the profiled group were in jail for probation violations. The county used the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) method of inmate classification. Sixty percent of the inmates tracked through the system qualified for pretrial release according to standard guidelines; surety bond was the most frequently used mechanism for both misdemeanors and felonies. The report identified targets of opportunity, where the county could reduce the number of jail beds needed: pretrial release, adjudication, drug offenses, probation violations, and classification. 54 tables, 10 tables, and 4 appendixes