2. Prisons
A prison is a state or federal confinement facility that has custodial authority over adults sentenced to confinement.
The use of prisons as a place to serve punishment is a relatively new way to handle offenders.

3. Early Punishments
Were often cruel and torturous: Generally fit the doctrine of lex talionis:
Law of retaliation
“An eye for an eye”

4. Early Punishments Early forms of punishment included: Flogging
Mutilation
Branding
Public humiliation
Workhouses
Exile

5. The Emergence of Prisons
It is unknown when the first prison was established.
Punitive imprisonment noted in Europe in the Middle Ages.
American prisons began in the late 1700s.
Early confinement facilities stressed reformation over punishment.

6. Stages of Prison Development in the United States
FIGURE 13–1 Stages of prison development in the United States.

7. The Penitentiary Era 1790--1825
Philadelphia Penitentiary begun by Quakers for humane treatment of offenders.
Rehabilitation through penance (solitary confinement and Bible study).
Known as the “Pennsylvania System.”

8. The Mass Prison Era
Auburn Prison (New York) featured group workshops and silence enforced by whipping and hard labor.
This Auburn system was the primary competitor to the Pennsylvania system.

9. The Reformatory Era
The reformatory style was based on the use of the indeterminate sentence.
Elmira Reformatory attempted reform rather than punishment.
Used a system of graded stages
Gave way to the system of “parole.”
Ultimately considered a failure, since recidivism was still a problem.

10. The Industrial Era
Prisoners used for cheap labor in the era of the industrial prison.
Six systems of inmate labor: contract system, piece-price system, lease system, public account system, state-use system, and public works system.
Labor unions complained that they could not compete.
The passage of the Hawes-Cooper Act and Ashurst-Sumners Act limited inmate labor.

11. The Punitive Era
Characterized by belief that prisoners owed a debt to society.
Custody and institutional security the central values.
Few innovations.

12. The Treatment Era
Medical model suggested inmates were sick and needed treatment.
Most treatments include individual or group therapy.
Other forms of therapy include:
Behavior therapy
Chemotherapy
Neurosurgery
Sensory deprivation
Aversion therapy

13. The Community-Based Era
Based on premise that rehabilitation cannot occur in isolation from the real world.
Prisons considered dehumanizing.
Led to innovations in the use of volunteers and the extension of inmate privileges.
Programs include:
Half-way houses
Work-release
Study-release

14. The Warehousing Era
Public and judicial disapproval of release programs and recidivism led to longer sentences with fewer releases.
Nothing works doctrine
Warehousing of serious offenders designed to protect society.
Prison overcrowding became widespread.
Greater emphasis on incarcerating non-violent drug offenders.

15. The Just Deserts Era 1995--present Based on the justice model.
Emphasis on individual responsibility and punishment.
Imprisonment is a proper consequence of criminal and irresponsible behavior.
Chain gangs, “three-strikes,” and reduced parole.

16. Prisons Today: Race
The rate of imprisonment for African American males is seven times that of white males.
Bureau of Justice Statistics states that a black male in America has a 32.3% lifetime chance of going to prison; white males have a 5.9% chance.

17. Prisons Today: State Usage
Use of imprisonment varies considerably between states.
Factors contributing to the variation:
Violent crime rate
Political environment
Funding for prisons
Employment rate
Percentage of African American males
Level of welfare support

18. Prisons Today: Facility Size
The size of prisons vary.
One out of every four prisons is a large, maximum-security prison house almost 1,000 inmates.
The typical state prison is small.
It costs about $62 a day per inmate.

19. Prisons Today: Typical System
The typical state prison system has:
1 high security
1 or more medium security
1 for adult women
1 or 2 for young adults
1 or two specialized mental hospital-type security prisons
1 or more open-type institutions

20. Overcrowded Prisons Overcrowding is a serious issue.
Prison capacity—The size of the correctional population an institution can effectively hold. There are three types of prison capacity:
Rated
Operational
Design
Rhodes v. Chapman (1981)—Overcrowding is not by itself cruel and unusual punishment.

21. U. S. Prison Population,
FIGURE 13–2 U.S. prison population, 1960–2008.

22. Selective Incapacitation
Is a strategy to reduce prison population.
Seeks to identify the most dangerous offenders and remove them from society.
Is reflected by career offender statutes.

23. Security Levels in State Prison Systems
There are three security levels:
Maximum
Medium
Minimum
The typical American prison is medium or minimum custody.

24. Maximum Security
Most maximum security institutions tend to be massive old buildings with a large inmate population, including all death row inmates.
They provide a high level of security with:
High fences/walls of concrete
Several barriers between living area
Secure cells
Armed guards
Gun towers

25. Medium Security
Medium security prisons are similar in design to maximum security facilities; however, they:
Usually have more windows.
Tend to have barbed wire fences instead of large stone walls.
Sometimes use dormitory style housing.

26. Medium Security
Medium security prisons allow prisoners more freedom, such as:
Associating with other prisoners
Going to the prison yard or exercise room
Visiting the library
Showering and using bathroom facilities with less supervision
An important security tool is the count.

27. Minimum Security In minimum security prisons:
Housing tends to be dormitory style.
Prisoners usually have freedom of movement within the facility.
Work is done under general supervision only.
Guards are unarmed, and gun towers do not exist.
Fences, if they exist, are low and sometimes unlocked.
“Counts” are usually not taken.
Prisoners are sometimes allowed to wear their own clothes.

28. Prison Classification System
Classification systems determine which custody level to assign an inmate to. Assignments are based on:
Offense history
Assessed dangerousness
Perceived risk of escape
Other factors
Inmates may move among the security levels depending on their behavior.
Internal classification systems determine placement and program assignment within an institution.

29. Federal Prison System History
1895—Leavenworth, Kansas—First non military federal prison opens.
1906—Second federal prison opens in Atlanta.
1927—Alderson, West Virginia—First federal prison for women.
1933—Springfield, Missouri—Medical Center for federal prisoners.
1934—Alcatraz begins operations.

30. Today’s Federal Prison System
Today’s federal prison system consists of:
103 institutions
6 regional offices
The Central office (headquarters)
2 staff training centers
28 community corrections offices

31. Federal BOP Facilities, 2009
FIGURE 13–3 Federal Bureau of Prison facilities by region, 2009.

32. Federal Prison System
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) classifies its institutions according to five security levels.
Administrative maximum (ADMAX)
High security (U.S. penitentiaries)
Medium security (federal correctional institutions)
Low security (federal correctional institutions)
Minimum security (federal prison camps)
Additionally, there are administrative facilities, like metropolitan detention centers (MDCs) and medical centers for federal prisoners (MDFPs).

33. Federal Correctional Complexes
Federal correctional facilities exist either as single institutions or as federal correctional complexes (FCCs)—sites consisting of more than one type of correctional institution.
Example: FCC at Allenwood, PA. (consists of one U.S. penitentiary and two federal correctional institutions (one low and one medium security).

34. Federal Prison System: Administrative Facilities
The federal prison system’s administrative facilities are institutions with special missions.
Metropolitan Detention Centers (MDCs)
Generally located in large cities, close to federal courthouses
Hold inmates awaiting trial (like jails)
Medical Centers for Federal Prisoners (MCFP)

35. Administrative Maximum (ADMAX)
In 1995, the federal government opened its only ADMAX prison:
Located in Florence, Colorado
$60 million ultra-high security
575 bed capacity
Inmates confined to cells 23 hours per day
Only toughest 1% of federal prison population is confined there
Holds mob bosses, spies, terrorists, escape artists, murderers, etc.

36. Improvements Improvements to our nations prisons can be found in:
Accreditation by the American Correctional Association’s (ACA)
Training though the National Academy of Corrections

37. Jails Jails—Locally operated, short-term confinement facilities.
Original purpose—confinement of suspects following arrest and awaiting trial.
Current use—confinement of those convicted of misdemeanors and some felonies, as well as holding suspects following arrest and awaiting trial.

38. Jails There are 3,365 jails in the U.S.
Most jails are small, designed to hold 50 or fewer inmates.
Some jails are very big, like “mega-jails” in LA and NYC.
There are 207,600 correctional officers.
3:1 inmate/staff ratio
The average cost to jail a person for a year is $14,500.

39. Jails
Most people process through jails are members of minority groups:
56% minority
38.6% African American
15.6% Hispanic
44% Caucasian
Typical charges:
12.1% drug trafficking
11.7% assault
10.8% drug possession
7% larceny

40. Women and Jail Women comprise 12.9% of the jail population.
They’re the largest growth group nationwide.
Women face a number of special problems, including:
Inadequate classification systems
Lack of separate housing
Low educational levels
Substance abuse
Pregnancy/Motherhood
Inadequate substantive medical programs

41. Women and Jail
Women make up 22% of correctional officer force in jails.
Female officers are committed to their careers and tend to be positively valued by male counterparts. However,
A disproportionate number of female personnel held lower ranking jobs.
60% of support staff is female
10% of chief administrators is female
Issues can arise when member of the opposite sex are assigned to watch over inmates.

42. Growth of Jails Many jails are old and overcrowded.
By the end of 1980s, many jails were so overcrowded that court-ordered caps forced some early releases.
By 2006, national jail occupancy was at 94% rated capacity. Larger jails are more crowded than smaller ones. Some individual facilities are desperately overcrowded.

43. Jail Facts
TABLE 13–1

44. Direct Supervision Jails
A new jail architecture and management strategy is called direct supervision. These jails:
Use a system of pods or modular self-contained housing areas
Have a more open environment, using Plexiglas instead of thick walls to separate areas
Use softer furniture
May use “rooms” instead of cells

45. Benefits of Direct Supervision Jails
Reduce inmate dissatisfaction
Deter rape and violence
Decrease suicide and escape attempts
Eliminate barriers to staff-inmate interaction
Give staff greater control
Improve staff morale
Reduce lawsuits

46. National efforts are underway to improve quality of jail life by:
Jails and the Future
National efforts are underway to improve quality of jail life by:
Adding critical programs for inmates
Increasing jail industries
Jail “boot camps”
Creating regional jails
Implementing jail standards

47. Privatization
A private prison is a correctional institution operated by a private firm on behalf of the government.
The movement toward greater use of private prisons began in the 1980s.
Private prisons operate in 34 stated and the District of Columbia.
35% annual growth rate

48. Benefits of Privatization
Private prisons can:
Reduce overcrowding
Lower operating expenses
Avoid lawsuits

49. Hurdles to Large-Scale Privatization
Large scale privatization is hindered by:
Laws prohibiting private sector involvement in correctional management
Possibility of public employees striking
Liability and other legal issues

50. NIJ Recommendations
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) recommends that those states that privatize corrections:
Regularly survey former inmates about conditions
Annually visit and inspect facilities
Station state monitors inside large facilities
Review all services before renewing contracts