Inmate Transportation: Safety Is the Priority

Jackson, Carlos, Rion, Sharon Johnson, Corrections Today

Sheriffs, jail administrators, police chiefs, public safety directors and wardens share a common challenge -- the safe, secure and humane transfer of hundreds of thousands of inmates per year. Although inmate transportation has been a part of corrections and law enforcement since the inception of America's criminal justice system, the demand to move so many, so often and so far, has increased in the last 10 to 15 years, thus, further challenging existing resources to meet the need, often instead of, or in competition with, other equally essential operations.

Prior to 1990, few state departments of correction had centralized transportation units. Similarly, county sheriffs, local law enforcement and detention personnel did not incorporate specialized transportation units or transportation overtime as major budget items. However, units and overtime now are in the budget, and the U.S. Marshals Service has established its own air service to accommodate the increased demand.

While there is not an easy solution for balancing agency goals and objectives with diminishing resources, there are some fundamentals to be considered in establishing an inmate transportation operation, program or unit. Whether one is moving a detainee from the local jail across town for a court appearance, transferring an inmate from one prison to another, or extraditing a fugitive cross-country, the basic principles of good security and inmate management apply.

Policies and Procedures

It is hard to imagine any agency establishing and maintaining fundamental security and offender management without first developing a game plan. Policy and procedures must be developed with and coordinated among all principals and agencies involved. Think of the challenges federal, state and local officials face when transporting high-profile in-mates. Also consider the routine movement of large numbers of inmates across jurisdictional lines by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Marshals Service and private inmate transportation …

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Publication information: Article title: Inmate Transportation: Safety Is the Priority. Contributors: Jackson, Carlos - Author, Rion, Sharon Johnson - Author. Magazine title: Corrections Today. Volume: 63. Issue: 4 Publication date: July 2001. Page number: 110. © 2009 American Correctional Association, Inc. COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group.

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