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The impact of congested prisons is not primarily a problem of population density, but of corollaries of crowding such as social instability, lack of programming, and the ascendance of custody goals. Congestion affects staff as well as inmates, and different inmates are differently affected. Some have antisocial tendencies exacerbated; others suffer from mental health problems. Staff subserve custody goals, but subserve them less effectively because social control mechanisms—such as programming and classification—are impaired by crowding. A recent prison riot points to transience and idleness as key preconditions and shows the results of congestion in escalating sequences that prominently include crisis management. The most serious consequence of crowding is warehousing, which creates a prison climate that prevents inmates from serving time in customary ways. It remains to be determined whether this result constitutes disproportionate—hence unlawful—punishment.

The impact of congested prisons is not primarily a problem of population density, but of corollaries of crowding such as social instability, lack of programming, & the ascendance of custody goals. Congestion affects staff as well as inmates, & different inmates are affected differently. Some have antisocial tendencies exacerbated; others suffer from mental health problems. Staff subserve custody goals, but less effectively because social control mechanisms -- eg, programming & classification -- are impaired by crowding. A recent prison riot points to transience & idleness as key preconditions & shows the results of congestion in escalating sequences that include crisis management. The most serious consequence of crowding is warehousing, which creates a prison climate that prevents inmates from serving time in customary ways. It remains to be determined whether this result constitutes disproportionate -- hence unlawful -- punishment. HA

AbstractNotorious scientific scandals leave the impression that a line between ethical and unethical research can be drawn, but routine examples show that an ethical penumbra exists. Breaches of ethics in science rarely surface. Most collegial charges of unethical conduct can be dismissed as being partisan; outsiders'ethical questions are more threatening, because they imply that violations are widespread. Such implications can be neutralized by "self‐regulation." Unethical behavior must be purposive. Technical violations can be attributed to ignorance. The downplaying of ethics preserves the "community‐of‐scholars" myth; highlighting the ethics issue would destroy this myth.

Violence against police is a problem that calls for organizational solutions. Among dangers to be avoided are crisis-induced panic and the minimization of the problem, as well as strategic planning by police leadership without rank-and-file participation. Even the most serious violence problems afford opportunities for learning if such problems are addressed by cross sections of a police department's membership. Police unions can be involved as partners in organizational problem solving, as has occurred in industry in Quality of Work Life (QWL) experiments. Joint worker- manager problem solving is independent of labor manage ment negotiations, which can take adversary form. Recent experiences in the Oakland Police Department have shown that even problem officers—officers who contribute to citizen confrontations—can design interventions that reduce violence levels in a community. The Oakland model presupposes that organizational reform activity can simultaneously increase organizational effectiveness and enhance personal problem- solving capacities. As officers help shape a more responsive police agency, they engage in activities—analyzing data and evolving data-based solutions—that refine their skills and build their morale.

Violence against police is a problem that calls for organizational solutions. Among dangers to be avoided are crisis-induced panic & the minimization of the problem, as well as strategic planning by police leadership without rank-&-file participation. Even the most serious violence problems afford opportunities for learning if such problems are addressed by cross sections of a police department's membership. Police unions can be involved as partners in organizational problem solving, as has occurred in industry in Quality of Work Life experiments. Joint worker-manager problem solving is independent of labor-management negotiations, which can take adversary form. Recent experiences in the Oakland (Calif) Police Dept have shown that even problem officers -- officers who contribute to citizen confrontations -- can design interventions that reduce violence levels in a community. The Oakland model presupposes that organizational reform activity can simultaneously increase organizational effectiveness & enhance personal problem-solving capacities. As officers help shape a more responsive police agency, they engage in activities -- analyzing data & evolving data-based solutions -- that refine their skills & build their morale. HA.

Contemporary reform efforts in the public sector are more prone to be Tayloristic or traditional than those in the private sector. This fact is paradoxical, because a number of attributes of public sector organizations-including uncircumscribed technology, professional responsibilities of staff, inhouse promotion of managers-suggest payoff for participatory strategies. Such strategies in the public sector can encompass clients and staff, and can include continuing 'self study' evaluation. The paper summarizes two experiments-one involving police officers, and another featuring prison guards. In both cases, research was a component of a QWL-job enrichment effort combining personal and organizational development.