Counties in Court

Since the late 1970s, jail overcrowding has soared, sparking a proliferation of court-ordered reforms as well as public outcry over safety and spiraling corrections costs. As new jails fill up almost as soon as they open, conflict continues to grow among public officials, who, in turn, create policies that do little more than avoid blame and temporarily control the crisis. Wayne N. Welsh proposes that we can understand this crisis by tracing the interdependence of the jail system with local agencies of criminal justice and county government. If cities and counties are to find their way out of the current jail litigation 'mess', Welsh argues, problems, causes, and possible interventions must be aggressively identified within the broader legal, political, and organizational environments of jails. "Counties in Court" systematically examines the onset, process, and impact of court-ordered jail reform, critically probing the broad implications of both the intended and unintended effects. Based on interviews, court documents, and government statistics, Welsh's research ranges across many different jurisdictions. Within his analysis, Welsh develops a five-stage theoretical model of court intervention designed to initiate systemwide analysis and change. Author note: Wayne N. Welsh is Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Temple University.