Over nine million people pass through America’s local jails each year. These people often don’t receive services, support, or supervision as they leave jail and reenter the community. To address these issues during transition, the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) partnered with the Urban Institute in 2007 to launch the Transition from Jail to Community (TJC) initiative.
Jail standards ensure that constitutional and statutory provisions are put into operational practice. These standards ensure a greater consistency across the state in jails’ quality of care, use of resources, and operations. They also provide policymakers with a means of assessing and addressing the needs of inmates in a logical, objective way.
The use of force by corrections officers is one of the most controversial aspects of the legal authority granted to them and questions have surfaced regarding when the use of force violates a prisoner’s constitutional rights. The United States Supreme Court determined how claims of excessive force are examined in Hudson v. McMillian, 503 U.S. 1 (1992).