Institutional Corrections - Exam 1

Custodial Model

A prison model that emphasizes discipline, security, and control; historically common before WWII and in maximum-security prisons.

Rehabilitation Model

A prison model that emphasizes reforming offenders and changing their behavior; more commonly associated with juvenile institutions.

Reintegration Model

A prison model linked to community corrections that gradually gives inmates greater freedoms as they prepare to return to society.

Retribution

The idea that punishment is justified because an offender deserves to be punished for the harm they caused.

Deterrence

The idea that punishment prevents crime by discouraging people from committing crimes.

Retaliation

An early form of punishment based on personal revenge against someone who caused harm.

Lex Talionis

The "law of retaliation," commonly associated with the principle of "an eye for an eye."

Blood Feuds

A system in which families or groups sought personal revenge against other families or groups for wrongdoing.

Wergild

An early system of monetary compensation in which an offender paid the victim or victim's family for an offense.

Age of Enlightenment

An intellectual movement of the 1700s emphasizing reason, rationalism, individual rights, and limits on government power.

Rationalism

The belief that reason and logical thought should guide human behavior and government decisions.

Penitentiary

A prison designed to isolate offenders so they could reflect, repent, and reform.

Deterrence Theory

The theory that punishment should provide a benefit to society by preventing future crime.

John Howard

An English prison reformer who investigated the poor conditions of English jails and helped generate support for prison reform.

Penitentiary Act of 1779

English legislation influenced by John Howard that promoted secure and sanitary prisons, systematic inspection, abolition of fees, and reformatory practices.

Walnut Street Jail

A Philadelphia institution that became the first major example of the penitentiary concept in the United States, emphasizing isolation and labor.

Pennsylvania System

A prison system based on isolation in which inmates were kept separate from one another to encourage reflection, repentance, and reformation.

Quaker Method

Another name for the Pennsylvania System, reflecting the influence of Quaker beliefs on prison reform.

Eastern State Penitentiary

A historic prison that became a major example of the Pennsylvania System and its emphasis on inmate isolation.

New York/Auburn System

A prison system in which inmates were separated at night but worked together during the day under strict discipline.

Congregate Model

A prison model in which inmates congregate during the day for work but are separated at night.

Military-Style Management

A strict prison management approach emphasizing discipline, order, and obedience.

1870 Declaration of Principles

Principles developed at the National Prison Association meeting in Cincinnati emphasizing inmate change, rehabilitation, indeterminate sentences, and the idea that criminals suffered from a moral disease.

Progressives

Reformers who emphasized individualized treatment, understanding an offender's life history, rehabilitation, and individualized correctional decisions.

Individualized Treatment

The Progressive-era idea that correctional treatment should be based on the individual offender's background, problems, and needs.

Indeterminate Sentence

A sentence without a fixed release date in which correctional officials or parole boards help determine when an offender is ready for release.

Parole

Conditional release from prison into the community before the maximum sentence has been completed.

Elmira Reformatory

The first major reformatory based on Progressive principles; it used individualized treatment and a grading system to encourage good behavior.

Zebulon Brockway

Superintendent of the Elmira Reformatory who implemented the institution's Progressive reform philosophy.

Three Grade System

Elmira's system in which inmates could move between Grades 1, 2, and 3 based on behavior and progress toward release.

Medical Model

A correctional model that treats criminal behavior as a problem that can be diagnosed and treated, with rehabilitation as a major goal.

Patuxent Institution

A Maryland correctional institution associated with the medical model in which inmates were treated as patients.

Crime Control Model

A correctional philosophy that became prominent during the 1970s and emphasized punishment, control, and public safety rather than treatment.

Get-Tough Movement

A period beginning in the 1970s and especially prominent during the 1980s and 1990s in which policies emphasized punishment, longer sentences, and increased incarceration.

Rise of Mass Incarceration

The dramatic growth in the U.S. prison population, particularly during the 1980s and 1990s.

Juvenile Corrections

The correctional system dealing with young offenders, including residential placement and long-term secure facilities.

Residential Placement

A term used for juvenile correctional facilities where young offenders are housed.

Long-Term Secure Facility

A secure juvenile correctional institution used for youths who require extended confinement.

Adult Court Transfer

The process through which a juvenile is transferred or "bound over" to adult court and may therefore be subject to adult correctional policies.

Incarceration Rate

The number of people incarcerated relative to the population, usually expressed per a specified number of residents.

Current U.S. Incarceration Trend

The U.S. incarceration rate has generally declined since 2010, although the decline has leveled off and the rate has increased slightly in recent years.

Get-Tough Prison Growth

The get-tough movement increased incarceration dramatically, with state and federal prison populations rising from about 294,395 in 1978 to approximately 1.6 million in 2008.

Prison Construction

The building of additional prisons in response to the major increase in incarceration during the get-tough era.

Private Prisons

Correctional facilities operated by private companies rather than directly by government agencies.

Re-thinking the Get-Tough Movement

Beginning around 2010, states increasingly reconsidered punitive incarceration policies because of research findings, financial costs, and ethical concerns.

Empirical Research

Research based on observed and measurable evidence rather than assumptions or opinions.

Treatment Programs

Correctional programs designed to address factors associated with criminal behavior and help offenders change their behavior.

Community-Based Corrections

Correctional programs that supervise or treat offenders in the community rather than in secure institutions.

Cost of Incarceration

The substantial financial expense associated with operating prisons, which became an important reason states reconsidered get-tough policies.

Racial Disparities

Differences in incarceration rates among racial and ethnic groups.

Systemic Racism

Institutional or systemic practices and structures that can contribute to unequal outcomes among racial groups.

Structural Disadvantage

Social and economic disadvantages that can contribute to unequal involvement in the criminal justice system.

Mandatory Minimum Sentence

A law requiring a judge to impose at least a specified minimum prison sentence for certain offenses.

Prison Crowding

A condition in which prisons house more people than their facilities or resources can comfortably or safely accommodate.

Solitary Confinement

Housing an inmate alone in a cell with very limited contact with other people, often for most of the day.

California Prison Population Reduction

California was required to reduce its prison population because of overcrowding and related legal concerns.

Policy Shifts

Changes in correctional policies intended to reduce incarceration, including drug-law changes, rehabilitation programs, community alternatives, and reduced parole revocations.

California Realignment Initiative

A California policy designed to reduce the state prison population by shifting responsibility for certain lower-level offenders from state prisons to county systems.

COVID-19 and Incarceration

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant declines in prison and jail populations as some people were released and others who might normally have been imprisoned were kept in jails or the community.

Importation Model

The idea that prison culture is influenced by characteristics inmates bring with them, such as age, gender, race, and prior experiences.

Deprivation Model

The idea that prison culture is influenced by characteristics of the prison environment, such as security level, correctional officer attitudes, and physical conditions.

Gender and Incarceration

Men make up the large majority of the prison population and are incarcerated at a much higher rate than women, although women's incarceration has also increased.

Age and Incarceration

Incarceration rates generally increase through early adulthood and decline after approximately age 36.

Median Age of State Prisoners

The median age of the state prison population is approximately 36 years old according to the course notes.

Elderly Prisoners

Prisoners age 55 or older who have increased substantially as a percentage of the prison population and generally have greater medical and physical needs.

Oldest Prisoner Group

Prisoners age 65 and older, who often have especially high medical and physical needs.

Geriatric Prison

A correctional facility specifically designed to house elderly prisoners.

Geriatric Release

A provision allowing certain elderly or medically vulnerable prisoners to be released from prison under specified conditions.

Racial Overrepresentation

The disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic minorities within the correctional population compared with their representation in the general population.

Offense Type

The category of offense for which a person is incarcerated, such as drug, sexual, violent, or gang-related offenses.

Sexual Offenses

A broad category of offenses involving unlawful sexual conduct; the category contains offenders with very different backgrounds and behaviors.

Sexually Assaultive Offender

An offender who commits sexual assault, including rape, often associated in the notes with power and anger motivations.

Pedophilia

A condition involving sexual interest in prepubescent children; people convicted of offenses involving children can create particular prison-management and safety concerns.

HIV

Human immunodeficiency virus, a virus that can weaken the immune system and requires medical management in correctional settings.

AIDS

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, the advanced stage of HIV infection that can cause serious immune-system problems.

HIV in Prisons

HIV is found among prisoners at approximately twice the rate of the general population, creating challenges involving testing, treatment, education, and prevention.

Prison Population

The number of people held in state and federal prisons at a given time.

State Prisons

Prisons operated by state governments, generally housing people convicted of state crimes.

Federal Prisons

Prisons operated by the federal government, generally housing people convicted of federal crimes.

State Correctional System

The state-level network of correctional institutions and agencies responsible for incarcerating and supervising people convicted of state offenses.

Federal Bureau of Prisons

The federal agency created in 1930 that manages federal correctional institutions and inmates.

Fort Leavenworth

The first official federal prison identified in the course notes.

Maximum-Security Prison

A prison with the highest level of security and strict limitations on inmate freedom, primarily emphasizing custody and security.

Closed Custody

A correctional classification involving strict security controls and significant restrictions on inmate movement and freedom.

Medium-Security Prison

A prison with substantial security but more privileges and freedoms than a maximum-security facility.

Minimum-Security Prison

A prison with fewer physical restrictions and greater personal freedom, often emphasizing rehabilitation.

Open Custody

A correctional classification involving fewer physical restrictions and greater inmate freedom.

Supermax Prison

An extremely high-security facility or unit designed primarily to manage highly violent or disruptive inmates.

Supermax Characteristics

Supermax inmates typically spend most of the day in their cells, have limited physical contact with staff, and receive little programming.

Military Prisons

Correctional facilities operated by or for the military that may house prisoners of war, enemy combatants, or people convicted of military crimes.

Guantanamo Bay

A U.S. military detention facility in Cuba associated with the detention of terrorism suspects and enemy combatants.

Prison Design

The physical layout of a correctional institution, which can influence movement, supervision, security, and inmate interaction.

Radial Design

An early prison design with a central area and multiple wings or "spokes" extending outward like a wheel.

Courtyard Design

A prison design featuring a common central yard where inmates can move and gather.

Campus-Style Design

A prison design consisting of smaller buildings or housing units spread throughout a larger area, commonly used for juvenile and female institutions.

Cell Housing

Prison housing in which inmates are housed individually or with another inmate in enclosed cells.

Pod Design

A newer prison housing design that organizes cells around a common central area where staff can supervise inmates.

Dormitory Housing

Open housing in which multiple inmates live together in a large shared space, commonly associated with minimum-security facilities.

Standard Prison Cell Size

The course notes identify a standard prison cell as approximately 8 by 9 feet.

Prison Privatization

The use of private companies to operate prisons or provide correctional services.