Incarceration as a Deviant Form of Social Control: Jail Overcrowding in California

Abstract

Court orders against those who administer jails provide an opportunity to examine a major irony of formal social control: the justice system sanctioning itself for not punishing violators within the boundaries of the law. This study examines the problem of jail overcrowding in California, and the conditions which have led to county jail systems being declared in violation of Constitutional provisions. The authors analyze alleged violations, the extent of court-ordered relief, and the various mechanisms by which counties have attempted to comply with court-ordered reforms to inform both theory and policy.