Institutional Corrections

1. Institutional Corrections MFP FILE 2012

2. European Background Historically, institutional confinement has been used since ancient times, but not until the 1600s and 1700s as a major punishment for criminals. Prior to that it was used to: • Detain people before trial • Hold prisoners awaiting other sanctions • Coerce payment of debts and fines continued… MFP FILE 2012

3. European Background • Hold and punish slaves • Achieve religious indoctrination (the Inquisition) • Quarantine disease MFP FILE 2012

4. Forerunners of Modern Incarceration Modern incarceration strives to change the offender’s character and is carried out away from public view. Early punishments for crime were directed more at the offender’s body and property. Goals were to inflict pain, humiliate the offender, and deter onlookers from crime. MFP FILE 2012

5. Forerunners of Modern Incarceration Two additional forerunners of modern incarceration were: • Banishment • Transportation MFP FILE 2012

6. banishment A punishment, originating in ancient times, that required offenders to leave the community and live elsewhere, commonly in the wilderness. transportation A punishment in which offenders were transported from their home nation to one of that nation’s colonies to work. MFP FILE 2012

7. Forerunners of Modern Incarceration The closest European forerunners of modern U.S. prisons were known as workhouses. workhouses European forerunners of the modern U.S. prison, where offenders were sent to learn discipline and regular work habits. MFP FILE 2012

8. Developments in the United States In colonial America, penal practice was loose, decentralized, and unsystematic, combining private retaliation with fines, banishment, harsh corporal punishments, and capital punishment. MFP FILE 2012

9. The Penitentiary Movement The Walnut Street Jail opened in 1790 in Philadelphia and is considered the first state prison. • Inmates labored in solitary cells and received large doses of religious training. MFP FILE 2012

10. The Penitentiary Movement Pennsylvania and New York pioneered the penitentiary movement by developing two competing systems of confinement: The Pennsylvania system The Auburn system MFP FILE 2012

11. Pennsylvania system An early system of U.S. penology in which inmates were kept in solitary cells so that they could study religious writings, reflect on their misdeeds, and perform handicraft work. continued… MFP FILE 2012

12. Auburn system An early system of penology, originating at Auburn Penitentiary in New York, under which inmates worked and ate together in silence during the day and were placed in solitary cells for the evening. MFP FILE 2012

13. The Penitentiary Movement By the end of the Civil War, many were questioning the value of the penitentiary movement, as prisons failed to deter crime, and became increasingly expensive to maintain. A new movement sought to improve the method of incarceration. MFP FILE 2012

14. The Reformatory Movement The reformatory movement was based on principles adopted at the 1870 meeting of the National Prison Association. The reformatory was designed: • for younger, less hardened offenders. • based on a military model of regimentation. • with indeterminate terms. • with parole or early release for favorable progress in reformation. MFP FILE 2012

15. Institutions for Women Until the reformatory era, there was little effort to establish separate facilities for women. • The first women’s prison based on the reformatory model opened in Indiana in 1873. • Women’s prisons concentrated on molding inmates to fulfill stereotypical domestic roles. MFP FILE 2012

16. Recent Trends - The Incarceration Boom Between 1980 and 2000, the adult prison population in the U.S. (state and federal) more than quadrupled. There are more than 1.4 million state and federal prisoners in U.S. MFP FILE 2012

17. Recent Trends Local jail populations saw a similar (less dramatic) trend. MFP FILE 2012

18. Cost Estimates • The average yearly cost of incarceration per inmate is about $22,000. MFP FILE 2012

19. The Crowding Issue Crowding has become especially troublesome over the past two decades. The staggering increase in prison construction has frequently failed to keep pace with the increase in prison populations. MFP FILE 2012

20. The Crowding Issue The prison population has exploded even as crime rates are stable, and in some cases even declining. MFP FILE 2012

21. Prison Inmate Characteristics 90% of prisoners in the U.S. are in state prisons; 10% are in federal prisons. MFP FILE 2012

22. Prison Inmate Characteristics The largest proportion of state prisoners are: • Male • Minority • Have not completed high school • Under age 35 • Have never married MFP FILE 2012

23. Prison Inmate Characteristics The prison population is characterized as follows: • About 50% are serving sentences for violent offenses • About 20% for property offenses • About 20% for drug offenses • The remainder for public order offenses MFP FILE 2012

24. Organization and Administration by Government • Each state has a department of corrections or a similar administrative body to coordinate the various adult prisons in the state. • Most adult prisons employ a quasi-military model of administration and management. MFP FILE 2012

25. Types of Facilities Some of the more common facility types are: • Classification and other special facilities • Men’s prisons • Women’s prisons • Jails and lockups MFP FILE 2012

26. Classification and Other Special Facilities Most prisoners are initially sent to a classification facility. Classification facility A facility to which newly sentenced offenders are taken so that their security risks and needs can be assessed and they can be assigned to a permanent institution. MFP FILE 2012

27. Classification and Other Special Facilities • The decision of where to place an offender rests on a variety of factors: • The offender’s security risk • Program services the offender needs, such as counseling • Any problems such as alcohol dependency • The nature of the offense continued… MFP FILE 2012

28. Classification and Other Special Facilities • The offender’s prior record, propensity toward violence and escape, and vulnerability to victimization by other inmates • Programs offered at the state’s institutions, and the related crowding levels MFP FILE 2012

29. Men’s Prisons Men’s prisons, the most common general type of prison, are often distinguished by security level. security level A designation applied to a facility to describe the measures taken, both inside and outside, to preserve security and custody. MFP FILE 2012

30. Men’s Prisons • The simplest security level categorization is: • maximum • medium • minimum MFP FILE 2012

31. Men’s Prisons Maximum-security facilities are characterized by very tight internal and external security. MFP FILE 2012

32. Men’s Prisons • Common security measures include: • A high wall or razor-wire fencing • Armed-guard towers • Electronic detectors • External armed patrol • A wide, open buffer zone between the outer wall or fence and the community continued… MFP FILE 2012

33. Men’s Prisons • Restrictions on inmate movement • The capability of closing off areas to contain riots or disruptions MFP FILE 2012

34. Men’s Prisons A recent development is the “ultramaximum” or “supermaximum-security” prison to house notorious offenders and problem inmates from other institutions. • These institutions utilize: • Total isolation of inmates • Constant lockdowns MFP FILE 2012

35. Men’s Prisons Medium-security institutions place fewer restrictions on inmate movement inside the facility. • Characteristics often include: • Dormitory or barracks-type living quarters • No external security wall • Barbed wire rather than razor wire • Fences and towers that look less forbidding MFP FILE 2012

36. Men’s Prisons Minimum-security prisons are smaller and more open. MFP FILE 2012

37. Men’s Prisons • They often house inmates who: • Have established records of good behavior • Are nearing release • Characteristics often include: • Dormitory or barracks living quarters • No fences • Some inmates may be permitted to leave during the day to work or study • Some inmates may be granted furloughs MFP FILE 2012

38. Men’s Prisons Individual inmates are classified by custody level. Although custody levels are sometimes designated by the same terms as security levels, they are independent of each other. MFP FILE 2012

39. Women’s Prisons Women make up about 7% of the prison population, but the incarceration rate for women has grown faster than the incarceration rate for men. • A greater proportion of women than men are serving sentences for property offenses. • Women are more likely to have dependent children and to be serving their first prison term. MFP FILE 2012

40. Women’s Prisons • Prisons exclusively for women tend to be smaller and house fewer inmates than institutions exclusively for men. • Dorm and cottage plans are much more common than cell-block plans for women’s prisons. MFP FILE 2012

41. Jails and Lockups Suspects usually stay in a lockup for only 24 to 48 hours. • A suspect may later be transferred from the lockup to the jail. MFP FILE 2012

42. Jails and Lockups In practice, a jail serves a catchall function in criminal justice and corrections. A jail may hold: • Convicted offenders serving short sentences • Convicted offenders awaiting transfer to prison • Offenders who have violated their probation or parole • Defendants who are awaiting trial MFP FILE 2012

43. Prison Services Many of the human services and programs found in the free society are duplicated within prisons: • Food services • Building maintenance and repair (often performed by inmates) • Medical and dental services • Mail and phone services continued… MFP FILE 2012

44. Prison Services • Visitations • Commissaries where prisoners can purchase food, tobacco, radios, and reading materials • Recreational facilities • Legal resources • Religious services MFP FILE 2012

45. Prison Services All institutions have special-needs populations, in particular: • Elderly inmates who require more medical attention • Inmates with mental disorders • Inmates with HIV and AIDS MFP FILE 2012

46. Prison Services It has long been assumed that rehabilitation can be facilitated by improving inmates’ academic skills and providing them with job skills. • Much prison education amounts to remedial schooling designed to prepare inmates to obtain their GEDs. MFP FILE 2012

47. Prison Services Some prison vocational programs operate as part of job assignments, others are separate. Either way, the goal is to provide inmates with job skills that will improve their marketability upon release. MFP FILE 2012

48. Prison Services Counseling and therapy offered in prisons varies widely. • Sometimes individual counseling (one-on-one with a counselor) and group counseling are both offered. MFP FILE 2012