Quiz 3

History of Prisons in America

Penitentiary: Earliest form of large-scale incarceration.

• Punished individuals by isolating them so they could reflect on their misdeeds, repent, and reform.

Pennsylvania system: Involved solitary confinement in silence instead of corporal punishment.

Auburn system: Allowed inmates to work silently together during the day, but they were isolated at night. 

Age of persons in Prison 

• Middle-aged and older inmates make up a growing portion of the prison population 

• Sustained drop in juvenile incarcerations in adult prison. 

Most Serious Offense of Persons in Prison

• Over the past decade,the percentage of individuals in state  prisons convicted of violent offenses has increased to 62%, while those convicted of property and drug offenses have decreased by 5%. Public order offenses, however,saw an increase from 9% to 11%. 

• In Federal prison, the majority (90%) of individuals are charged with drug and public order offenses, including immigration, regulatory violations,tax violations, and environmental matters, with fewer incarcerated for violent or property crimes compared to state prisons. 

Prison and Other Drivers of Mass Incarceration 

Role of jail populations in driving mass incarceration is significant. 

Additional drivers of mass incarceration: 

• Jail admission data. 

• Pretrial jail population. 

• Sentenced jail population.

Educational Programming 

Advantages: 

• Lowers the rates of rearrest,conviction,and reincarceration. 

• Increases the chances of finding employment.

• Improves the social climate around the individual and reduces problems with disciplinary infractions. 

Challenges faced by correctional educators: 

• Delivering effective instruction.

• Low priority in correctional budgeting. 

Vocational Training 

Acquisition of practical skills, attitudes,understanding, and knowledge necessary for effective employment in specific occupations.

Advantages in prison: 

• Reduce the problems people face after release from prison

• Program completion and certification signals to potential employers the individuals seriousness in moving forward. 

Vocation programs: CDL, SWIFT, & TLM coding program.

Prison work assignments 

• In federal and state prisons, people who are incarcerated are required to work if they are medically able. 

• Opportunity to increase individuals’ postrelease employment opportunities. 

Prison Industries 

Advantages: 

• Place incarcerated workers in a realistic work environment 

• Provide job skills 

• Pay the prevailing local wage for similar work.

• Enable a person in prison to acquire marketable skills to increase their potential for successful rehabilitation. 

• Meaningful employment upon release. 

• Enable a person in prison to be a tax-paying citizen.

Federal prison industries: A federal, paid work program and self-supporting corporation. 

UNICOR: the trade name of federal prison industries. 

Prison industry enhancement certification program (PIECP) 

• Allows the interstate and foreign sale of goods produced by incarcerated persons. 

• Requires that state correctional agencies meet certain criteria. 

State prisons systems: Organization and Administration 

Have a central authority based in the state capital.

Centralized model has been maintained for: 

• Legal control 

• Equitable distribution of resources

State prisons systems: Size and Cost

• State departments of corrections vary in size.

• Corrections is the fourth largest category of states’ spending.

• That vast majority of funds that go to state corrections systems–9 of every 10 dollars–goes to prisons. 

Federal Bureau of Prisons: Organization and Administration 

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a separate correctional agency apart from state departments of corrections. 

• Three Prisons Act,1891, authorized the establishment of three federal penitentiaries: Atlanta (Georgia), Leavenworth(Kansas), and McNeil Island (Washington). 

• The director faces challenges related to the BOP’s failure to implement an RNA system mandated by the first step act. Recommendations by GAO include improving data collection, conducting timely assessments,and setting goals for evidence-based programs. 

Federal Bureau of Prisons: Size and Cost 

• Decrease in the number of persons under federal correctional authority. 

• 122 federal confinement facilities 

• Staff: Twenty-eight percent are female, and 40 percent are nonwhite.

• The average cost to confine one person in a federal prison is $39,158.

Privately Operated Prisons 

• Today's trend toward privatization of prisons began in 1984 when president Reagan asked the Grace Commission to study waste and inefficiency in the federal government.

• Forty percent of the private prison population in five states: Florida, Texas,Arizona, Tennessee, and Ohio.

• The issue that stands at the center of the debate about private prisons is the belief that administering punishment is an inherent responsibility of the government,not the private sector. 

Minimum-Security Institution 

• Confines the least dangerous people for both short and long periods.

• Freedom of movement, privileges, and amenities are determined based on the goal of the facility.

• May have dormitory housing 

• Staff-to-inmate ratio is relatively low.

• Open institution: Minimum-security facility that has no fences or walls surrounding it. 

Medium-security Prison 

• Confines individuals less dangerous than those in maximum security 

• Places fewer controls on individuals and visitors’ freedom of movement. 

• Has barred cells and a fortified perimeter

• Staff-to-inmate ratio is lower than that in a maximum-security facility.

Maximum-Security Prison 

• Confines dangerous individuals for long periods.

• Has a secure perimeter,barred cells, and high staff to-inmate ratio.

• Imposes strict controls on the movement of incarcerated persons and visitors. 

• Offers few programs, amenities, or privileges. 

Supermax prisons 

• The BOP reverted to the concentration model–all problem prisoners would be housed together in a separate facility 

• Security threat groups: The current term for prison gangs that describes how they negatively impact the security of prison operations. 

• Supermax housing: A freestanding facility, or a distinct unit within a facility,that provides for management and secure control of persons who have been officially designated as exhibiting violent or serious and disruptive behavior while incarcerated. 

Technocorrections: Communication 

Contraband is any item that represents a serious threat to the safety and security of the correctional institution,staff, incarcerated population and the general public. The major forms of prison contraband are cell phones and drugs. 

Technocorrections: Videoconferencing 

• Used for visitation,legal hearings, education programming & staff development. 

• Increases the number of visitations conducted each day.

• COVID-19 encouraged its use. 

• Provides options to all incarcerated persons to engage with visitors. 

• Improves security by reducing movement and the flow of contraband. 

• Reduces the cost associated with moving people between prison and court.

• New costs accrue for VC hardware and software. 

Artificial Intelligence in Correctional Institutions 

• General ability of computers to mimic human intelligence to enable problem-solving. 

• AI technologies are working to assist or argue the correctional staff's ability to make data -driven decisions. AI applications are used to monitor communication,location,and biometrics; detect contraband; create risk and needs assessment; and to a lesser extent, to increase educational and treatment programming.

• Women in Jail

  • There has been an upsurge in the number of women who are incarcerated in the United Sates 

  • Almost half of the women in jail were under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the offense

  • Forty six percent had members of their immediate families sentenced to prison. 

  • Two of every 10 grew up in a home where one or both parents abused drugs, alcohol, or both. 

  Factors Influencing Women Offenders’ Behavior

  Pathways perspective 

  • Women in jail have histories of sexual and/or physical abuse and sexual abuse 

  Relational theory and female development 

  • Describe different ways men and women develop 

  • Women are drawn into criminal activity because of their relationship with others. 

  Trauma theory 

  • Violence and abuse encountered in the past affect behavior 

  Relational theory and female development

  • Combines substance abuse treatment programs with additional pathway factors. 

  Race and Jail Populations 

  • The prevailing thought in criminology is the opioid crisis.racial profiling and the war on drugs are often-cited reasons for the overrepresentation of minorities. 

  • A number of researchers have found that judges impose higher bail– or more likely to deny bail altogether–if the defendant is a racial minority. 

  Mental illness and Jail Populations 

  Jails have become the largest de facto mental health facility 

  The majority of individuals who have a mental illness are not often fit for retribution of punishment.

  • Jails are ill-equipped to meet the special needs of persons with mental illness. 

  Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 

  • Young people charged with offenses may not be held in secure confinement.

  • Juveniles generally may not be held in jails in which adults are confined.

  • If juveniles are temporarily detained in adult facilities,they must have no contact with the adult inmates.

  • Reduce the number of minors who come into contact with the juvenile justice system.

  Jail Suicide, Homicide, and Sexual Victimization 

  • Suicide is the leading cause of inmates deaths since 2000 

  • Homicide in jail is another concern of jail administrators 

  • In 2000,17 jail inmates were murdered. In 2006, the number of people at 36,decreased to 16 in 2008,and continued to increase every year since,reaching 25 homicides in 2014.

  • In 2003, congress passed and president bush signed the prison rape elimination act. 

  Jail Facilities 

  Rated capacity: The maximum number of beds or inmates allocated to each jail facility by a state or local rating official. 

  • In 2021, 34 of the nations 3, 116 jails were privately operated under contract to local governments. 

  • Private jails are located in 12 states.

  • The U.S Department of Justice classifieds jail size into seven levels.

  • The national average cost of operating jails is approximately $34,000 per person in jail.

  • Pay to stay in jails: Local correctional facilities that allow persons in jail between $100 and $300 a day for extra privileges in accommodation,food,and entertainment.

  Bail and Pretrial Detention 

  Bail: A written obligation with or without collateral security,given to a court to guarantee appearance before court 

  • Bail amounts are usually set by published schedules based on the offense,normally ranging from $1,000 to $25,000. 

  Pretrial Detainee: A person who is held in jail prior trial on criminal charges because no bail is posted, the individual cannot afford bail, or bail is denied. 

  Concerns Over Money for Bail

  • The judicial system depends on monetary baul under the assumption that it protects public safety and ensures that the released individual returns to court.

  • Illinois became the pioneering state to completely abolish monetary bail in 2023. 

  Effective Alternatives to Monetary Bail 

  • Release on recognizance 

  • Conditional release 

  • Release to a pretrial services agency for supervision and monitoring during the pretrial period.

  • Citations and summonses 

  • Diversion into social programs for people who have mental, emotional, or alcohol-related problems. 

  Reentry 

  The transition person makes from jail (or prison) to the community. 

  • TJC model focuses on three areas: 

  • Screening and assessment for those at the highest risk to recidivate 

  • Implement an evidence-based process that addresses criminogenic needs and continues into the community.

  • Implementing a data and performance process that supports reentry. 

  Jail Standards,Inspection, and Accreditation 

  While some states lack effective jail inspections due to resistance from county officials, others like Illinois, New York, Ohio,Pennsylvania, and Texas have implemented state oversight with independent agencies empowered to develop standards,conduct inspections, and enforce compliance in county jail. 

  Jail inspection is not very popular and is usually avoided 

  Jail accreditation: Process by which correctional facilities and agencies can: 

  • Measure themselves against nationally adopted standards 

  • Receive formal recognition and accredited status. 

  Reasons to Have ACA Accreditation

  • Protect the health and safety of staff and those who are in jail. 

  • To help the jail in defending itself against lawsuits over conditions of incarceration 

  • In preparing for the accreditation review, the sheriffs office may evaluate all operations, procedures,and policies,leading to better management practices. 

  • With accreditation come [professional recognition and status, greater appreciation by the community, and a sense of pride in the achievement and in the hard work that went into it. 

  • To make certification easier now for small and medium- sized jails. 

• “Gladiator school “ what is was called 

• 2.3 prisoners more than china and russia combined 

• 74 billion dollars a year spent on corrections 

• Hawaii 17,000 of their male inmates are in prisons here.

• Private prisons hold 130,000 people, 8% 

• LCS small prisons company 

• GEO, CXW biggest private prisons 

• Profit prisons, fewer guards, less experience staffed, leads to more dangerous situations

• ACLU sued CCA 

• Assault rates 65% higher than other prisons 

• Immigration detentions extremely profitable 

• Very difficult to get accurate information from private prisons 

• Brenda came to the US in 2001 to escape her abusive husband. 

• 1.8 million dollars a year spent on immigration detention 

• Smith is director of colorado state correctional

• 2.6 billion dollars in sales nationwide 

• Prison labor 

• Earning goes through restitution or costs of incarceration. (make 60 cents an hour) 

• 26 new jobs are created for every 100 inmates

• Two rivers was created to house prisoners and it never housed one single prisoner. 

• 27 millions dollars to build a prison 

• Texas, which houses 200,000 inmates, is now a leader in keeping people out of prisons.

• 87% met all the requirements and graduated 

• Texas prison inmates have declined ever since they created these reform programs. 

• 5%/25%

• 300,00 in 1970 now 2.3 million 

• Early 70s is when it started to blow up

• 1980 it went up to 500,00

• 1989 almost 800,000 

• 1990 over 1 million

• 2000 over 2 million

• 2014 roughly 2,300 

• Slavery was an economic system 

• After the civil war African Americans were imprisoned en masse. ( arrested for extremely minor crimes) 

• Birth of a Nation 

• Was responsible for the rebirth of the KKK.

• “Civil rights movement was contributing to rising crime rates” this was said. 

• A war on drugs gave birth to the era where they saw these things as a crime era instead of a mental era. 

• War on drugs was a war on minorities. 

• 80:1 

• Three strike outlaw 

• Truth and sentencing guarantees everyone serves 85% of their sentence. 

• 30 billion dollar crime bill in 1994

• Gives funding to build prisons and but officers on the street

• 1994 crime bill was a mistake acknowledge by bill clinton 

• 878,400 black prison population