CJ Module 7

What are Corrections? 

Prison bars? Orange jumpsuits? Barbed wire? Prison guards? If you thought of any of these, you’re not necessarily wrong. But it isn’t the entire system of corrections. Corrections are also when someone has to pay a misdemeanor fine, check in with their probation & parole officer, or spend time in a court-ordered rehabilitation center.

Corrections are the

punishment, supervision, and treatment of individuals suspected of criminal or delinquent offenses and the various legal and extralegal entities involved in carrying out that function.

Corrections have two main components: 

Custody and community supervision. Far more people are sentenced to community supervision than to custody. 

Prisons

Detention facilities are operated by the state or federal government, and are used to house individuals convicted of crimes and serving a year or more. 

Jails

They are used to house people short-term. These include people who were arrested and waiting to bond out, people being held for other jurisdictions, probation and parole violators, are people sentenced to less than a year's custody (Mostly misdemeanors). 

The majority of people held in jails are

legally innocent (pretrial).

Jails

Most people in jail are not convicted and are legally innocent

Jails are the gateway to the corrections system. People go to jail before being placed on probation or sentenced to State or Federal Prison

State Prisons

Most incarcerated people are held in state prisons

The majority of people in state prisons are being held for violent crimes.

The average length of stay (average time spent) in state prison is 2.6 years. 

On average, state prisoners complete around 46 percent of their sentence before being released on parole. 

95 percent of people sentenced to prison are eventually released.

Federal Prison

The majority of people held in Federal prisons are for drug crimes.

The average length of stay (average time spent) in federal prison is 3 years. 

Inmates in federal prison serve 88 percent of their sentence. They are not released to parole, because there is no parole in the federal system.

 The Corrections Boom: 1980-2008

Between 1980 and 2008, the American corrections system grew exponentially. The prison population grew by 400%, and probation and parole populations grew by 225%. In 2008, there were 7.3 million people under some type of correctional supervision.

Many people attribute this growth to the “tough on crime era” of the 80s and 90s, in response to the so-called crack epidemic and a rise in violent crime.  During this time, mandatory minimums and harsh sentencing rules like the “three strikes law” were passed. The “war on drugs” has also been credited with driving more nonviolent individuals into prison with lengthy sentences.

Corrections Populations Decline: 2008-2015

Beginning in 2008, corrections populations began a steady decline.

Even here in Louisiana, long known as the “Prison Capital of the World,” has seen a steady decline in corrections populations. In fact, last year Oklahoma overtook Louisiana as the state with the highest incarceration rate.

However, the corrections population in the US is still high, and remains the highest among developed nations. Roughly 1 in 37 US adult residents are under some type of correctional supervision.

What caused this decline? Cost

Financial: The annual cost of housing an inmate in prison is around $31k a year. In 2010, approximately $80 billion was spent on corrections in the US.

Human: Incarceration enacts a human cost to communities, families, and individuals, in the form of stigmatization, loss of income, social disruption, and increases in crime.

In response, states have moved to increase parole eligibility and alternatives to incarceration

What caused this decline? Ineffective Practices

Studies over time show that the rise in incarceration had little to no impact on crime rates. Some researchers argue that high rates of incarceration may increase crime overall.

In response, states have moved towards “smart on crime” strategies, including reduced penalties for nonviolent crimes, reduced prison sentences, and restricting or ending laws passed during the tough-on-crime era.

They have also moved to improving reentry for inmates returning to the community, including the restoration of voting rights, access to public assistance, and employment training and referrals.

What caused this decline? Public Sentiment

The general public is now more supportive of lenient sentencing and decriminalizing certain offenses, such as marijuana use and possession. Support for capital punishment is also waning and executions are becoming less common.

Classification is the

Ongoing process of collecting and evaluating information about each inmate to determine the inmate's risk and need for appropriate confinement, treatment, programs, and employment assignment, whether in a facility or the community.

Risk Influence:

The following factors are considered when deciding how an inmate in jail and/or prison should be classified:

1. The inmate's escape profile

2. severity and violence of the current offense;

3. history of violence;

4. length of sentence;

5. presence of pending charges, detainers, or both;

6. discipline history; and

7. Security risk group membership.

Inmates are classified by:

Conviction offense, age, gender, gang affiliation, motivational level, and history of institutional adjustment.

External Classification

This classification will decide which type of facility the inmate will be housed in.

Minimum Security

Low risk

First-timers, white-collar criminals

Can wear own clothing, but routine is regimented

Medium Security

Looks like a traditional style prison, with razor wire and guard towers.

Inmates live in a dormitory style housing

Most prisons, including Louisiana, usually include varied security levels within prisons.

 Maximum Security

Focused more on incapacitation than treatment and rehabilitation

Prisoners are separated from one another.

Usually has lower incidents of violence and abuse.

In most states and prisons, max is the highest level

Supermax

Extreme isolation

Usually for extremely dangerous individuals, but also escape risks

Can cause a decline in mental health

Over 40 Supermax prisons in the US

ADX Florence in Colorado

Internal Classification

This type of classification will decide which unit a person is housed in within a prison.

Examples include: Disciplinary segregation, protective custody, mental health, and/or medical units.

Internal classification is important to ensure sexual predators are not housed with potential victims, gang members are kept away from rivals and potential recruits, and victims or victim’s families are separated from the perpetrator.

What do we use jails for? Pretrial Incarceration

The primary function of a jail is to temporarily hold individuals awaiting trial who are: a) too dangerous to be released; or b) pose a risk of flight.

Purpose of Jails—Other functions include:

House probation, parole, and bail-bond violators

Detain individuals sentenced to misdemeanor or short-term felony imprisonment

Hold mentally ill persons pending transfer to an appropriate facility.

Temporarily hold inmates while they await extradition to another state/country

Who staffs the jail?

Most jails are managed and operated by the county/parish Sheriff’s Office. (Prisons, however, are operated by the state or federal government.)

Sheriff’s deputies are typically assigned to be jailers. Some jurisdictions require that all new deputies first work in the jail before being assigned to patrol.

They may also hire “jailers” for the specific purpose of working in the jail.

Sheriff’s deputies or jailers are not usually trained to the same level as corrections officers in prisons.

The corrections pie:

Fewer people than in state prisons, but more than in federal prisons.

The majority of people in jail are legally innocent (They are awaiting trial).

40 percent have been convicted (short sentence, awaiting transfer to the Department of Corrections (DOC) or the Bureau of Prisons (BOP)).

All of these people may be housed together (innocent with convicted).

Unlike prisons, jails typically experience high rates of inmate turnover. People are released, and new inmates are booked. The average length of stay (LOS), or how long people can expect to spend in jail, was 25 days in the US.

General criticisms of jails in the U.S: Growth Dynamic

Research has shown that when jurisdictions build bigger jails, they tend to get filled with more people (if you build, they will come).

A few reasons why this may happen—Growth Dynamics:

Sheriff’s Depts.  rely on the funding received from housing state and federal prisoners.

If there is limited space to house inmates, the justice system may feel greater pressure to only house the most serious cases. Without space limitations, jurisdictions won’t have this pressure.

Negative impacts: Just 3 days count

Research shows that just 3 days in jail can cause people to lose their jobs, worsen family problems, increase health risks, and increase recidivism.

Negative impacts—Lack of programming:

Because jails are designed for shorter stays, they are not as equipped as prisons in providing programming, such as GED classes, and mental health and substance abuse treatment. However, many jails (especially in LA) use jails frequently to house state and federal prisoners for longer terms. These prisoners do not have access to services that may assist them with reentry.

Overcrowding

It can cause chaos in jails, which can be dangerous for both staff and inmates alike.

It’s more important to consider the jail growth dynamic before thinking about building a bigger jail. In many cases, jurisdictions can safely reduce their jail populations by moving sentenced state and federal prisoners to their respective facilities more quickly, using alternatives to incarceration, and allowing more people to be released without financial bail.

Mentally Ill in Jail

Beginning in the 1970s and 1980s, 96 percent of all psychiatric hospitals shut down.

In return, most people are now arrested and put in jail instead of being hospitalized.

Most of these crimes are non-serious: loitering, disturbing the peace, breaking, theft.

The largest de facto mental health facilities in the nation are the Cook County and Los Angeles County jails.

Most jails are ill-equipped to deal with mentally ill inmates. Jails must separate the mentally ill and provide adequate treatment.

Suicide:

More than half of all jail inmates suffer from some form of mental illness. It is the leading cause of death in jail (heart disease second). Rates are higher in jails than in prisons

Classification:

an incarcerated person’s security and treatment plan based on one's security, social, vocational, psychological, and educational needs like incarcerated. 

Jail:

a facility that holds persons who have been arrested for crimes and are awaiting trial, persons who have been convicted for misdemeanors and are serving a sentence (up to a year) in jail, federal offenders, and others. 

New Generation/ Direct supervised Jail:

a jail that, by its architecture and design, eliminates many of the traditional features of a jail, allowing staff members greater interaction and control. 

Prison:

a state or federal facility that houses incarcerated persons, typically convicted of felonies, usually for a year. 

Prison Industries:

Use of incarcerated persons in person and jails to produce food or provide services for a public agency or private corporation. 

Privatization:

The operation of existing prison facilities or the building and operation of new facilities by for-profit companies. 

State Prison:

a correctional facility that houses persons convicted of felonies or crimes at the state level. 

Super Max Prison:

a penal institution that, for security purposes, affords incarcerated persons very few, if any, amenities and a great amount of isolation. 

Warden:

The chief administrator of a federal penitentiary or state prison.