Discuss the nature and importance of correction as a pillar of the Criminal Justice System.
Trace the historical development and distinguish the two types of correction.
Enumerate and discuss the different forms of punishments and penalty.
Discuss the nature and concepts of Institutional Correction.
Identify and differentiate Jail from Prison as an Institution-based correction.
Penology
The study of punishment for crime.
A branch of Criminology dealing with prison management, deterrence, and reformatory treatment of criminals.
Penal Management
The manner or practice of managing or controlling places of confinement, such as jails or prisons.
Correction
A branch of the Criminal Justice System concerned with the custody, supervision, and rehabilitation of criminal offenders.
Correction as a Process
The re-orientation of the criminal offender to prevent them from repeating delinquent actions.
Correction Administration
The study and practice of a systematic management of jails or prisons and other institutions concerned with the custody, treatment, and rehabilitation of criminal offenders.
Historical Perspective on Correction
13th Century - Securing Sanctuary: Criminals could avoid punishment by claiming refuge in a church for 40 days, after which they had to leave the realm via an assigned path.
15th Century (England, 1468): Torture became prevalent as a form of punishment.
16th Century: Transportation of criminals in England was authorized. Russia and other European countries followed. This was partially done to relieve overcrowding of prisons. Transportation was abandoned in 1835.
17th to late 18th Century: Death Penalty became prevalent as a form of punishment.
Gaols (Jails): Pretrial detention facilities operated by English sheriffs.
Galleys: Long, low, narrow, single-decked ships propelled by sails, used for transportation of criminals in the 16th century.
Hulks: Decrepit transport, former warships used to house prisoners to relieve congestion. Referred to as “floating hells”.
Retaliation: The earliest remedy for a wrong act.
Fines and Punishment: Customs exerted effort and great force among primitive societies.
Early Codes
Three Main Legal Systems
Roman
Mohammedan or Arabic
Anglo-American Laws
Babylonian and Sumerian Codes
Code of King Hammurabi (Babylon, about 1900 BC): Credited as the oldest code prescribing savage punishment, though the Sumerian Code was nearly one hundred years older.
Twelve Tables of Wood (XII Tabulae)
The earliest codification of Roman law. Its influence extended to the 6th century A.D., when they were largely incorporated into the Justinian Code.
Greek Code of Draco
A harsh code that provided the same punishment for both citizens and slaves, incorporating primitive concepts.
The Burgundian Code
Specified punishment according to the social class of the offenders.
The Secular Laws
4th A.D.: Secular laws were advocated by Christian philosophers who recognized the need for justice.
Historical Setting of Correction in the Philippines
The Philippines came under the influence of Roman law.
The Roman Empire reached its greatest extent to most of continental Europe (Spain, Portugal, France, and all of Central Europe).
The Spanish Civil Code became effective in the Philippines on Dec. 7, 1889.
The “Kodigo Penal” was introduced, promulgated by the King of Spain, adopting Roman law principles.
Mostly tribal traditions, customs, and practices influenced laws during the Pre-Spanish Philippines.
Written laws included:
Kode of Kalantiao (promulgated in 1433): The most extensive and severe law that prescribes harsh punishment.
Maragtas Code (Datu Sumakwel).
Punishment
The redress that the state takes against an offending member of society that usually involves pain and suffering.
Ancient Forms of Punishment
Death Penalty
Physical Torture
Social Degradation
Banishment
Other similar forms of punishment like transportation and slavery.
Death Penalty / Capital Punishment
The infliction of the death penalty upon a person who committed a serious crime.
Physical Torture / Corporal Punishment
Infliction of physical pain upon a convicted criminal.
Social Degradation
Shame and humiliation using devices like the docking stool, pillory, and branks.
Early Forms of Prison Discipline
Hard Labor
Deprivation
Monotony
Uniformity
Mass Movement
Degradation
Corporal Punishment
Isolation or Solitary Confinement
Contemporary Forms of Punishment
Imprisonment: Putting the offender in prison to protect the public against criminal activities.
Parole: Conditional release of a prisoner after serving part of their sentence.
Probation: A disposition whereby a defendant after conviction of an offense, the penalty does not exceed six years imprisonment.
Fine: An amount given as compensation for a criminal act.
Destierro: The penalty of banishing a person from the place where they committed a crime, prohibiting them from getting near or entering the 25-km perimeter.
Justification of Punishment
Retribution: The punishment should be provided by the state whose sanction is violated.
Expiation: Punishment in the form of group vengeance.
Deterrence: Belief that the offender, when punished, will learn the lesson.
Protection: Social defense by putting criminals behind bars.
Reformation: Attempting to reform and rehabilitate law violators while serving their prison terms.
Age of Enlightenment
18th Century: A century of change.
Pioneers of Reformation
William Penn: Fought for religious freedom and individual rights. First leader to prescribe imprisonment as correctional treatment for major offenders.
Charles Montesiquieu: French historian and philosopher who analyzed law as an expression of justice.
Voltaire (Francois Marie Arouet): Believed that fear of shame was a deterrent to crime.
Cesare Bonesa Marchese de Beccaria: Wrote “An Essay on Crimes and Punishment”.
John Howard: Sheriff of Bedsfordshire in 1773 who devoted his life and fortune to prison reform.
The Reformatory Movement
Alexander Macanochie: Superintendent of the penal colony at Norfolk Island in Australia (1840) who introduced the “Mark System”.
A system in which the prisoner is required to earn marks based on proper behavior, labor, and study to be entitled to a ticket for leave or conditional release (similar to parole).
Manuel Montesimos: The Director of Prisons in Valencia, Spain (1835) who divided prisoners into companies and appointed certain prisoners as petty officers, allowing good behavior to prepare convicts for gradual release.
Domets of France: Established an agricultural colony for delinquent boys in 1839, providing housefathers as in charge of these boys.
Sir Evelyn Ruggles Brise: The Director of the English prison who opened the Borstal Institution for young offenders.
Walter Crofton: Director of the Irish Prison in 1954 who introduced the Irish System, modified from Macanochie’s mark system.
Zebulon R. Brockway: Director of the Elmira Reformatory in New York (1876) who introduced:
Training school type;
Compulsory education of prisoners;
Casework methods;
Extensive use of parole;
Indeterminate sentence.
Elmira Reformatory: Considered the forerunner of modern penology.
Two Rival Prison Systems in the History of Corrections
The Auburn Prison System: Called the “Congregate System”. Prisoners confined to cells at night and worked in shops during the day. Complete silence was enforced.
The Pennsylvania Prison System: Called “Solitary System”. Prisoners confined in single cells day and night where they lived, slept, ate, and received religious instructions.
Penalty
The suffering inflicted by the state against an offending member for the transgression of law.
Juridical Conditions of Penalty
Productive of suffering
Commensurate with the offense
Personal
Legal
Equal
Certain
Correctional
Penalties as to Gravity
DEATH PENALTY - Capital Punishment
RECLUSION PERPETUA - life imprisonment, a term of 20-40 years imprisonment.
RECLUSION TEMPORAL - 12 years and 1 day to 20 years imprisonment.
PRISION MAYOR - 6 years and 1 day to 12 years.
PRISION CORRECIONAL - 6 months and 1 day to 6 years.
ARRESTO MAYOR - 1 month and 1 day to 6 months.
ARRESTO MENOR - 1 day to 30 days
BOND TO KEEP THE PEACE - discretionary on the part of the court.
Prison
A penitentiary, an institution for the imprisonment of persons convicted of major/serious crimes.
Prisoner
A person who is under the custody of lawful authority.
A person who by reason of his criminal sentence or by a decision issued by a court, may be deprived of his liberty or freedom.
General Classification of Prisoners
DETENTION PRISONERS: Those detained for investigation, preliminary hearing, or awaiting trial. Detained in lock-up jails or under the jurisdiction of courts.
SENTENCED PRISONERS: Offenders committed to jail or prison to serve their sentence after final conviction by a competent court. Under the jurisdiction of penal institutions.
PRISONERS WHO ARE IN SAFEKEEPING: Non-criminal offenders detained to protect the community against their harmful behavior.
Classification of Prisoners According to Degree of Security
MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISONERS: Those whose escape could be dangerous to the public or the security of the state. Constant trouble makers, but not as dangerous as super-maximum security prisoners. They wear orange uniforms.
MEDIUM SECURITY PRISONERS: Those who cannot be trusted in open conditions and pose a lesser danger than maximum-security prisoners if they escape. They wear blue uniforms.
MINIMUM SECURITY PRISONERS: Those who can be reasonably trusted to serve sentences under “open conditions.” They wear brown uniforms.
Types of Jails
LOCK-UP JAILS: Security facility, common in police stations, used for temporary confinement of an individual held for investigation.
ORDINARY JAILS: Used to detain a convicted criminal offender to serve a sentence of less than three years.
WORKHOUSES, JAIL FARMS, OR CAMPS: Houses minimum custody offenders serving short sentences or those undergoing constructive work programs. Provides full employment of prisoners, remedial services, and constructive leisure-time activities.
Philippine Prison System
The Bureau of Corrections
Bureau of Prisons was renamed Bureau of Corrections under Executive Order 292 during the Aquino Administration.
The Head of the Bureau of Corrections is the Director of Prisons, appointed by the President of the Philippines with the confirmation of the Commission of Appointments.
The Bureau of Corrections has general supervision and control of all national prisons or penitentiaries.
It is charged with the safekeeping of all insular prisoners confined therein or committed to the custody of the Bureau.
Coverage of the Bureau of Corrections
New Bilibid Prisons (Muntinlupa)
Correctional Institution for Women (Mandaluyong)
Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm (Occidental Mindoro)
Iwahig Penal Colony (Puerto Prinsesa, Palawan)
San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm (Zamboanga)
Davao Prison and Penal Farm (Panabo, Davao Province)
Leyte Regional Prison (Abuyog, Leyte)
Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP)
The BJMP exercises supervision and control over all cities and municipal jails throughout the country.
RA No. 6975 created the BJMP. It operates as a line bureau under the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
The BJMP, also referred to as the Jail Bureau, was created pursuant to Section 60, RA No. 6975.
The Bureau shall be headed by a Chief with the rank of Director and assisted by a Deputy Chief with the rank of Chief Superintendent.
Reception Diagnostic Center (RDC)
A special unit of prison where new prisoners undergo diagnostic examination, study, and observation to determine the programs and treatment best suited to their needs and the institution to which they should be transferred.
The Quarantine Cell or Unit
A unit of the prison or a section of the RDC where the prisoner is given a thorough physical examination including blood tests, x-rays, vaccinations, and immunity tests.
Diversification
An administrative device of correctional institutions providing varied and flexible types of physical plants for the more effective custody, security, control, and treatment programs of its diversified population.
Admission Procedures in Prison
Receiving
Checking of Commitment Papers
Identification
Searching
Briefing and Orientation
The Treatment Programs
The Philippine Prison System adopted two approaches in treating criminal offenders: