CRIM 100 - Chapter 13. Corrections: History, Institutions, and Populations

LO1

Identify the various components of the correctional institution system.

• The contemporary correctional system has branches in the federal, state, and county levels of government.

• Felons may be placed in state or federal penitentiaries (prisons), which are usually isolated, high-security structures. Misdemeanants are housed in county jails, sometimes called “reformatories” or “houses of correction.”

• Other types of correctional institutions include ranches and farms for adult offenders and community correctional settings, such as halfway houses, for inmates who are about to return to society.

LO2

Articulate how the first penal institutions developed in England.

• Penal institutions were constructed in England during the tenth century to hold pretrial detainees and those waiting for their sentences to be carried out.

• During the twelfth century, county jails were built to hold thieves and vagrants.

• In 1557, the workhouse in Bridewell was built to hold people convicted of relatively minor offenses and those awaiting execution.

• From 1776 to 1785, a growing inmate population forced the English to house prisoners on hulks—abandoned ships anchored in harbors.

LO3

Explain how William Penn and the Quakers revolutionized corrections in Pennsylvania.

• The “modern” American correctional system had its origins in Pennsylvania under the leadership of William Penn.

• Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Jail was used to house convicted felons, except those sentenced to death. The Quakers’ political influence resulted in limiting the use of the death penalty to cases involving treason, murder, rape, and arson.

• They called for reform of the institutional system so that incarceration could serve as a suitable alternative to physical punishment.

LO4

Compare the early New York and Pennsylvania prison models.

• In 1816, Auburn Prison design was referred to as the “congregate system,” since most prisoners ate and worked in groups.

• Pennsylvania established a prison that placed each inmate in a single cell for the duration of his sentence. Each cell was intended as a miniature prison that would prevent the inmates from contaminating one another.

LO5

Discuss the development of penal reform.

• The National Congress of Penitentiary and Reformatory Discipline, held in Cincinnati in 1870, heralded a new era of prison reform.

• Prison reform groups proposed better treatment for inmates, an end to harsh corporal punishment, the creation of meaningful prison industries, and educational programs.

• Another important trend was the development of specialized prisons designed to treat particular types of offenders.

LO6

Explain the purposes of jails and understand the characteristic makeup of jail populations.

• Jails are used to detain accused offenders who cannot make or are not eligible for bail prior to trial; they hold convicted offenders awaiting sentence; they serve as the principal institution of secure confinement for offenders convicted of misdemeanors.

• Almost 9 out of every 10 jail inmates are adult males, but the number of adult females in jail has been increasing faster than the number of males.

• Characteristics of jail inmates tend to reflect arrest data: men, the poor, and racial and ethnic minorities are overrepresented.

LO7

Define the term new-generation jail.

• New-generation jails allow for continuous observation of residents.

• Correctional officers have closer contact with inmates.

• Research shows that such jails may help reduce postrelease offending and recidivism.

LO8

Classify the different types of federal and state penal institutions.

• Maximum-security prisons, which house the most notorious criminals, are fortress-like, surrounded by stone walls with guard towers at strategic places.

• Medium-security prisons are similar in appearance to maximum-security prisons, but security is not quite so tight, and the atmosphere is less tense.

• Operating without armed guards or perimeter walls, minimum-security prisons usually house the most trustworthy and least violent offenders.

LO9

Discuss prison population trends.

• The vast correctional system, with more than 1,800 institutions, now contains about 1.6 million prison inmates.

• The inmate population has finally begun to stabilize after years of rapid expansion.

• One reason may be changing correctional policies that feature use of community treatment.

jail

A correctional facility designed to hold pretrial detainees and misdemeanants serving their criminal sentence.

prison

A correctional facility designed to hold convicted felons while they serve their criminal sentence.

hulk

Mothballed ship used to house prisoners in eighteenth-century England.

Walnut Street Jail

The birthplace of the modern prison system and of the Pennsylvania system of solitary confinement.

penitentiary houses

A correctional institution for those convicted of major crimes.

Pennsylvania system

A prison system, developed in Pennsylvania during the nineteenth century, based on total isolation and individual penitence.

tier system

A type of prison in which cells are located along corridors in multiple layers or levels.

congregate system

A prison system, originated in New York, in which inmates worked and ate together during the day and then slept in solitary cells at night.

Auburn system

A prison system, developed in New York during the nineteenth century, based on congregate (group) work during the day and separation at night.

contract system

A prison industry system, widely employed until after the Civil War, in which officials sold the labor of prison inmates to private businesses, for use either inside or outside the prison.

convict-lease system

A contract system in which a private business leased prisoners from the state for a fixed annual fee and assumed full responsibility for their supervision and control.

public-account system

A prison industry system, popular after the Civil War, in which employment was directed by the state and the products of the prisoners’ labor were sold for the benefit of the state.

medical model

A view of corrections holding that convicted offenders are victims of their environment who need care and treatment to transform them into valuable members of society.

maximum-security prison

A correctional institution that houses dangerous felons and maintains strict security measures, high walls, and limited contact with the outside world.

super-maximum-security prison

A form of a maximum-security prison, which uses high-level security measures to incapacitate the nation’s most dangerous criminals. Most inmates are in lockdown 23 hours per day.

medium-security prison

A less secure institution that houses nonviolent offenders and provides more opportunities for contact with the outside world.

minimum-security prison

The least secure correctional institution, which houses white-collar and nonviolent offenders, maintains few security measures, and has liberal furlough and visitation policies.

boot camp

A short-term, militaristic correction facility in which inmates undergo intensive physical conditioning and discipline.

shock incarceration

A short-term correctional program based on a boot camp approach that makes use of a military-like regime of high-intensity physical training.

community treatment

The attempt by correctional agencies to maintain convicted offenders in the community rather than in a secure facility; it includes probation, parole, and residential programs.

halfway house

A community-based correctional facility that houses inmates before their outright release so that they can become gradually acclimated to conventional society.