1. Prison and all that goes with it…..
Unit 4 Seminar CJ240
Prison and all that goes with it…..

2. Housekeeping….Welcome Baaaaack!!
Midterm week next week
No seminar!!
Unit 5 project, no exam
2 issues
Makes sure to do your research here
Watch the writing!
Citation and plagiarism
Posting!
Check your grades so far
3 week make up rule

3. Tonight…
In the seminar for Unit 4, we will consider the problems related to overcrowding in prison and why they exist. We will also discuss the unique culture that is found in prison and how people adapt to it. We will look at issues and groups in prison, including females, homosexuals, gangs, and violence. You will see that the actions and relationships of inmates usually have a greater influence on the development of the prison culture than do the policies and procedures of staff.

4. Prisons What types of offenders are housed in prisons?
What are the different philosophies for prison?
Segregate the dangerous
Rehabilitate those that we can
Tough on crime

5. What is the point?
Prison–institution designed to house convicted felons serving one year or more
Public’s attitude toward crime has resulted in prisons becoming most popular correctional tool for punishment, deterrence, and incapacitation
Prison construction boom!
Where has that left us?

6. Some Problems With Prison
Overcrowding - Rhodes v. Chapman
1981 U.S. Supreme Court decision that overcrowded conditions resulting in two inmates housed in cells designed for one person was not a violation of the Eighth Amendment right of protection from cruel and unusual punishment
Cruel and Unusual punishment
How do we determine if it is cruel and unusual punishment
Totality of the circumstances

7. Changes in Prisons Changes in philosophy/mission Cost of incarceration
Supervision in the community also affected
Shift from counseling to risk management and surveillance
“New penology”–traditional objectives of rehabilitation and reduction of recidivism replaced by rational and efficient use of control strategies “War on drugs”
Cost of incarceration
Growth of prison populations

8. What happened?
State penal codes usually include street crimes such as murder, robbery, burglary
U.S. Congress has continually federalized crimes such as bank robbery, kidnapping, etc.
As a result less of a distinction between types of inmates in state and federal prisons
The Federal Prison System
Three Penitentiary Act (1891) authorized construction of three federal prisons to house federal offenders
Established the Federal Bureau of Prisons
Congress passed an act to establish BOP in 1930

9. Sentencing has had an impact….
Growth of the Bureau of Prisons: Sentencing Reform Act (1984)- an act of Congress that abolished parole, established determinate sentencing, and reduced the amount of good time available to federal offenders

10. Security? Five security levels
1) Minimum (federal prison camps)–dormitory housing, low staff-to-inmate ratio, limited or no perimeter fencing 2) Low (federal correctional institutions)–double- fenced perimeters, mostly dormitory housing, strong work and program components, and a higher staff-to-inmate ratio
3) Medium (federal correctional institutions)– double fences with electronic detection systems, mostly cells for housing, higher staff- to-inmate ratio

11. Security, con’t
Five security levels (continued) 5) Administrative–institutions with special missions: detention of pretrial offenders, treatment of inmates with serious or chronic medical problems, or containment of extremely dangerous, violent, or escape-prone inmates; also houses inmates under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Marshals

12. Prison Life and Culture
Somebody is always watching
Interaction between staff and inmates
Inmate Code
Different types of inmates
Squares
Old Men
Young punks
Any others??

13. Culture? Prison culture:
unique set of values, traditions, roles, expectations, language, and customs in a prison
“Prisonization” - process of inmates taking on in greater or lesser degree the folkways, mores, and customs of general culture of prison
leads to increased identification with prison culture, which makes it difficult to adapt to in the free world after release
Inmate code: the expected rules and behaviors represented by the model prisoner, reflecting the values and norms of prison society

14. Who are these people? Convicts–long-term inmates
Thieves–adopted a career of crime, and just doing time until they can get out and hit the “big score”
Square johns–probably first-time offenders; have more of identification with “straight” society

15. Violence?
Three categories of inmates who generally resort to violence:
Anti-social offenders who use violence to get what they want
Special-needs offenders with physical or mental problems
Psychopathic offenders who are cold and predatory

16. Gangs in Prison
Prison gangs–groups that form in prison and use the threat of violence to intimidate other inmates, control drug sales and prostitution, and gain power and influence
First identified in California in the 1960s
Aryan Brotherhood, Mexican Mafia, Black Guerilla Family, La Nuestra Familia, Mexikanemi, Texas Syndicate

17. Prison Gang Control Strategies
Limiting inmate access to money
Placing most violent members in special facilities
Developing gang intelligence
Recruiting informants
Observing daily routines
Debrief–to tell correctional officials everything a gang member knows about the gang operations and membership
Once inmates debrief they become an enemy of the gang

18. Rape Prisons have problems of forced sex acts or rape
Most common targets are small, young inmates
Steps to reduce this behavior include early warnings, staff watch for signs of aggressive acts, and investigation of allegations
In an attempt to reduce activity, some prisons allow conjugal visits

19. Women’s Prisons Difference between men and women prisons
More family-centric
Same problems and issues as male prisons
Gender-related policies resulted in programming that reinforced gender stereotypes
Are there as many issues
Security issues

20. Woman’s Prisons
Have similar inmate code, but not as important as in male facilities
65 percent of female inmates are mothers
Formation of pseudofamilies
Lesbian relationships are common: search for affection, emotional support, and sharing

21. Questions, comments, concerns??
Remember….no seminar next week