A History of Correctional Standards

1. A History of Correctional Standards

2. David K. Taylor Executive Director Correctional Accreditation Managers’ Association www.mycama.org cama.ed@earthlink.net

3. “The past has much to tell us about the present. Only by looking back into history can we fully comprehend why certain social concepts and standards are accepted today.” Manual of Correctional Standards American Correctional Association Revised, 1965

4. Why Standards? • Legislation • Court Decisions • Desire for Excellence

5. The Origin - Principles National Prison Association Declaration of Principles – 1870 Thirty-seven statements which were general and reflected philosophical guidelines for the management of a prison.

7. NY Jail Regulations - 1944 • Separate confinement of classes of prisoners- • Held for trial or examination • Serving sentences • Civil prisoners and witnesses • Further separation by gender and age (16 – 20, 21 and over) • Children under 16 not permitted to be confined in a jail

8. Facility requirements- • A steel door, grilled or plate with grilled observation opening at the main entrance • All windows covered with a stout screen of ½” mesh to prevent passing of contraband • Wire coat hangers not permitted in cells • Exterior well lighted at night • Windows glazed with translucent glass • Paint not used on windows

9. Administration • Money, watches, and other valuables taken from prisoners kept in the office safe • Thorough search of prisoners • Careful sensor of all incoming and outgoing mail • Prisoners should not have access to windows • Key to the main entrance should not be taken inside • Firearms and blackjacks not permitted inside

10. All kitchen utensils left in the mess hall or returned from cells • Frequent inspections of locking devices • Frequent searches of cells • All doors kept locked “Do not place too much reliance on bolts and bars. A jail is no stronger than the human element in charge”

11. Food Service • Sufficient quantity of plain but wholesome food • Three meals a day prepared under the supervision of a civilian cook • Menu should be varied • Inmates assisting in food preparation should be certified by the jail physician

12. Medical Care • A reputable physician assigned to the jail • Prisoners examined as soon as possible upon admission • Medical segregation for contagious prisoners • Food, clothing, and bedding kept separate for ill inmates • Jail officers may not prescribe medicines • Physician should keep records in ink of all visits and treatments • Hospital care by order of the county judge • Reasonable amount of outdoor exercise, weather permitting

13. Cleanliness and Sanitation • All buildings properly heated, lighted and ventilated • Toilet and lavatory in each cell • At least one shower bath in each section of all floors (females should have tub bath) • Adequate hot and cold water • Toilet paper and towels provided • Walls painted with light color, hard-surfaced paint

14. Cells kept clean at all times • Beds made in the morning • No marking on walls or pictures pasted on walls • Corridors kept free of litter • One bunk in each cell with mattress, two sheets, pillow with slip, blankets (changed weekly) • Prisoners to bathe immediately upon admission, then at least weekly • Clothing washed weekly

15. Discipline • Only punishment permitted is solitary confinement on bread and water • Formulate a set of rules and post them • No “Kangaroo Courts” • Misc. • A Bible shall be kept in each room • No officer may accept a gift or gratuity from an inmate, relative, or other person, nor may an officer purchase something from a prisoner

16. Judicial Involvement – Coffin v. Reichard, 143, F.2d, 443 (6th Cir. 1944) Appellant argued in a writ for habeas corpus that he had suffered injury and was subjected to assaults while confined. The court ruled that “His conviction and incarceration deprive him only of such liberties as the law has ordained he shall suffer for his transgressions.” This case established that the government has a duty to protect prisoners.

17. U.S. v. Muniz and Winston, 374 U.S. 150; 83 S. Ct. 1850 (1963) Two inmates suffered injury while confined in federal prisons, and both sued for damages. The U.S. Supreme Court held that the 1946 Federal Tort Claims Act, which authorizes claims for negligence against federal authorities, is applicable to inmates in federal custody.

18. Morrisey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471; 92 S. Ct. 2593 (1972) Due process applies to parole revocation, and the offender is entitled to a hearing. Gagnon v. Scarpelli, 411 U.S. 778; 93 S. Ct. 1756 (1973) A probationer is entitled to a preliminary hearing and a final revocation hearing. Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539; 94 S. Ct. 2963 (1974) Following Morrisey and Scarpelli, the Supreme Court ruled that prisoners are entitled to due process in disciplinary hearings.

19. Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97; 97 S. Ct. 285 (1976) A Texas prisoner (Gamble) sustained injuries during a work detail. Gamble received minimal medical treatment, and was eventually ordered back to work in spite of his claims that he needed further treatment. Gamble was put in isolation for refusing to work. The US Supreme Court ruled that “…deliberate indifference to serious medical needs of prisoners constitutes the ‘unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain’” and was thus a violation of the 8th amendment.

20. Plata v. Schwarzenegger – Class action Finding of Facts and Conclusions of Law re. Appointment of Receiver. “By all accounts, the California prison medical care system is broken beyond repair. The harm already done in this case to California’s prison inmate population could not be more grave, and the threat of future injury and death is virtually guaranteed in the absence of drastic action.” Judge Thelton E. Henderson, United States District Court for the Northern District of California, October 3, 2005

21. Standards for various professional pursuits became popular in the 1940’s and 1950’s. • American Bar Association • American Medical Association • JCAH(O) - 1951 • National Probation and Parole Association • National Prison Association • A Manual of Suggested Standards for a State Correctional System, 1946 • A Manual of Correctional Standards, 1959

22. National Probation and Parole Association • Standard Juvenile Court Act – 1926 • Standard Probation and Parole Act - 1955 • Standards and Guides for the Detention of Youth and Children - 1958 • Standard Act for State Correctional Services – 1966 • Model Act for the Protection and Rights of Prisoners - 1972

23. Manual of Correctional Standards - 1965 • Community Detention (Jail) Facilities • Community Correctional Institution • Camps • Adult Probation • Parole and Other Release • Community Correctional Centers • Correctional Institutions

24. JAIL STANDARDS - 1965 • State Supervision – states should have the ability to set standards for jails, prescribe rules, approve plans, review budgets. • Cells – 50 square feet, 8 feet high. Should contain toilet, wash bowl, shelf-type table, wall-bracket seat, small shelf, and “a few sturdy hooks”. • Housing Units – 75 square feet per inmate, including cells and day rooms. Tiers should be avoided.

25. Personnel – Training and compensation should be comparable with similar professions (such as police). • Training – “key to jail improvement” • Training on state or regional level • Training officer for larger (>10 employees) jails (FTO ?) • Correspondence course – 10 lesson course offered free from Federal Bureau of Prisons

26. Custody / Security / Control – • 24 hour supervision by jail personnel • Positive system of key control • Tool control – shadow boards • Regular counts – min. 4 per 24 hours • Control of visits and mail • Discipline – corporal punishment and diet restrictions prohibited

27. Food – Caloric requirements and nutritional standards set by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council. • Central dining room with cafeteria service. • “Hospital-type cleanliness” in the kitchen, food storerooms, and during preparations.

28. Sanitation and Safety – • One employee trained in sanitation and safety – responsible for fire and accident prevention and cleanliness. • Fire safety equipment and evacuation plans. • Light / ventilation / temperature checked and maintained. • Prisoners should be allowed to bathe twice weekly, daily if possible.

29. Medical and Health Services - medical program should be tied in with public health program and public health officer should help set up standards. • Full-time physician in larger jails. • Medical examination upon admission. • Medical segregation. • Medical supplies in locked cabinet. • Dental services should be provided.

30. “Unusual Prisoners” – • Juveniles should be refused, or segregated. • Females in separate institutions or segregated housing unit (matron in larger jails). • Narcotic addicts – segregate, closely supervise. • Alcoholics – medical care, diet, AA meetings. • Mentally ill – close supervision. • Sex deviates – segregate immediately.

31. Adult Probation - 1965 • Presentence Report- should be required in all cases. Should follow inmate to prison. • Period of Probation – no less than one year, no more than five. Early discharge if appropriate. • Interstate Compact for the Reciprocal Supervision of Probationers and Parolees. • Administration – local or statewide (statewide preferred).

32. Personnel – • Chief Probation Officer • Supervisors – responsible for training and development • Probation Officers – responsible for presentence reports and supervision • Support Personnel – clerks, stenographers, fiscal, research, accounting • Ancillary – psychology, psychiatry

33. Educational Requirements – • Probation Officer – minimum four year degree, one year graduate study or work experience, preferred two years graduate study. • Supervisor – preferred two years graduate study and three years experience. • Chief PO – Advanced degree and three years supervisory experience.

34. Personal Qualities – “Emotional maturity, integrity, ability to establish constructive interpersonal relationships; a recognition of the dignity and value of the individual; genuine interest in helping people; intellectual ability; mature judgment; warmth; wide experience; and a continuing interest in professional judgment.”

35. Personnel Practices – • Probationary period of six months to one year. • Salaries higher than those paid by other social service agencies. • Reimbursement for expenses. • Vacation, sick leave, other benefits. • Adequate and efficient office space. • Modern office equipment and recording devices.

36. Supervision of Probationers – Four principles: • Change comes from within a person; therefore, a probationer must be a participant in any treatment regime designed to help him. • The needs, problems, capacities, and limitations of the individual offender must be considered in planning a program with him. • Legally binding conditions of probation are essential and to the best interest of the offender and the community. • The goal of supervision is to help the offender understand his own problems and enable him to deal adequately with them.

37. Case Records – • Should tell “where we were, where we are now, and where we are going” • Workload Standards – 50 units. • PSI worth 5 units. Officers would have 10 PSI’s or 50 supervision cases (or combination). Other factors may reduce workload such as geography and intensity of supervision required.

38. Supervision of Staff – one supervisor per six probation officers. Regular group staff meetings and individual meetings with staff. • Statistics and Research – necessary for each department, developed by trained persons. • Community Relations – Department must have a voice in community planning.

39. Correctional Institutions - 1965 • Essential Features – • Single Administrative Officer • Organizational Framework • Organizational Sub-Divisions • Plan and Description of Organization • Personnel Controls and Development • System for Maintaining Teamwork • Communication with Inmates • Regular Reevaluation • Community Relationships

40. Institution Head – appointed by head of state correctional system and removable only for cause. Minimum of five years experience. “…a man of unusual capacity.”

41. Physical Plant – • Separate institutions for men and women • Age – under 18, 18 – 21/5, over 21/5, “aged” • Minimum security – no fixed, armed posts, may or may not have a fence. Dormitories. • Medium security – double fenced enclosure, inner 12’ – 14’ fence, outer 8’ – 12’ fence, 16’ – 20’ apart, barbed wire top. Buildings 35’ back from fence. Units max. 150 cells. May have honor rooms and dorms.

42. Maximum Security – masonry wall 18’ – 25’ high, or double wall as above. Armed guard towers. Electronic perimeter devices under development. Interior, single cells, each with plumbing and sanitary facilities. • Special Security – 2% of population “incorrigible, intractable, and dangerous”. May be a special institution within an institution. • Institutions for medical and mental conditions

43. Institution location – should be located within rural settings but within commuting distance of one or more communities. Community input in location of prisons. • Institution size – no more than 1200 prisoners, as small as 500.

44. Health, Sanitation, Safety, Fire Hazards – “Correctional institutions for males are notoriously difficult to keep clean. This is partly because the buildings are generally old and over-crowded, and partly because men, by nature and training, are not good housekeepers.” • Buildings should be fireproof, be equipped with firefighting equipment, plans reviewed by fire inspector. Housing units have two means of egress, keyed to open only from the outside. Key kept in control room. • Careful attention to heat, ventilation, water supply, sewage disposal and similar matters.

45. Key and Tool Control - • All keys issued from central control room. • Key control center with log book for each key ring, numbered series. • Panel board for all keys. • Duplicate set for each set of keys. • Officers given receipt for keys checked out.

46. Discard obsolete keys. • Key rings of good quality. • Protective covers for keys. • No keys to outside doors inside housing units. • Shadow board for tools. • Regular count for tools. • Receipt for tools checked out. • Inmates with tools only under supervision. • Kitchen items checked as tools.

47. Medical Services – • Staffing for 500 inmates: • Chief medical officer • Full-time psychiatrist, psychologist, dentist • Five full-time medical technicians • Various consultants • One additional medical officer and technician for each additional 500 – 1000 inmates. Additional dentist for each 1000 inmates.

48. Registered nurses for institutions with over 1500 inmates. • Suitably trained inmates employed to augment essential paramedical services. Inmates with “…adequate intelligence, educational background, and motivation… trained as practical nurses, lab and X-ray techs, dental techs, physical therapy and O.R. aids under the close supervision of medical and correctional personnel.”

49. Dental Program – preventive and protective care along with provision of essential services. • Medical exam (with laboratory and X-ray) of each newly received inmate. • New arrivals to receive indicated immunizations and vaccinations. • Psychological and psychiatric studies as needed (15 – 20% of population). • Suitable medical treatment or surgical correction for inmates in need.

50. Complete dental care including necessary prosthetic devices. • “Disfiguring and disabling defects which might interfere with future employment should receive the highest priority in the correctional surgical program.” • Programs for the control of TB and VD. • 10% of inmate population daily for sick call.