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JAILS
Within
common law, the sheriff's duty to
conserve the peace goes beyond the
mandate to enforce criminal law. It also
includes the responsibility to control,
maintain, and care for inmates committed
to their custody. Of the 3300 jails in
the United States, 2700 have a
county-level jurisdiction, and most of
them are administered by an elected
sheriff. Only in six states: Alaska,
Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Rhode
Island, and Vermont are jails for adults
administered by state government. With
79% of the nation's sheriff's having
direct supervisory responsibility over
the county jail functions, corrections
becomes a substantial piece within the
context of sheriff's responsibilities.
By
mid-year 1996, there were 591,469 adult
persons held in local jails. This
represents a 2.3% increase from the
previous year. However, this represents
a very small proportionate increase in
comparison to the increases in the prior
decade when the amounts grew at a
staggering rate. In a ten year period
between 1985 and 1994, jail populations
doubled and have placed a colossal
responsibility on sheriffs operating
these facilities. Though it has been a
burden, it has also created a demand
that has transformed many sheriff's
departments into large correctional
maintenance centers. Construction of
jails, hiring of personnel, purchase of
equipment, diversion programs, and
training have translated into immense
growth for sheriff's departments.
Male
inmates make up 89% of the local jail
inmate census. On average, the female
jail inmate population has grown at a
greater rate than male counterparts. The
female rate has increased on average
10.2% per year since 1985, while the
male population has increased at a
lesser 6.1% per year since 1985. The
majority of local jail inmates are black
or hispanic. White non-hispanics made up
41.6% of jail populations in 1996.
Relative to the total number of United
States residents, blacks are 6 times
more likely than whites to be committed
to a local jail. As of June 1996, 92% of
the local jail capacity was occupied;
which is substantially less than the
previous historic record of 1989 when
local jails were at 108% capacity. The
decrease is due, in part, to the 173,000
bed increase at local jails since 1990.
Issues
of overcrowding and race have
presented substantial dilemmas in jail
management. Other pressures, like the
prevalence of infectious disease and
blood borne pathogens within
correctional facilities have required
sheriffs to strive for continuous
improvements. Aids and HIV
contagion in county jails has grown
about 38% between 1991 and 1995.
Based upon personal interviews conducted
from October 1995 through March 1996 in
the "Survey of Inmates at Local
Jails", almost 6 in 10 jail inmates
reported being tested for HIV. Of those
tested, 2.2% of the population reported
being positive. Jail officials in the
last national "Census of
Jails" (1993) reported that 6711
inmates were known to be HIV positive
and 1888 had confirmed AIDS. The
infection rates were highest in the
jurisdictions servicing metropolitan
areas. The disease predicament
was yet another serious problem in
corrections that jail administrators had
to adapt to.
COURTS
In
all of the states that have a sheriff,
the office serves the court in some
manner. A major function of the sheriff
to the court is to provide bailiffs.
Typical duties of the bailiffs are to
provide court security, assist with the
flow of cases, escort prisoners to and
from the courtroom, and maintain juries.
In many states, the sheriff sustains the
entire operation of the courthouse. In
some jurisdictions, sheriff's personnel
are assigned to county court judges as
their personal aides. According to the
National Sheriff's Association (1970),
the average county was supplied with 4
sworn and 2 civilian personnel to
various court functions.
Another
significant role of the sheriff is to
provide civil law enforcement service on
behalf of the courts. Municipal police
officers are generally prohibited from
performing this function. In the event
enforcement is needed on behalf of the
court, exclusive of criminal law
enforcement, the sheriff is the primary
agent in the United States to provide
it. Civil process service, summonses,
evictions, service of court orders,
writs, repossession orders, child
support orders, and orders of protection
are typical issues that are dealt with
by sheriff's personnel. Richard Talamoe,
Undersheriff of New York County, New
York, has described this process using
the following metaphor:
"When
I look at the statue of justice and I
see the blindfolded lady holding the
scales in one hand and a sword in the
other, the sword to me represents the
office of sheriff".
In
other words, relief in civil matters is
directed by the courts but extracted by
sheriffs. If a debtor fails to pay a
creditor, a court order may direct the
payment. If the debtor fails to follow
the mandates of the court, the sheriff,
representing the creditor can extract
payment through the garnishment of wages
or the seizing of property. Similarly,
if a tenant is ordered by a court to
vacate a premises of a landlord, it is
the sheriff who draws the sword to
separate the tenant from the property
and restores it to the landlord's
control. Without this type of
enforcement effort, violations of law,
short of criminal issues, would go
un-enforced in most jurisdictions.
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