What is the legal liability of parole board members and staff for acts committed by persons on community supervision? The answer is affected largely by whether the particular official involved enjoys absolute, rather than qualified, immunity, but again, the matter remains unsettled. These issues and others should be resolved promptly. (Author)

Three themes run through this collection of citations which represent a small fraction of literature on the adult female offender. One is the ideology, implications, and impact of criminological theory to the study of female crime and criminality. A second theme treats the legal and procedural mechanics of justice administration. The final theme…

Presents an overview of the information available on Black women in the criminal justice system, highlights their statistical profile at several stages in the system, their unique problems, and future directions for research, programs, and policies. (Author/JCD)

Using a quota sampling procedure, 514 Indiana citizens were asked about specific circumstances surrounding capital punishment and about their support for various goals of sentencing. Results suggest that although general favorability toward capital punishment is quite high, such a result is misleading with only nine percent supporting it under all…

Discusses issues for child welfare workers seeking to preserve the relationship between incarcerated parents and their children in the wake of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997; the Act advocates swift separation of parent and child and placement of children for adoption. Discusses this public policy, suggesting strategies for permanency…

This bulletin presents findings from the fifth Annual Survey of Jails. The survey was developed to provide an estimate of the country's jail inmate population in the years between National Jail Censuses which are conducted every 5 years, the last being in 1983. These findings are summarized: (1) at midyear 1987 local jails held 295,873 inmates, an…

Among the findings of a study of the television viewing preferences of prison inmates were that inmates convicted of aggressive assault preferred family drama programs, that those convicted of aggravated robbery preferred ethnic comedy, and that all inmate subgroups were inclined toward crime and action programs. (GW)

Assessed value system of 31 embezzlers and 31 matched controls at minimum security federal correctional institution, 461 state institution inmates, and 1,409 general population subjects. Embezzlers and controls resembled general population more than state inmates, although they appeared more self-centered. Results suggest minimum security inmates…

Describes People, Animals and Love (PAL), organization dedicated to bringing people and pets together and PAL program implemented in one correctional facility. Notes that PAL program has given prisoners opportunity to learn vocational trade while improving their quality of life by showing compassion and understanding to animals. (Author/NB)

Discusses enhanced prison visiting programs that offer support for the mother-child relationship in cases of incarcerated mothers. Highlights the Girl Scouts Beyond Bars program, which offers a solution to the problems of mother-child separation by imprisonment, traditional visiting practices, mother-child reunification, and permanency planning.…

Selected offender classification practices, past and present, are reviewed. Megargee's requirements for a "good" classification system are amplified, and a critique of several current approaches is provided. The role of classification deficiencies in prison conditions litigation is summarized. Guidelines from commissions, courts, scholars, and…

Discusses the needs of incarcerated mothers for child welfare services. Explores why working with women in jail and their children is within the scope of the child welfare system's mandate. Describes pressures on criminal justice and child welfare systems that prevent either from working effectively with these families; suggests a collaborative…

This document, the seventh annual bulletin presenting statistics from the Uniform Parole Reports and the National Probation Reports, indicates the relative use of different types of correctional sanctions in the United States. It notes that during 1987, 2,242,053 adult offenders in the United States were on probation and 362,192 were on parole,…