Corrections Institutions and The Prison Experience

1. Corrections Institutions andThe Prison Experience

2. Corrections Institutions • What is a corrections institution? • Prisons (usually state or federal) • Jails (local or county)

3. Corrections Institutions • What is the purpose of corrections institutions?

4. Corrections Institutions • What is the purpose of corrections institutions? • Incapacitation • Retribution • Deterrence • Rehabilitation

5. Corrections Institutions • Prison (Penitentiary) • A state or federal correctional institution for the incarceration of felony offenders for terms of one year or more.

6. Corrections Institutions • Jail • A local correctional institution used to hold people awaiting trial or sentencing, as well as misdemeanor offenders sentenced to a term of less than one year.

7. Corrections Institutions • US Origins • 1790 Pennsylvania • Penitentiary Houses • Solitary Cells, Isolation, No Work, • Intent: Do Penance, Meditate and Rehabilitate • Many suicides and breakdowns

8. Corrections Institutions • US Origins • 1816 New York • Auburn System • Tier System (cells built vertically) • Congregate System (group work day, separate night) • Silence during work • Eliminated suicides and breakdowns • Rules Breaches: Punishment By Whipping

9. Corrections Institutions • US Origins • Nineteenth Century • Contract System: Sale of inmate labor • Convict Lease System: Businesses leased inmate labor • Responsible for inmate supervision and control

10. Corrections Institutions • US Origins • Twentieth Century • Better inmate treatment • End of corporal punishment • Created meaningful prison industries • Began educational programs

11. Corrections Institutions • The Modern Era • Three Major Trends • 1960-1980 Prisoners Rights Movement • Violence In Corrections Institutions • Reevaluation of the Purpose for Incarceration

12. Corrections Institutions • The Modern Era – Major Trends 1. 1960-1980 Prisoners Rights Movement • Courts abandoned “Hands Off Policy” • Inmate Gained Rights • Freedom of Religion and Speech • Medical Care • Procedural Due Process • Proper Living Conditions

13. Corrections Institutions • The Modern Era – Major Trends 2. Violence in Corrections Institutions • Riots at Attica and New Mexico State Prison • Prison rapes and beatings too common • Control shifted from correctional staff to inmate gangs

14. Corrections Institutions • The Modern Era – Major Trends 3. Reevaluate the Purpose of Incarceration • Traditional Rehabilitation Efforts Failed • “Medical Model” abandoned • Reintegration (furloughs, etc) diminished • Use prisons to: • Control, Incapacitate, Punish

15. Corrections Institutions • The Modern Era – Effects • Corrections the largest agency in many states • Prisoners serving longer sentences • Two cents of every tax dollar goes to institutions • One tenth of that goes to community corrections

16. Corrections Institutions • The Modern Era • Why has corrections taken the path that it has? • Politicians respond to public fears and sentiment • Lack of public knowledge of corrections costs • Lack of public knowledge of alternatives to prison • The argument that anything other than prison is “letting off” criminals without punishment

17. Corrections Institutions • False Dichotomy • The argument that any criminal sentence other than prison is “letting criminals off” is a false dichotomy. • The argument is not either prison or “letting go”. • Prison and probation, or parole, can be combined. • P&P with IS is often regarded by offenders as more punitive than incarceration.

18. Corrections Institutions • Inmate Profile • Young • Single • Male • Poorly Educated • Minority Group Member • Unemployed or Underemployed • Substance Abuse History (80% or more) • History of Physical or Mental Abuse

19. Corrections Institutions • The Future • Budget Cutbacks: Closing Prisons • More inmates likely going to P&P • Rehabilitation: not likely to offer services

20. Break • Read assignments. • Participate in class discussions. • Review notes weekly.

21. The Prison Experience • Prison is not a fun place. • Cells lack privacy • Can be dangerous • Sometimes overcrowded (allowed 60 sq ft) • Most inmates in medium security institutions

22. The Prison Experience • Prisons are brick and mortar institutions. • Budgets are limited leaving little extra for rehabilitation programs.

23. The Prison Experience • Control and Security in Prisons. • Violence is commonplace • Gangs often rule • Virginia Solution • Strict control and supermax prisons • Reduced inmate assaults and escapes

24. The Prison Experience • Does prison do anything to help inmates overcome the problems they had when they entered prison?

25. The Prison Experience • Does prison do anything to help inmates overcome the problems they had when they entered prison? • Reality: Inmates leave prison with the same problems they had when they were confined.

26. The Prison Experience • Realities of Prison Life • Adjusting • Hustling • Racial Conflict • Social Support • Coping

27. The Prison Experience • Realities of Prison Life • Adjusting • Solitude or interest groups • Personal protection • Beat and rape or be beaten and raped

28. The Prison Experience • Realities of Prison Life • Hustling • Income and satisfaction • Supply and demand • Power struggles for market control

29. The Prison Experience • Realities of Prison Life • Racial Conflict • Racial and ethnic groups • National origin groups (Columbian, Jamaican, etc.)

30. The Prison Experience • Realities of Prison Life • Social Support • Social support eases the pain • Acceptance of prison culture • Resentment: Authority figures • Transferance: Place blame on society • Anger: Why should the equally guilty go free? • Learn: Value of money and politics

31. The Prison Experience • Realities of Prison Life • Coping • Isolation: Results in loneliness, vulnerability to attack • Visitors: Resentment and attack from jealous inmates • Gang Membership: Protection but deeper into crime

32. The Prison Experience • Prisonization • Assimilation into the prison culture by accepting its language, sexual code, and norms of behavior • Inmates who become the most prisonized will be the least likely to reform on the outside.

33. The Prison Experience • Inmate Social Code • Never betray another inmate • Settle grievances personally • Be Right: Keep your word • Be Tough: “Be a Man” • Be Sharp: Don’t sell out to the system

34. The Prison Experience • Inmate World: Outside World • Thief Subculture • Professional Criminals: Stick to themselves • Convict Subculture • Try to Gain Power: Control others and use them • Conventional Subculture • Try to Remain Legitimate: Do not identify with the other two groups

35. The Prison Experience • The Old Inmate Culture • Inmates who violated the social code were dealt with by peers. • Inmate leaders got their way from staff, and in return the administration was kept looking good.

36. The Prison Experience • The New Inmate Culture • African American and Latino gangs are well organized. • They demand and receive power. • Loyalty is to the gang.

37. The Prison Experience • Prison Rapes • Why do they occur? • Dominance • Power • Anger

38. The Prison Experience • Theories of Prison Violence • Inmate Balance Theory • Violence results when officials try to take control of prisons and limit freedoms • Administrative Control Theory • Violence results when officials lack strong security and provide inadequate control

39. The Prison Experience • Loss of Rights After Prison • Long Term Social Effects • Recall: Civil Disabilities • 7% of African American males are barred from voting • 2.1% of the general population is barred from voting

40. Break • Read assignments. • Participate in class discussions. • Review notes weekly.