Chapter 5 Prisons ©2008 Pearson Education, Inc. Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Corrections: An Introduction, 2/e Seiter.

Chapter 5Chapter 5

Prisons

©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.Pearson Prentice HallUpper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Corrections: An Introduction, 2/eSeiter



IntroductionIntroduction 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



Current Status of Prisons in Current Status of Prisons in the United Statesthe United States

President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice report (1967) advocated for more rehabilitative and less punitive stance

Public opinion has changed over the last several decades



Primary function is to hold convicted felons

Prisoners do not just sit in cells all day Rhodes v. Chapman–“totality of

conditions” standard Brucino v. Carlson Key to successful prison is to keep inmates

productively occupied

The Role and Mission of PrisonsThe Role and Mission of Prisons



Mission–statement of what an agency is to accomplish

For most prisons the mission is legislatively created

Common mission is “to supervise criminal offenders during period of sentence, protect public, and assist with rehabilitation”




By the end of 2004 over 2 million incarcerated

Shift in policies has influenced use of prisons

Public is more fearful of crime

Influence of politics

More lengthy prison sentences

Growth of the Prison PopulationGrowth of the Prison Population



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”




Likelihood of Going to Prison In 1997 BJS report estimated 5.1 percent of

all people in the United States would be confined in state or federal prison

This has increased due to increase in incarceration rates

Men more likely to be incarcerated than women

Varies by ethnicity




Meeting the Growth Demands Increased funding to build prisons 28 new prisons under construction in 2002 58 prisons being renovated 25,869 new beds at cost of $1.5 billion Increased operating budgets for all three

areas of the system (police, courts, corrections)




Adult Prison Systems Adult Prison Systems in the United Statesin the United States

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



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

The Federal Prison SystemThe Federal Prison SystemEstablishment of the Establishment of the

Federal Bureau of PrisonsFederal Bureau of Prisons



Growth resulted from acts of Congress White Slave Act (1910) Harrison Narcotic Act (1914) Volstead Act (1918) Dyer Act (1919)

The Federal Prison SystemThe Federal Prison SystemGrowth of the Bureau of PrisonsGrowth of the Bureau of Prisons



The Federal Prison SystemThe Federal Prison System

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

Growth of the Bureau of PrisonsGrowth of the Bureau of Prisons




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

The Bureau of Prisons TodayThe Bureau of Prisons Today




Five security levels (continued)

3) Medium (federal correctional institutions)–double fences with electronic detection systems, mostly cells for housing, higher staff-to-inmate ratio

4) High (U.S. penitentiaries)–highly secure perimeters, cell housing, high staff-to-inmate ratios, close control of inmate movement





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





BOP also operates three intensive confinement centers (boot camps)

In 1997, federal inmates were more likely than state inmates to be women

In 2000, more than half of federal inmates were serving a sentence for a drug offense



State Prison SystemsState Prison Systems

The most common organization model (24 states) has the director, commissioner, or secretary of corrections as a cabinet-level officer, appointed by and reporting directly to the governor

The Organization of State Prison SystemsThe Organization of State Prison Systems



Mainly male (92.3%) Mostly minority Greatest increase in population was

violent inmates Recent trend is decline in the growth of

inmates


Inmates in State Prison SystemsInmates in State Prison Systems




Security classification–a system for matching offenders to institutions that have the physical security and staff resources to prevent escapes and control their behavior

Classification within State Prison SystemsClassification within State Prison Systems

Use security-level classifications similar to the federal prison system



Classification also addresses treatment needs of offenders

Most offenders are classified as medium- and minimum-security

Orientation period for inmates


Classification within State Prison Systems



Other Public Correctional SystemsOther Public Correctional Systems Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement

(BICE)–formerly the INS; responsible for housing illegal aliens pending a hearing or deportation back to their home country

BICE contains about a quarter of its total detainees; the federal BOP, and private and state/local institutions house the rest



Other Public Correctional SystemsOther Public Correctional Systems

BICE

Illegals usually detained in two ways: Caught while attempting to enter the

United States Commit a crime and are arrested



Halfway houses have been in operation since 1960s

Private prison–for-profit, secure correctional facility operated by agency other than a government agency

Private Correctional SystemsPrivate Correctional Systems



Private Correctional SystemsPrivate Correctional Systems

Use of private prisons has expanded

As of 2002, over 118 private prisons

Corrections Corporation of America Cornell Correctional Companies The Geo Group

Private Correctional Companies

Chapter 5 Prisons ©2008 Pearson Education, Inc. Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Corrections: An Introduction, 2/e Seiter.

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