Prisons and Jails

What is the Pennsylvania system?

an early model of prisons that focused on solitary confinement, silence, and work in cells

What is the New York system?

used the system of silence that was popular in the Pennsylvania system but adopted congregate labor systems

What are good-time credits?

allows inmates to earn time off of their sentence for good behavior

What percent of inmates in local jails have been convicted of a crime?

35%

What percent of inmates in local jails are waiting for their cases to proceed through the criminal justice system?

65%

What are some of the significant challenges that jails face?

population is constantly changing and high number of deaths

What percent of all inmates are in a state prison for violent offenses?

54.5%

What percent of all inmates are in a state prison for property crimes?

18%

What percent of all inmates are in a state prison for drug crimes?

15.2%

What percent of all inmates are in a state prison for public order offenses?

11.6%

How much have prison operating costs have increased over the past three decades?

384%

How much does California spend a year to incarcerate each inmate?

$47,000

How much of the total goes to security costs?

$19,000

How much to inmate healthcare?

$12,000

How much to rehabilitation?

$1,612

What percent of all offenders in military prisons for all branches were incarcerated for sex crimes?

24.4%

What are the four categories of prison security?

1. minimum security
2. medium security
3. maximum security
4. supermax

What is racial disproporionality?

occurs when inmates of color are overrepresented in the prison population when compared with their representation in society in general

Compared to young white men, how much more likely are young black men to be incarcerated?

10 times more likely

Compared to white women, how much more likely are black women to be incarcerated?

1.6 and 4.1 more likely

What are some of the significant consequences of prison overcrowding

not enough space, inmate jobs decrease, increased tensions in prisoners

What are some of the factors that predict prison misconduct?

younger inmates tend to have higher rates of prison misconduct and inmates with longer sentences are more likely to engage in acts of misconduct

What percent of inmates are gang involved?

12% to 16%

What is the significance of Cooper v. Pate

shifted the philosophy on prisoner litigation and established prisoner's rights

How does incarceration exacerbate mental health issues?

1. stressful experience
2. resources for mental health was focused on crisis intervention, not therapy
3. inmates feel degraded and abused

What are some recommendations for reforming the experience of mentally ill prisoners? #1

1. increased options in the community

What are some recommendations for reforming the experience of mentally ill prisoners? #2

2. implement diversion style programs in lieu of incarceration

What are some recommendations for reforming the experience of mentally ill prisoners? #3

3. develop screening tools and expand services beyond the traditional effort

What are some recommendations for reforming the experience of mentally ill prisoners? #4

4. states need to allocate more financial resources towards the mentally ill