Ch8: Corrections

Punishment comes from the ___ of the people, then is carried out through ___, and is converted into ___

• will

• legislative process

• sentencing parties

retribution

• oldest of the punishment ideologies

• only backward-looking philosophy of punishment

• primary goal is to ensure that punishments are proportionate to the seriousness of crimes committed, regardless of individual differences between offenders, other than mens rea and an understanding of moral culpability

backward-looking philosophy

• means that the punishment doesn’t address anything in the future, only for the past harm done

• solely for punishment of offender’s past actions

“an eye for an eye”

developed in early Babylonian law, and we see some first written forms of customs and practices

Babylonian Code/Code of Hammurabi

• ~1780 BC

• considered first attempt to codify practices by individuals of a group

• first attempt at written laws

retributivist philosophy

calls for any suffering beyond what was originally intended during sentencing to be removed

forward-looking ideologies

designed to provide punishment and decrease level of reoffending (recidivism) through some type of change

recidivism

reoffending

deterrence

• a major punishment ideology

• rooted in concepts of classical criminology

• can be focused on a group or on 1 individual

• “reduction of offending (and future offending) through sanction or threat of sanction”

• 2 distinct categories: specific and general

specific deterrence

• geared towards trying to teach the individual offender a lesson

• meant to better that individual so they will not recidivate

general deterrence

• when 1 person offends, punishment received is going to be the same for all

• group doing the punishing attempts to relay the message of future events to the masses

other principles of deterrence include:

• marginal deterrence

• absolute deterrence

• displacement

marginal deterrence

works on the principle that action itself is only decreased in amount by the the offender, not removed

absolute deterrence

surrealistic concept often thought to be created by R. Peele, in his idea of creating a police force to remove all crime

• little to no evidence to support that all crime can be deterred within a specific area, or even in general

displacement

argues crime isn’t deterred, but is shifted on 3 levels

• may be shifted by time, location, or type of crime committed

For efficacy of the deterrence theory, 3 key things must be installed within each individual in society: must have …

• it’s more probable that crime will deterred if all 3 of these elements are in place within society

• free will - everyone’s ability to make choices about their future actions, like choosing when to offend and not to offend

• some amount of rationality

• felicity

• hedonism (hedonistic calculus) - we must desire more pleasurable things than harmful ones

deterrence theory works 3 key elements: (in incremental steps)

1. certainty - by making certain, or at least making public think that their offenses aren’t going to go unpunished, then there will be a deterrent factor; most important element in deterrence theory

2. celerity - swiftness of punishment; a secondary factor in rationalizing for the offender; if they know how swift the punishment will be, they won’t offend

3. severity

Does deterrence appear to work?

Deterrence appears to work for the lower level offenses, and for individuals that are generally prosocial, but overall effect of deterrence is limited

incapacitation

removal of an individual (from society), for a set amount of time, so as they can’t commit crimes (in society) for an amount of time in the future

Hulk

large, British ships that carried convicted individuals off to far away lands

collective incapacitation

incarceration of large groups of individuals to remove their ability to commit crimes for a set amount of time in the future

The “politicization of punishment” increases overall prisoner levels in 2 ways:

1. By changing views toward discretion allowed to decision makers, we’ve gotten tougher on crime. In turn, more people are being sentenced to prison that may have otherwise gone to a specialized probation or community sanction alternatives

2. These same attitudes have led to harsher and lengthier punishments for certain crimes. Offenders are being sent away for longer sentences, which has caused intake-to-release ratio to change, causing enormous buildups of prison population

selective incapacitation

• incarcerated individuals for longer periods of time than others

• removed their individual ability to commit crimes (in society) for greater periods of time in the future than others

rehabilitation

changing offenders’ behaviors so they’re not committing crimes in the future

• What are the 3 goals of corrections?

• What is the only ideology that covers all 3?

• punish offender, protect society, and rehabilitate offenders

• Rehabilitation

reform movement

tried to rehabilitate offender through more humane treatment, to include basic education, religious services, work experiences, and general reform efforts

• done in an effort to reform individuals, allowing them back into society

Other attempts at rehabilitation, include …

medical approaches, for example chemical castration still occurs

Some offenders are at a higher risk for offending than other offenders. This includes… (what are these called?)

prior criminal history, antisocial attitudes, antisocial (pro-criminal) friends, lack of education, etc

• these are considered risk factors for offending (re-offending)

criminogenic needs

items that when changed, can lower an individual’s risk of offending

• at the heart of most modern effective rehabilitation programs

One of the most useful approaches to changing antisocial attitudes and behaviors of offenders has come in the form of ____ efforts

behavioral and cognitive behavioral change

cognitive behavioral change

based on concepts that behaviors that one exhibits can be changed by changing the thinking patterns behind (before) behaviors are exhibited

jails (who runs them? aka?)

• largely run by County Sheriffs in the US

• aka Bridewells, workhouses, etc

How many jails are there in the US today? How/why has that number changed over time?

• ~ 3,300 jails in US today

• Number of jails has changed immensely, due to a variety of reasons, including:

  • inclusion or exclusion of Youth Facilities, Native American Facilities, Privately Owned Facilities, and reporting structures (who reports a jail in a given year)

How do jails vary?

function, size, and how they’re designed

While most jails are run by the ___, there are some jails that are managed by ___ or ___

• County Sheriff

• cities

• jurisdictions

Jails can be separated into 2 broad types: (name and describe them)

• older generation jails - typically linear in design, with cell doors separating rooms or sections down long corridors

• newer generation jails - more popular in design, where multiple cells face a central area; direct supervision approach is often used

direct supervision

where there are no particular barriers between deputies and detainees within a facility

The jail is a collection point for many differing agencies, includes:

County Sheriff’s Office, Municipal, local, City - police

general average is that a person spends about ___ days in jail

25

about ___ of individuals in jails at any given time are not convicted

63%

What is the first recognized institution in the US to house individuals?

the Walnut Street Jail

Eastern State Penitentiary (ESP)

• many of the cells in prison would open to individual courtyards where individuals cold look up and “get right with God”, hence concept of penitentiary (penance)

• individuals spent much of their time in their cells, or in own reflection yards, reading the bible, and praying in silence

Auburn Prison

• became leader of the 2nd main prison style

• utilized a congregate system

congregate system

still in silence, inmates would gather to do tasks or work

The concept of ___ eventually replaced ideals of constant solitude

labor

___ took hold as dominant model for many prisons, and many states began to model their prisons after ___

• congregate system

• Auburn prison

prisons in the US can be parceled out by ___ and by ___

• jurisdiction

• intensity

jurisdiction

refers to who manages prisons

prison warden

generally considered managerial face of the institution

Normal label for organizational structure of prisons in a particular state is often called the ____ and are run by a ____, who is usually appointed by a ____

• Departments of Corrections

• Director

• Governor

Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) (est? why? number of prisons?)

• established in early 1930s as a result of the need to house an increasing number of individuals convicted of federal crimes

• not until 1930 that Congress passed legislation to create the BOP, housing it under the justice department

• has 109 prisons; also military prisons, and alternative facilities, reentry centers, and training centers

federal prisons are separated into 6 regions:

• Mid-Atlantic Region

• North Central Region

• Northeast Region

• Southeast Region

• South Central Region

• Western Region

a central office is also designated for each of the 6 regions

Privatization of good and services has long been a staple of state departments of corrections, as it allows these organizations to subcontract specific tasks within their prisons. This includes services like…

food and transportation services, medical, dental, and mental health services, education services, and laundry services

What are some critiques regarding the privatization of goods and services in departments of corrections?

• lack of transparency in reporting processes that would come from a normal prison

• punishment for prison - while taxpayers ultimately pay for all punishment of individuals, either at state or Federal level, shareholders, and administrators of companies are making money by punishing people, under the guise of capitalism

each jurisdiction of prisons have varying degrees of ___ - considered

• intensity or seriousness

• prison levels or classifications

many states have 3 classification levels:

minimum, medium, and maximum

• some states have a 4th level aka super-max

BOP has 5 levels:

minimum, low, medium, high, and unclassified

Alcatraz

• not in operation today

• probably most famous Federal US prison - considered a super-max at one point

• housed most dangerous federal inmates

classification level: minimum

these prisons usually have dorm style housing, typically only for non-violent offenders, with shorter sentences

classification level: low

• similar to minimum, to include some kind of dormitory style housing

• normally more serious or disruptive offenders

• fencing around perimeter is generally higher (may be a double fence)

• offenders are housed here for longer periods

classification level: medium

• housed in cells

• perimeter is a high fence, may have barbed wire, or large walls surrounding institution

• inmates here typically have longer sentences, and include violence convictions

classification level: high or maximum

• similar to medium, but most offenders have violent convictions, and longer sentences, including life in prison

• single occupancy cells

classification level: super-max or administrative control

• depending on what mission is for that particular prison, prisoners in these institutions could be vastly different

• cells would almost all be single occupancy

• most of these individuals are classified as extreme threats to the successful operations of the prison and are long-term inmates

  • LWOP - life without possibility of parole)

intake centers

• can be part of an institution, running alongside normal operation of an institution

• classify offenders coming from various courts in the jurisdiction, post felony conviction

• offender has an initial classification

initial classification

• they get assigned to one of the jurisdictions’ prisons, based on a point system for that agency

• looks at priors, prior and current violence, escape risk, and potential self-harm

The types of people that end up in prison are different than individuals that go to jail. How?

Almost all people that go to prisons in the US are people that have been convicted of felony-level crimes and will serve more than a year (or they could have muliple years on their jail sentence)

The largest volume of individuals under correctional control resides in …

probation and community corrections